The Mayor of Juba City Council Michael Allah-Jabu Lado claimed that the prices of commodities in Juba markets decreased over the Christmas period, making it affordable for residents to buy clothes and food for their children and families.

Allah-Jabu made the comment during a press conference conducted at his office last week to inform the public about the celebration and his new year’s wishes to the citizens and council’s plans for 2022.

The mayor said the fall in prices of commodities in the markets was due to a meeting which was organised by his administration and traders to discuss how they could work together for the common interest of Juba residents.

 “This did not happen just like that but because we held a meeting with our traders, almost a hundred of them on how the administration of Juba City Council can cooperate with them. We also stopped the implementation of the public order during this period of Christmas so that citizens should be able to afford the prices in the market,” he said.

“My appreciation goes to all traders in Juba because they stood with us during Christmas eve and were able to reduce prices of commodities in the markets. That is why our local populations were able to purchase things in the market at affordable prices. They were able to buy clothes for their children and also food,” he told the traders.

The mayor stated that he has suspended the implementation of the Juba City Council public order, which requires council workers to go to the markets on a daily basis and collect money from traders.

 “I tried to ask from those who worked here, the director of administration and other directors, we found there was nothing of that kind, actually. So I said whether it is there or not; let it stop,” said Allah-Jabu.

Allah-Jabu claimed that when he took the oath of office, he directed the staff of Juba City Council to approach traders for taxes and fines according to the schedule set out in the bylaws of the city council.

He stated that they did not perform market assessments yet, but that based on what he heard from the public, the majority of them stated that market prices have decreased.

The mayor said that the meeting with the traders was essential in lowering prices in all the markets in the city.

“We asked the traders to occasion their goods, particularly old stock, during the holiday season before it expired and lower prices including prices for clothes.”

Last December, Morris Madut Kon, the head of the department of economics at the University of Juba, said that prices had risen in the last 11 months of 2021 but remained stable and that he hoped that real GDP growth for the financial year 2021/2022 would climb by 1 per cent. This is based on the International Monitoring Fund’s (IMF) focus, which would boost oil prices globally.

 “I believe that towards the middle of 2022, there will be a general stabilisation of prices because you have seen the current minister of finance has really continued with the reforms already started by his predecessors. I believe if he continues implementing such reforms, then we will for sure experience some growth into the New Year given the relatively increasing oil prices which right now stand at about $76.5 per barrel,” he said.

However, in early December, the national Minister of Finance, Agak Achuil Lual, stated that the government’s reform strategy on public financial management had considerably contributed to harmonising the exchange rate, strengthening the South Sudanese pounds and slowing inflation.