By Yiep Joseph
As the 24th East African Community (EAC) Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) trade fair in Juba ended, exhibitors expressed disappointment due to low sales, which they link to unpaid government workers.
In an interview on the last day of the exhibition, Adau Dau Chan, an exhibitor from South Sudan, noted that many South Sudanese were unable to make purchases at the event.
She mentioned that many consumers have complained about not being paid for months, which limits their purchasing power.
“We understand many people have not received salaries within six months (more than ten months), and it is not their fault. when we tell them we are selling this item at promotion prices of 30,000 SSP, they complain,” Adau said.
She added that due to such complaints, the exhibitors are left with no option but to sell they products at sympathy prices that do not make any profit.
“If someone has an interest in our product, if someone wants to buy three items, we give them with SSP 25,000 instead of SSP 30,000,” she added.
She urged South Sudan and the other EAC member states to organize the event when government employees have already been paid to boost sales.
“My message to the EAC trade fair organized is that South Sudan is facing a lot of crises this time; they would have pushed it for next time,” she appealed.
Adau expressed that most EAC exhibitors from other countries did not meet their expectations in regard to sales and may go back disappointed.
Meanwhile, Teresiah WanJiru Njoruge, one of the exhibitors from Kenya who deals in clothes, stated that many people who participated in the exhibition did not buy due to lack of money.
She said that for the days she spent in Exhibition, many South Sudanese focused on buying food items rather than clothes regardless of the new stocks, adding that such a decision is due to limited resources.
“The first day, people would come and they would not buy; when you ask, they say there is no money; they are not paid,” she said.
She said the current sales in Juba are lower compared to Nairobi, where she is operating her businesses.
“In Kenya, I do have a lot of buyers, but during the days I spent doing exhibitions, I did not even sell a quarter of what I was expecting,” she said.
The exhibitor noted that very few buyers had no complaints, making it impossible to meet the target.
Paul Anebyona, the Managing Director of Pearl of Africa Cheese Company from Uganda, mentioned that many buyers concentrate on buying food items compared to luxurious goods due to limited income.
He acknowledged the limited cash flow in the hands of the citizens which has limited their purchasing power.
Meanwhile, Ajok Kuol, one of the buyers at the exhibition, said that the delay in salaries has limited the purchasing power.
“I came to buy many items when I heard that there are many products here, but we have no money; we are not being paid for our government work, so the resort is either buying one item or none,” Ajok said.
She urged the government to pay the salaries of civil servants and organized forces to alleviate their suffering.
Civil servants have gone for more than 10 months without salary, with the government citing a limited resource envelope amid economic hardship, partly due to the ongoing conflict in Sudan, which disrupted oil transportation to international markets.
In October, the Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr. Marial Dongrin Ater, announced the release of outstanding salaries of civil servants without giving details on the number of months they will pay civil servants.
Ater said that they will be releasing salaries every month, adding that the government has been working hard to ensure that the little available resources are used to run government projects and at the same time pay arrears of civil servants; however, this promise did not yield fruit.
The 24th East African Community (EAC) Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) trade fair in Juba, which started on the 26th of October and ended on the 5th of November 2024, attracted over 1500 exhibitors from various countries in the bloc that showcased their products.
Motivated by the event’s theme, “promotion of unique innovation and skills development amongst EAC MSMEs,” several entrepreneurs exhibit numerous items, showing the potential of the bloc to build a strong economy in Africa.
The East African Community (EAC) is a regional intergovernmental organization of eight (8) partner states, comprising the Republic of Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of Kenya, the Republic of Rwanda, the Federal Republic of Somalia, the Republic of South Sudan, the Republic of Uganda, and the United Republic of Tanzania.