The Central Equatoria State Chamber of Commerce has called on the Juba City Council (JCC) to suspend the recently introduced garbage collection charges, arguing that the new fees were imposed without consultation and could force struggling businesses out of the market.
Speaking during a press conference in Juba on Tuesday, Pitia Robert, Chairperson of the Central Equatoria State Chamber of Commerce, said the business community was concerned about the legality, transparency, and economic impact of the new charges.
“Presently, there is something for property tax introduced recently without consultation and awareness for the business community,” he said. “We had a meeting with all the business community representatives regarding the Juba City Council. To avoid loss and illnesses, I invite the leaders to wait so that we can also come up with solutions regarding this one.”
Pita outlined several concerns raised by businesses, including what he described as a lack of consultation and transparency, increased financial pressure on traders, and uncertainty over the legal basis for introducing the charges in the middle of the financial year.
“The business community concerns are: lack of consultations and transparency; hard economic burden on businesses; and third, legal basis,” he said.
According to the latest charges seen by Radio Tamazuj, garbage charges increased from SSP225,000 to SSP1,575,000 for large warehouses, and from SSP16,200 to 32,400 for small businesses such as second-hand clothes dealers.
The chairperson questioned why the charges were being introduced only weeks before the start of a new financial year, when tax and budget proposals are normally discussed through established government procedures.
“The question here is, are the taxes going to increase again, or are they going to remain like that? These are the concerns the business community has,” he said. “If the Juba City Council is facing challenges in managing the waste and they want business community support, they are ready to assist, but let it be through consultations and transparency.”
“The big challenge for the Juba City Council is mismanagement, and the current government can address this problem,” Pitia added.
He said many businesses are already struggling to survive due to the country’s difficult economic conditions.
“Most of the businesses are struggling, they are facing hardship, they are trying to stay in the market. The few remaining are thinking how long this thing can continue,” he said. “We also request the government not to close people’s businesses or harass them because they are the ones paying taxes to the government.”
“Our main issue now is that this issue of garbage fee needs to be addressed because the business community cannot be charged twice,” Pitia stated.
The Chamber chairperson also cited complaints from hotel operators who reported significant increases in their fees.
“You find some hotels were supposed to pay 450,000, and now they are going to pay 5 million. To my point, which formula are you using? Which percentage are you currently using?” he questioned.
He appealed to the state government, JCC, and lawmakers to intervene and resolve the dispute before it negatively affects businesses and employment.
“Business people are angry, very disappointed. Some of them came here yesterday, even the Hotel Union. Businesses are closing, and people are suffering. If it goes beyond, they will close, and I think you will not get any tax,” Pitia said. “This reform, we need tax harmonization, and we, as the Chamber of Commerce, will have to make sure this tax harmonization comes.”
“Let us see the best way how we can sit down and address this problem, not because of self-interest, but because of the interest of our suffering people,” he urged.
The Juba City Council had not publicly responded to the Chamber’s concerns by the time of publication.
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