Ugandan and Kenyan truck drivers have agreed to deliver cargo to South Sudan after two days of negotiations with Ugandan and South Sudanese security chiefs.
Hundreds of commercial trucks importing goods into South Sudan had been stuck at Elegu border point on the Ugandan side.
This was after the truck drivers refused to cross into South Sudan over the killing of their colleagues along the major highways.
They were protesting the recent killings of Ugandan and Kenyan truck drivers along the Juba-Nimule highway, Juba-Mundri, and Yei-Juba roads.
This prompted a meeting of truck drivers and security chiefs of the two countries.
After two days of discussions, the South Sudanese government agreed to provide security to all truck drivers plying the main highways linking the two countries.
The SSPDF will now station soldiers along the roads connecting Juba to Nimule, to Yei up to Kaya –to ensure safe passage for travelers and commercial goods.
Illegal checkpoints will also be removed to ease the movement of trucks along major highways in South Sudan.
“We have given them 90 days to see if what we have agreed is going to be implemented or not. And if it will not be implemented, then we shall come back here to ask why,” said Sudi Mwatela, a representative of the East African Long Distance Driver’s Association.
South Sudan, a landlocked country, depends almost entirely on imports ranging from food and other commodities.