By Hou Akot Hou
The governor of Northern Bahr El Ghazal State, Simon Uber Mawut, has revoked the collection of taxes from residents engaged in small-scale economic activities, such as selling vegetables, across the state.
Governor Uber explained that he aims to support the impoverished community and allow them to keep the meagre resources they earn to sustain themselves until the next harvest season in October.
“I would like to make it crystal clear that nobody (tax collector) should go and ask the vegetable sellers, for example, or even sellers of buckets of water, to pay pounds. This is because what they earn cannot afford them to buy what to put on the table,” said Uber Mawut.
The governor emphasized that this decision is part of his efforts to alleviate the economic distress experienced by the people due to the ongoing turmoil.
“I want to also say that this is something that the municipality or tax collector staff will disguise or loathe, but it is part of saving the people from misery, which is the economic turmoil that we are experiencing,” he continued.
Additionally, Uber announced the cancellation of the Aweil Town’s general cleaning day on Tuesdays, which was previously enacted by the previous governor.
The governor believes that maintaining the town’s cleanliness should be the responsibility of the municipal officials and should not be used as a day off for some working staff, which can disrupt other activities.
Uber also promised to reshuffle his government in the near future, as he believes that some of the officials are not cooperating with his administration.
He said that there are new faces who need to try their hands on the roles they see fit to help deliver the much-needed services to the people.