By Charles K Mark
South Sudan government is working to identify and map out opportunities to make the country an attractive destination for both foreign and domestic investors.
Senior government officials while speaking in a validation workshop on a one-stop shop for investment opportunities, put strong emphasis on addressing security concerns, reducing taxes, fighting corruption, and streamlining the registration process.
Vice President and Chairperson of the Economic Cluster, Dr. James Wani Igga, anticipate the importance to have strategic plans and formulate policies to enhance the county’s appeal to investors.
“Put security first and foremost, for without it there is nothing else that can be performed,” Igga said.
Dr. Igga stressed ensuring security as paramount, to lay a foundation for any meaningful investment.
Once the issue of insecurity is addressed, he urged partners to focus on supporting the development of the agriculture sector, which could then lead to industrialization.
Dr. Igga however raised concern about the high taxes imposed on potential investors, which often leads to frustration and discouragement.
To address this, he proposed granting investors a tax-free period of at least five years and reducing the overall tax burden.
“Investors must be allowed to have a tax-free period of at least for 5 years, and let the taxes be lessened,” Igga proclaimed.
Meanwhile, Dr. Dhieu Mathok Diing, the Minister of Investment, identified corruption as a significant obstacle to investment.
He pointed out that the proliferation of license-issuing bodies, including security agencies, leads to unnecessary bureaucracy and delays in obtaining operational certificates.
“For example, the security agencies, they are giving certificates to investors. And if you look around the region, it is not done anywhere in the region. Maybe they can issue a letter of no objection,” he wondered.
Dr. Mathok advocated for the establishment of a streamlined “one-stop shop” to simplify the registration process and reduce administrative burdens.
“Now there too many security organs for example you can get intelligence accrediting an investor and also CID doing the same thing which are the same arms of the government,” The minister reiterated.
Titus Osundina, the United Nations Development Program Country Resident Representative, highlighted three key areas that South Sudan should focus on to succeed in attracting investment.
“Data and statistic system, Parliamentary Capacity for Oversight and Strengthening of institutionalization of public investment progress,” he said.