SOUTH SUDAN

Fishermen stop work to protest government order reducing fish prices

December 17, 2024 JUBA CITY

The leaders of the fishing community in Lakes State’s Awerial County said they have suspended fishing activities after the government forced them to sell fish at lower prices.

According to the local order from Mingkaman Town Council this week, a big fish that was selling at SSP 13,000 was reduced to 7,000.

However, the order upset the fishermen who opted to now fish for domestic consumption only.

Abiar Chuti, the leader of the fishermen in Ahou, told Radio Tamazuj on Monday that the order was unfair to them as they buy other food items at higher prices in the market.

“I told the government last time when they brought the order to us that we will comply with this order only when you reduce the prices in the market so that we will be able to buy maize flour and beans at affordable prices,” he explained. “As we talk now, 10 Kg of maize is still selling at SSP 28,000 and 20 Kg at 60,000. This has become a burden on us and we decided to suspend fishing until we are sure that the market is fairly set for all.”

Another leader of fishermen, Alek Biar Angok, said the government needs to survey market prices and agree with traders before coming up with an order to reduce the fish prices.

“If the government wants to regulate the prices, it should not be one-sided. We should be called together with the traders in the market so that we compare prices,” he said. “This will help the government to understand the market before coming up with the decision to reduce the prices that will fairly favor everyone.”

The action by the fishermen has affected more than ten restaurants that have been serving fresh fish as the only food to their customers.

The restaurant owners who spoke on condition of anonymity said the small quantity of fish they get from far-flung like Mariik and Pane Bang are expensive, but they cannot sell food at higher prices.

Meanwhile, travelers who always stop at Mingkaman market to enjoy fish have been struggling to get fresh fish for the last four days.

Currently, traders sell commodities at higher prices due to the depreciation of the South Sudanese Pound against the U.S. Dollar. 1 dollar is selling at SSP 3,900 in the Central Bank but it is SSP 5,200 in the parallel black market. 

A town council official in Awerial County, Deng Cuei, did not explain in the local order the method they used in reducing the fish prices.