“Foreigners are welcome to invest in wholesale, not told to leave the country”: Kalisto clarifies retail business ban
JUBA — Juba County Caretaker Commissioner Kalisto Lado has clarified that his recent directives restricting foreign nationals from retail trade are not intended to expel foreigners from the country, but rather to reserve small-scale commerce for South Sudanese citizens while encouraging foreign investors to focus on the wholesale sector.
Commissioner Lado says his remarks were meant to encourage foreign traders to focus on investment rather than retail trade.
The clarification follows comments he made on Monday, when he urged foreign traders to leave small-scale businesses to South Sudanese and focus on larger investments that can create jobs for citizens.
In a statement last evening, Lado said his remarks had been misinterpreted on social media as a call to expel foreign businesspeople from South Sudan.
He says he has no mandate to evict foreigners from the country, describing the reports as false information and a misinterpretation of his remarks during a recent city cleaning and organization campaign.
Lado says South Sudan remains open to foreigners who enter the country legally and conduct businesses in accordance with the law.
“The Commissioner has never said that, even not the mandate of the Commissioner to actually evacuate people or to send people out of South Sudan. In fact, the South Sudan policy is welcoming. We are welcoming everybody from any country who want to come to be with us in South Sudan, provided that this person is not a criminal,” Lado said.
Commissioner Lado says his remarks to foreign traders during an inspection of Kubri Haboba Market were intended to protect economic opportunities for South Sudanese while encouraging foreigners to invest in larger businesses, industries and companies that can create employment.
He cited businesses such as selling chapati, tomatoes, onions, potatoes, ful, tamia and other small food items, as well as motorcycle taxi services, commonly known as boda-boda.
“This is not sending people away. This is another way of respecting our own people, of protecting our own businesses.
“I’m encouraging the foreigners who come to us here to come with capital for business, huge capital for establishing companies or opening or constructing industries or factories that will produce goods that will help our people and that will also employ our people,” he said.
Commissioner Lado has also dismissed social media claims that authorities are demolishing structures as part of the campaign.
He says the county administration is clearing garbage from roads, removing goods placed on roadways and directing traders to operate from designated areas.
Lado has urged foreigners living in South Sudan to remain calm, saying they have nothing to fear as long as they obey the country’s laws.
He has also called on residents to support the government’s efforts to organize Juba, improve service delivery, and maintain peace and security ahead of the planned elections.
