By Irene Kabakama
Trade between Uganda and South Sudan is set to improve. This follows the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) and the National Revenue Authority of South Sudan (NRA).
The agreement, which was signed yesterday at a meeting between URA’s Commissioner General John Musinguzi and a delegation from South Sudan, will facilitate cooperation and collaboration between the two entities in the discharge of their respective statutory obligations.
According to the MoU, URA and NRA will provide each other with assistance in digital transformation programs like RECTS, tax enforcement planning, information sharing, training, and benchmarks, among other things.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, His Excellency Simon Juach Deng, Ambassador of South Sudan to Uganda, said the MoU is formalizing the relationship that already exists between the two countries.
“Uganda is one of the neighbors that we are doing a lot of business with, and we have a lot to learn from them, more so from URA because they are ahead of us in revenue mobilization,” he said.
His remarks were reiterated by Musinguzi, who highlighted the collaborations that have happened between the two countries and thanked the NRA for the support accorded to the URA in cross-border trade.
“Thank you for supporting our joint efforts that have seen our countries create a conducive environment for fair and complaint business and as well fight vices like smuggling,” noted Musinguzi.
Athian Ding, the Commissioner General of the NRA, reassured the URA of their cooperation in the fight against the vice and said tighter border controls would be effected to mitigate it.
Early this year, URA and NRA signed a bilateral agreement where they resolved to implement joint border patrols and surveillance operations along the borderline with the aim of fighting smuggling, a vice that continues to eat into the revenues of both countries.
While South Sudan is one of Uganda’s largest trading partners in the region, trade between the two countries is marred by challenges including insecurity, smuggling, and strikes by truck drivers, among others.
Through agreements like this, both countries are able to forge ways around the challenges to ensure seamless flow of goods, which will ultimately grow their revenues.
