*South Sudan/Uganda economy: Quick View - Trade disrupted by payment arrears and violence/ EIU 25.08.16*
Event The Ugandan government has outlined plans to send a delegation to South Sudan in a bid to address the payment arrears that have accumulated between Ugandan traders and the South Sudanese authorities. Analysis Ugandan exports to South Sudan were worth some US$265m in 2015, according to the Bank of Uganda (the central bank). However, payment arrears are a recurrent problem. In 2014 the Ugandan authorities verified a list of 22 companies who were collectively owed some US$50m by the South Sudanese authorities for cereal purchases. Since violence erupted in Juba, the South Sudanese capital, in July, new arrears have built up, with the country's finance minister, Stephen Dau, confirming in mid-August that all unpaid cheques to suppliers have been cancelled owing to a "lack of money". A delegation, led by Uganda's trade minister, Amelia Kyambadda, plans to visit Juba in an attempt to resolve the issue, but the parliamentary trade commission wants it to hold off; it argues that the traders themselves must be represented in talks and that the verified arrears from 2014 must be cleared ahead of more recent ones. Aside from wrangling over the particulars though, the neighbours will be keen to resume trade; lost business since July was reportedly worth over US$6m to the Ugandan economy, while the drop in imports from Uganda has contributed to South Sudan's food shortage. The South Sudanese authorities will probably ask the Ugandan government to clear its arrears on its behalf and, provided a repayment plan is agreed, the Ugandan government will probably oblige to keep its traders in business. However, although the authorities may reach a deal over payment arrears, another major barrier to trade—insecurity—will prove harder to resolve. The Ugandan government evacuated its citizens from South Sudan in July and travel advisories remain in place. Some improvement is in prospect—the Juba-Nimule road (which runs from the capital to the Ugandan border) is now protected by the South Sudanese army, and the UN Security Council has approved the operations of a regional protection force in Juba—but, with a durable peace settlement for South Sudan not yet in sight, violent insecurity will remain a threat to trade flows. -- To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/d/forum/southsudankob View this message at https://groups.google.com/d/msg/southsudankob/topic-id/message-id For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "South Sudan Info - The Kob" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/SouthSudanKob. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/SouthSudanKob/CAJb14ooj%3DcTq%3D3NeckUubE8sNq5U2TZWL3rVgqx7DfGjm6kARw%40mail.gmail.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
