Economist says delay in salaries forces soldiers to cut-down trees

JUBA – A South Sudanese economists on Wednesday blamed illegal cutting of trees for charcoal by members of South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) on government failure to pay their salaries on time.

Speaking during the release of the 2020 Human Development Report and Economic Policy Dialogue in Juba yesterday, Dr. Lual A. Deng, Managing Director of Ebony Center for Strategic Studies, said soldiers are cutting down trees due to low payment and delay in payment of salaries.

“If we don’t pay our army well, what will they do? They will be forced to cut down trees and produce charcoal,” he asked.

Mr. Lual explained that lack of human development is causing problems in the country, adding that it forces people to cut down forest.

“About two years ago, President Salva Kiir was addressing the army, and was saying you are cutting down trees for charcoal, you the army very soon you will find Juba been faced with densification,” he quoted President Kiir saying.

A 2015 survey carried out jointly by the UN Environment agency and the Government of South Sudan estimated that, in the capital Juba, 88 percent of households, 74 percent of businesses, and 40 per cent of institutions depend on charcoal energy.

Furthermore, 15 percent of households, 8 percent of businesses, and 40 per cent of institutions use fuel wood to supplement charcoal for cooking. This demand translates into an estimated five million trees being logged annually to supply Juba with charcoal it currently consumes.

According to the country’s inaugural State of the Environment Outlook Report, launched in June 2018, fuel wood and charcoal account for over 80 per cent of all wood used in South Sudan, with an annual deforestation rate estimated at between 1.5 and 2 percent.