The authorities in Western Bahr el Ghazal State have shut six checkpoints along the Juba-Wau Road to stop the illegal collection of taxes and other illegal fees from traders and travelers, according to the police.
Major General Hussein Qurshi, the head of the traffic police in the state, told the press on Sunday that the closure of the six internal checkpoints was a directive from Juba through Governor Sharif Daniel Sharif.
He said that the only remaining checkpoints were Alur (Kapara) towards Tonj South County in the east, Tharkueng in the north, Kangi in the northwest, and Lokoloko in the west on the way to Raja County.
Gen. Qurshi explained that the move was to ease the flow of essential commodities and curb the skyrocketing prices.
“We, the joint committee formed by the state government to close down the checkpoints. We have 10 checkpoints of Alur, Kuajiena, Kaburi Ngab, Eastern Bank, Clement Mboro, 5 Kilo, Getti, Kangi and Tharkueng,” he stated. “The orders that came from the national government in Juba were that all these checkpoints needed to be dismantled because there were a lot of mess-ups and people were extorting money. Now, only four checkpoints remain to check criminality and the movement of illegal firearms.”
“If there is a commercial vehicle passing, they are charged a huge sum of SSP 1 million, which is illegal and cannot be explained by the security personnel collecting the money,” Gen. Qurshi added.
He said the security organs assigned to checkpoints were not sent there to take money from traders and other road users.
“Only four checkpoints have remained to maintain law and order and to check the flow of illegal firearms and munitions along the borders,” he said.
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