Juba City Council to introduce digital payment system to curtail corruption

JUBA – The deputy Mayor of South Sudan’s Juba City Council (JCC) Solomon Pitia Nyambur has said that plans are underway to introduce digital payment systems in a bid to improve revenue collections and curb corruption.

The move came after traders in Juba expressed disaffection with the multiply taxation and arbitrary levies imposed on their business by the authorities of the Juba City Council.

Nyambur who spoke to journalists on Saturday at a press conference disclosed that digital equipment has started to arrive in Juba.

“When we came in we laid down reforms because we knew things are changing and this collection of money where you go from shops to shops is one way which encourages corruption because we will not be able to know what they have collected,” Nyambur said.

“This is why we want to introduce the digitalized system of revenue collections. We have already signed an agreement with a company and equipment has already started arriving,” Nyambur added.

He said the system will help to reduce corruption since they will be monitoring the payments from their main office.

“We hope that one is going to control us because it is something that is digitalized and nobody will be able to cheat on you (traders). This is one method we believe that it will be able to reduce overtaxing and this corruption that is happening,” he said.

Thiik Thiik Mayardit, JCC Deputy Mayor for land and development apologized for unlawful charging of traders.

“If there is mismanagement which our people go and fine traders unlawfully which is not correct, let me apologize again to the people of South Sudan that we are going to correct that mistakes very soon,” Mayardit said.