By Ephraim Modi D.S
The Speaker of the Transitional National Legislative Assembly Jemma Nunu Kumba on Saturday pleaded to the Governor of Central Equatoria State Emmanuel Adil and Mayor of Juba City Council Michael Lado Alla-Jabu to support business women by under-charging their businesses.
Kumba made the statement during a fashion show in Juba amidst the looming charges imposed to businesses by the government revenue collecting authorities.
Some traders have since been crying of multiple taxes and unnecessary fines being demanded by Juba City Council, with some taking their cries on social media, posting invoices containing multiple license fees, service fees, areas and fines that they were to pay to the City Council.
The Speaker urged the Central Equatoria State government and the administration of Juba City Council to offer fair taxes to businesswomen vending along the streets in town.
“I also want to tell the City Council that it is not fair for the city council to charge a woman who is selling tea under umbrella,” Speaker Kumba said.
“They need to be subsidized, these women need to be subsidized by not even charging them,” she argued.
“Many of these women are jobless and try to always bring some food on table, send their children to school, offer medical and basic needs to their children out of the little business they operate” the Speaker highlighted how the business help them to sustain their life” the Speaker said.
“How can you charge a woman who is selling tea in order to give food, for her child to go to school or in order to take care of the family” Nunu questioned.
The Speaker who spoke in the presence of many government officials and conveyed her appeal to the Governor of Central Equatoria State and the Mayor of Juba city, suggested that women who are struggling, preparing tea along the streets should be charged just 500 South Sudanese Pounds (SSP) but not 100,000 SSP like what she heard.
She wondered how much a woman who boils tea earns and still subjected to pay 100,000 SSP to the city council.
Speaker Nunu further reiterated her call to the government to support the women who are striving in business.
The Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity (R-TGoNU) states provision of fund for women entrepreneurs and young people for empowering them.
Last year, the chamber of commerce vowed on numerous intervals to sue Juba City Council for over charging traders in the city. But the chamber fell short of the fight against money extraction from traders due to lack of gathered evidence to support the move.