Representatives of the traders meet Kalisto Ladu, the Mayor of Juba City Council on Saturday/Logonyi Denis.

The Mayor of Juba city has ordered businessmen to reduce commodity prices.

This comes after some traders in Juba briefly closed their shops on Saturday in protest of what they call mistreatment by city authorities.

Most of the shops in Konyo-Konyo, Munuki, and Jebel markets were among those shut down by the traders who accused Juba City Council of charging unnecessary fines and levying exorbitant taxes.

The traders—mostly Sudanese and Somalis say they are asked to fines for unnecessary reasons.

The Mayor of Juba City Council, Kalisto Ladu then convened a meeting with representatives of the traders where he maintained that city authorities were enforcing laws.

He ordered the traders to reduce the prices of commodities in the market, saying the SSP has gained value against the dollar.

“The value of the US Dollar has dropped so the prices of commodities must be reduced and the markets must be clean,” he told the traders on Saturday.

“The passways within the market must be empty and anybody who builds his shop on the passway must remove it,” he ordered.

Mayor Ladu called on both traders and tax collectors to cooperate to enable the smooth running of markets, saying there will be no compromise in enforcing city regulations.

“Abiding by the law is a prerequisite. We cannot compromise with law enforcement because you have to respect and work according to the laws,” he said.

“There is no Mayor or any officer allowed to work outside the law as well as the traders or the chamber of commerce. All of us have to work according to the laws, the rule of law is very important anywhere, we need both traders and the citizens to benefit.”

The traders have often complained that they are taxed double—by the local government and the national government.