By Ephraim Modi Duku Sokiri
The Mayor of Juba City H.W Michael Lado Allah-Jabu has decried sabotage and interference on his work by other authorities, but he couldn’t disclose exactly those he said intrude to his activities.
He made the disclosure while addressing magnitude at the Governor’s Peace Dissemination Tour in Juba on Thursday.
Allah-Jabu requested to be respected while executing his roles and duties as Juba city mayor.
“There is supposed to be no interference in the work plan, we need to be respected, let’s stop interference in the work… we can be instructed that there is problem like this and then we implement, not that we plan the same thing,” he said.
“You don’t know who is the protocol, you don’t know who is the press secretary, [and] you don’t know who is for the security …everybody is handling thing the way he [she] wants,” he continued.
The mayor however appealed to the citizens to aid in cleaning up the city which is everyone’s responsibility as they introduce a new way of collecting garbage in the city.
“Next week, tax collectors will start collecting two thousand South Sudanese Pounds so that we will be able to hire vehicles to collect wastes straight from your areas. We need cooperation from you,” he said.
Last year, a new company call ‘Go Green’ was introduced into the city by the same office to be in charge of collecting the garbage but out of the blue, the entity ceased its operations that still lock off citizens from the truth.
“We know there was a company, a company call East Africa Go green, they worked for five months but they disagreed among themselves within until the company was closed,” he said.
Mayor said they had undergone a burden in hiring other trucks for five hundred United States dollars daily when the company was closed down.
“We have reached to the extend when the company was closed… we were under pressure until we were hiring garbage truck at 500 USD per container to be carried to the dumping areas,” he added.
“It costed us a lot of money and this is where your money is going [taxes collected].”
He said they have been accused severally of closing shops, laying more taxes or double which is never the case with them.
He blamed the techniques that the tax collectors are using while collecting money from tax payers.
Mayor Allah-Jabu as well vowed to reform their system of tax collections to have an agreed figure per shop. He threatened its members of their positions in case anyone is to add up the agreed figure during operations.
“Let the rate be taken the way it is officially agreed, if it is 100,000 if it is 50,000, let it be so, no body should add his/her own money. From today onwards, if we get somebody adding more money, we will have theatre for you, …we will take away your position,” he said.