Juba City Council: Never Control Prices, Control Stray Dogs
By Malith Alier, Juba, South Sudan
December 2, 2015 (SSB) —- The period from 2012 to perhaps 2016 has been and will be a tumultuous period for this country. The closure of the oil pipeline and destruction of war are causes of the present economic mayhem. To say the least, this period was a rude shock that flew in the face of high expectations exhibited by the masses during 2011 independence celebration.
It was anticipated that the independence brings freedom, economic prosperity and self-reliance to the common folk.
The past and the current economic mayhem caused some levels of government to come up with desperate measures including subsidising everything in the hope that this can help the poor. At some points the various governmental institutions mulled price controls and on many occasions pleaded with the few manufacturers we have not to increase prices of basic goods only to be made with scepticism and indirect rejection.
One institution that desperately attempted to ask the bottled water manufacturers in the past to resort to 2005 prices was Juba City Council (JCC). The City Council thought that it was helping the thirsty people of Juba however in vain. Juba city is sometimes hot, sometimes humid for about half calendar year.
Price controls never work anywhere in the world. The forces of demand and supply are the only determinants of fair prices.
The moment anybody attempts to institute price control artificially, guess what happens, goods and services disappear and people suffer more. In some cases the providers of goods and services may stop production altogether.
Juba city council is not new to this price control thing. It tried with bottled water but failed miserably.
It is at it again with water tankers and bread bakers but will suffer the same fate. Small (500ml) and big (1500ml) bottles of water now sell at SSP 3 and SSP 5 respectively at kiosks as opposed to SSP1 and SSP2 previously. It is even worse at big hotels, where a small bottle of 500 ml sells for SSP 10.
The other area where price control failed miserably is foreign currency market. US Dollar was fixed at SSP2.96 by the Central Bank of South Sudan (BSS). What happened here should have been a good lesson for all.
There are two areas where the city can do better. It should ensure quantity and quality controls are in place regardless of pricing. The bakers must adhere to the specified 58-60g size of bread specified by the Council. Bakers must also indicate the expiry date of their stuff.
It should farther ensure that the water quality is the primary concern of the suppliers. Many suppliers just fetch water directly from the Nile and rush to consumers who have no knowledge of what lurks in the water. The water from the Nile has impurities and water borne dangerous disease victors.
It is in the interest of Jubans that The Juba City Council controls stray dogs, not market prices.
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