Renk is one of the counties in Upper Nile State producing abundance of sorghum and sim-sim| Credit | Courtesy

Residents of the northern border town of Renk say official trading has not resumed between Sudanese and South Sudanese.

“I am telling you that we did not smell commercial goods coming from Sudan,” says Maj.-Gen. Manyok Korkoch Deng, former police commissioner in the defunct Northern Upper Nile state.

This is despite the two governments saying last month that ten entry points along their borders would be reopened to boost trade between the two countries.

The launch of the free trade zone area took place in the Jeblin area of White Nile State in Sudan on the 27 October 2020.

The ten entry points are in Upper Nile, Unity, Warrap, Northern Bahr el Ghazal and Western Bahr el Ghazal states.

During the event, the two governments led by South Sudan defense minister Angelina Teny and the Sudanese defense minister Lt. Gen. Yassin Ibrahim said river transport would also resume immediately.

However, residents in Renk County of Upper Nile State told Eye Radio that the reopening of the borders remain on paper since there is no sign of official exchange of goods at the border areas.

Maj.-Gen. Deng stated that only humanitarian batches are coming from Sudan to South Sudan.

“The batches that come from Kosti of Sudan are UN Batches passing by, going to Jonglei, Juba or other areas,” he told Eye Radio on Monday.

South Sudan and Sudan had closed much of the 2,000 borders in 2012 – hitting traders and communities on both sides of the disputed line.