Foreign-owned cars entering South Sudan to pay annual tracking sh370,000

NIMULE - The South Sudanese government has directed all vehicles entering South Sudan through the Nimule border to acquire a digital border security detail at an annual cost of $100 (sh370,000). 

The move gets into effect on August 1 and vehicle owners will also pay a control fee of $60 (sh230,000) every time they go through the entry gate. 

A statement released by Lt. Gen. James Ruot Wuor Tiap, the Assistant Inspector General of Traffic Police in the South Sudan National Police Services, said the Directorate of Traffic Police was implementing automated data collection analysis, and digital tracking to among others identify vehicles and their occupants. 

“The Ministry of Interior, Directorate of Traffic Police is enhancing security measures at its border checkpoints. In particular, the Directorate of Traffic Police is implementing automated data collection and analysis, digital tagging and license plate recognition systems to identify the vehicles and their occupants, arriving and departing from South Sudan,” Tiap stated. 

He assured that the Ministry of Interior and Directorate of Traffic Police will also continue to improve border security preventing criminals from crossing the borders undetected. 

“All traffic police at Nimule border are hereby directed to ensure compliance by all vehicles entering South Sudan by August 1, 2022,” Tiap directed. 

If implemented, South Sudan will become the first country within the region to implement the digital car tracking system. 

In July last year the Minister of Security Maj. Gen. Jim Muhwezi announced that Government would re-register all number plates for every public and private vehicle, and water vessel also including Boda Bodas for purposes of security. 

The number plates were supposed to be integrated with car trackers, enabling the government to always monitor the movement of vehicles, and motorcycles among others. 

The Government even signed a 10-year agreement with a Russian firm known as M/S Joint-stock global systems under the project dubbed intelligent transport monitoring system. 

M/S Joint-stock global systems were supposed to insert a monitoring system with a digital system in each number plate, enabling communication between the monitor in the car and the tracking center. However, it, later on, emerged that the Company awarded a 10-year digital tracking contract was facing bankruptcy in Russia. 

The charging of fees for foreign cars entering a country is not new. For a foreign-registered vehicle to move on a road in Uganda for instance, it must bear a Temporary Road License acquired at the point of entry. 

Any such vehicle that does not bear the license is deemed to have been smuggled into the country, particularly crossing the border at ungazetted crossing points.