The gov’t has been petitioned to revoke the permits of forestry firms in Kajo-Keji.

Members of the Kajo-Keji County legislative caucus in Central Equatoria are urging the state administration to revoke logging company licenses in the region.

Unknown gunmen apparently damaged a convoy of loggers’ cars in Kajo-Keji County more than a week ago. They comprise two tractors, five cranes, seven power shows, and five motorcycles.

According to reports, the incident happened near Kansuk when loggers hauling big trucks – some with Ugandan license plates – were ambushed.

According to reports, and a Eye Radio publication seen by NCMP, the assault killed two military and one civilian biker. The drivers’ fate is yet unknown.

14 members of the Kajo-Keji County legislative caucus denounced the burning of a fleet of vehicles and motorbikes in an effort to put an end to the persistence of disobedience against the demand to prohibit and cease logging.

“We urge on the state administration to suspend all logging company licenses and enforce the governor order to halt and avert any additional violence arising from irritation over the continued rejection of state regulations,” the MPs added.

This is because lawmakers said that after the assault on the truck, some members of the security forces attacked civilians in the neighborhood.

In an effort to halt deforestation and protect endangered tree species, the state administration issued an order in October 2020 prohibiting logging in all six counties.

This prompted the Kajo-keji County commissioner to issue the order, instructing firms currently logging in Kajo-keji to halt operations immediately.

According to economists, illicit logging persists in South Sudan’s densely forested regions bordering Northern Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

This is a frequent practice in Central Equatoria, Western Equatoria, and areas of Eastern Equatoria.

C4ADS, a Washington-based research organization, studied trade data in 2019 to establish the shipment of over 100,000 tons of South Sudanese teak from January 2018 to March 2019.

It discovered that because of corruption and a poorly regulated logging sector, the government, military, and other armed groups are profiting from South Sudan’s share of the worldwide teak trade, which is worth more than $500 million per year.