By Ijoo Bosco
Officials in Torit municipality issued a directive requiring all fuel companies to lower their current selling prices of diesel and petrol to 5,700 South Sudanese pounds per litre.
The Director General of the State Ministry of Trade and Industry, Stephen Ihude, stated that this directive aims to alleviate the financial burden on ordinary citizens in Eastern Equatoria.
“What we discussed involved a review of fuel prices in the market. We have conducted reviews from time to time, adjusting prices either upward or downward. In this review, we found several key issues,” he said.
He said last year, they agreed that the fuel prices in the state should follow those in Juba with a variance of 200 South Sudanese pounds.
Currently, the prices in Juba range from a high of 6,200 to a low of 5,500 pounds, with the majority around 5,600 pounds.
In Torit, however, prices have reached 6,400 pounds, indicating that our fuel prices are now significantly higher than those in Juba.
This discrepancy is not acceptable, he said.
“We also discovered that, according to our information sources, fuel supply prices from Eldoret had been declining throughout the past year. Therefore, there is no justification for keeping fuel prices high here.
Additionally, the environment has become more conducive for business,” said Ihude.
Mr. Ihude further explained that the seasonal stakeholders review meeting decided to lower prices due to the state government’s removal of all illegal checkpoints.
He emphasized that the private sector acknowledged the elimination of many checkpoints in the state, though some illegal ones remain on the roads.
He noted that the reduction in checkpoints has decreased the delivery costs of fuel from the sources to the state, reinforcing the need to lower prices.
“Eastern Equatoria has successfully removed many checkpoints, and the private sector has confirmed that while very few remain, this has implications for costs. The delivery of fuel from the sources has become more efficient, leading to reduced supply costs,” he said.
“All these factors support our conclusion that fuel prices in Eastern Equatoria should be significantly lower than those in Juba or other states. Therefore, we decided to set the prices at 5,700 pounds per liter for both petrol and diesel going forward,” Ihude concluded.