South Sudan releases Ugandan maize, trucks one month later

The State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Henry Okello Oryem, has said the South Sudanese authorities have released maize and trucks from Uganda, a month after they were blocked at the border. 

Mr Oryem yesterday told Daily Monitor: “Our embassy continued to engage them [South Sudan government] and our lorries have all been released and they have come back to Uganda since Wednesday. They were forced to come back with the maize and their consignment, but we wonder why because UNBS [Uganda Bureau of Standards] has got higher standards than theirs.”

The South Sudan National Bureau of Standards (SSNBS) impounded 62 trucks loaded with maize grains, maize flour, and wheat on May 15 on allegations of failing to pass the test for contamination with aflatoxin. Ugandan traders and officials protested the move. 

In a June 7 letter, the Minister for East African Affairs, Ms Rebbeca Kadaga, asked her South Sudanese counterpart Deng Alor Kuol, to ensure the release of the impounded trucks as both sides carry out dialogue over the matter.

Ms Kadaga said the South Sudan government had not responded to an earlier request by her ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Ms Edith N. Mwanje , for a dialogue over the matter. 

“Having not received any positive response, it is now my considered opinion that you unconditionally release the vehicles containing all cargo and allow them free passage back into Uganda. Please accept, Honorable Minister, the assurances of my highest consideration,” Ms Kadaga’s letter reads.

She added: “Allow the truck drivers to offload the maize flour in a particular designated area and the South Sudan Bureau of Standards continues with their investigation into the quality of the maize flour, releasing both the trucks and drivers to come back to Uganda for other businesses.”

In a June 5 letter, Ms Mwanje requested South Sudanese Ministry of East African Community Affairs’ Under Secretary Mr Andrea Aguer Ariik Malueth to ensure the release of the impounded trucks and their drivers.

Ms Mwanje also asked the South Sudanese authorities to “make use of the UNBS laboratory facility in Gulu that was provided by Trade Mark Africa in July 2022,” to ascertain the quality of the grains before condemning them.

Last week, the Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU) alongside the Uganda Revenue Authority, the Ministry of Trade, and representatives of UNBS met a section of South Sudan authorities at the Elegu Border to discuss the impasse.

The meeting however ended in a stalemate after the two sides failed to agree on releasing the truck and their drivers. 

Mr Stephen Asiimwe, the PSFU executive director, said during the meeting, the Ugandan embassy demanded that the drivers and their trucks be set free while the consignment is stored at a point pending investigations.

“A transporter is not the owner of the merchandise, the drivers and their turn men have been condemned in detention for a month but their consignment has been parked under trees in areas where there is no infrastructure, no toilets, and water. The people holding them are soldiers and not bureau officials,” he said on Wednesday.

Earlier on, UNBS Executive Director, Mr David Livingstone Ebiru, said the South Sudan authorities had not yet provided evidence that the impounded goods were contaminated.

“The issue of Aflatoxin contamination they refer to must be proven scientifically through analysis of samples in an accredited laboratory,” Mr Ebiru said last month.

Minister Oryem yesterday said he will raise the matter when he meets President Salva Kiir and the Minister of Foreign Affairs. 

“I intend to discuss other trade opportunities that lie between the two countries and how to harness them amicably without such confusion,” he said.

He said UNBS had issued clearance certificates for the impounded goods.
 “Their reaction is based on non-scientific claims but issues that came in the media. I have spoken to the Ugandan Ambassador to South Sudan (Brig Ronnie Balya). ...we must solve the matter conclusively.”