The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation has said efforts are in place to ensure that the Ugandan government adheres to the visa waiver agreement it reached with the South Sudan government last month.
The assurance came after citizens from both countries accused the immigration officers on each side of the illegal collection of money from the travelers despite the lifting of visa restrictions.
When contacted, South Sudan’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Deng Dau Deng, said they had agreed with the Ugandan side to enable the implementation of free visa movement to go smoothly.
“In the spirit of bilateral relations and spirit of the neighborhood, the visa waiver intension is to facilitate the citizens of our countries to access these countries without difficulties,” Deng said.
He explained that visa waiver was being regulated by immigration rules and regulations, saying if a citizen is traveling to those neighboring countries, the reasons, timeframe, and objectives of the travels should be specified clearly. These should indicate whether the person will spend only three weeks or one month.
‘‘We are engaging our immigrations so that they may be able to give awareness to our citizens about the free visa movement.
‘‘Therefore, from our side, those who are still charging the citizens are been warned under the South Sudan national laws,’’ he warned.
On Tuesday, The City Review interviewed three South Sudanese who traveled to Uganda narrated how they were subjected to extortionist charges under the garb of ‘paying for the extended stay’.
“It is true, we have been receiving complaints from our citizens about the tricks that our brothers and sisters from Uganda are doing to them, where many people said they are had been given two-days stay after which if you want to extend it required payment,” Deng said.
He said the regulated stay was malpractice by the Ugandan authorities which ought to be condemned.
“I believe it is done out of the agreement and has been carried by some individuals. It is case by case which our officers are [also] still attempting to get money from the travelers, which is wrong, and not in the spirit of the agreement,” he added.
The government official what had happened could be attributed to the challenges which have affected the process, otherwise, everything is on track.
However, Deng urged citizens to be very vigilant and careful whenever the immigration officers are clearing their documents especially giving the number of days not mentioned by the travelers.
“We understand, it is a very big challenge but to help you now, you need to be mindful and careful to make sure the days they give you responded with what you request for,” he stated.