SSNBS staff at Nimule border post. (-).

Uganda’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, John Mulimba, has raised concern over persistent delays in goods clearance at the South Sudan entry points, saying low technological capacity and continued reliance on manual inspection are slowing trade and increasing costs.

Mulimba attributed the bottlenecks to the absence of modern scanning equipment, saying the lack of scanners is undermining the implementation of the One Stop Border Post system and forcing physical inspection of goods.

He said the situation has led to wastage of capital, especially for perishable imports, and added that even compliant goods are affected by delays that increase costs passed on to consumers in Juba.

“We noted with concern the delays in clearing out time… these delays are on account of low technology which is hampering the implementation of the one stop border post,” Mulimba said on SSBC. “One of the particular materials that needs to be procured very quickly is a scanner… to avoid the physical or the manual inspection of goods.”

He further warned that prolonged clearance times are affecting both trade efficiency and household purchasing power due to rising prices of imported goods.

In response, Acting Commissioner General of the South Sudan Revenue Authority, Solomon Ariik, said efforts are underway with the African Development Bank to procure scanners and improve systems integration at border points.

“We are working hard as well with the African Development Bank to ensure that we have a scanner which is in process to be procured… and ensure smooth transition and communication between the system,” Ariik said.

He added that both sides will continue consultations, including a planned meeting in May on the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) framework, aimed at improving trade facilitation between the two countries.