Eastern Equatoria State Minister of Trade and Industry in South Sudan, calls on women to have diversity in their business ideas, rather than brewing alcohol only.
Ruth Marios Vuga encourages them to focus on businesses such as selling of essential commodities like sugar, flour and rice.
“There are people asking if we have banned alcohol. How will the women surviving on alcohol live and support their children? I would like to say in business, you need to change your ideas. From today if you are selling alcohol, you may sell rice, you may sell sugar, you may sell flour or you may sell something else. This tim, the government wants to work together with youths and women for development. If there is peace, there will be development. We should support our young youths to maintain the peace existing now, there will be no peace coming from outside, the peace is within”.
The Minister discloses that, the Ministry in collaboration with the Ministry of Cooperative pledges to support women through cooperatives or associations.
“We in the ministry of trade, we have the state cooperative and with me is the ministry of cooperative and also investment commission, we need to bring you sugar, flour, cooking oil at affordable price, we brought but are still in the store, we are still waiting for the rest of the things on the way. If it arrives, we will open. We need to register women in business, we need to reduce the prices in the market, you will come and buy at low price, but you need to have cooperatives, there should be women cooperative, youths cooperative that will join us together, you will come in group and open business and the government will support you”.
In a related story, Marios warns traders in Torit against unnecessary increase of prices in the market.
This was a respond to some citizens who raised concerns after the prices of meat increased from 1400 SSP to 2000 SSP in Torit Market.
“Actually the issue of meat, I got a phone very early at six O’clock, and I talked and say we will have a meeting, chambers of commerce, security and our ministry so that we talk upon the matter of meat and the butchers, mayor so that we talk upon the matter of increasing price for meat, there is no rule for someone to increase price alone, we need to sit down to agree together and we come up with a resolution. Without any resolution, no price will be increased”.
An official in the Local Government Office, Madalina Ihisa, says it was necessary to increase the prices of meat because the cows are purchased from the State.
“Our meat comes from Tirangole, from Ikotos, from Lopit from Peri. Why has the meat increased to two thousand? We are not happy as women, we are taking care of orphans, all our men are dead, first ask how many women have husbands here, may be only four, but if to ask how many loss, we are many, this terrible, in this market, the meat price is to be reduce, the meats are brought from near here”.
The speakers made the remarks during a workshop on Capacity Building on Advocacy skills training, organized by UNMISS Gender Unit in Collaboration with the State Ministry of Gender Child and Social Welfare.