By Bida Elly David
The national chamber of commerce has declared a fight against drug dealers and critiqued their import and export saying that they would distant themselves from supporting merchants who would fall under security arrest due to passive dealings as well as advocate for serious punishment.
Speaking during the chamber of commerce award ceremony over the weekend, Ladu Lukak, the deputy chairperson for South Sudan national chamber of commerce said that two third of young people are undergoing mental disorder due to high consumption of drugs traded by foreign merchants.
He said that the majority of youth in South Sudan who engaged in criminal acts involved in the activities under the influence of drugs that make them to act even against the authority.
“The availability of drugs like marungi, opium and marijuana has affected our young generation in the Country,” he said.
“You find boys riding boda with marungi, goro full in their mouths and pockets. The rate of alcohol consumption has become high as most of our young boys die daily and disrespect their parents,” he cited.
“We will not stand in support of traders who shall be involved in the activities of selling drugs to our people because it is evil and not allowed,” Lukak cautioned.
He said that the role of the chamber of commerce was to ensure that all business companies whether being local or international promote development through capacity building and innovation rather than spoiling the nation.
“Our role as chamber of commerce is to create sustainable environment for our business people as well as build a positive relationship with them to ensure positive development in the Country,” he said.
The chamber of commerce emphasized that they need their people to benefit from businesses but not to be destroyed and poisoned.
“We are concerned with our children and will not support traders who work to destroy South Sudan,” he noted.
Lukak, further underscored that they would soon stop some companies specialized in production of alcoholic beverages that dictates the health of the coming generation.
“We have noticed that some companies sell toxic alcoholic beverages like royal gin and others that our young people consume and undergo health problems in return and therefore we will not tolerate such activities, we will fight to ensure that traders or companies that provide such dangerous services are stopped from the trade,” he stated.
Lukak however applauded both foreign and domestic operating companies that have been in good business relationship with the chamber of commerce and urged them to continue delivering quality services to the nation that would result into real profit making.
He said that the chamber of commerce awards was an initiative that was meant to ensure that the operating companies in the Country feel that they are loved by the institution.
“The national chamber of commerce has organized this competition to tell its operating companies that what they paid is being used to serve the interest of the people in form of services,” he said, adding the “We thank them with their support and the capacity building initiatives they carry in support of the Country.”
Lukak advised the business people to work towards improving their services to best of their level. “We are not enemies but if you sell poor products and services to our people, you will make us lose trust in you,” he exclaimed.