news South Sudan should reduce checkpoints, regulate taxes SudanTribube.com by Bol Khan The number of checkpoints across South Sudan has had inestimably increased during the recent past—deferred civil war. This includes a number of both legal and illegal checkpoints unilaterally set-up; before or after 2018, in the former “Oppositions and Government controlled areas”. Despite the partial establishment of the RTGoNU in March 2020, such unilateral creations of checkpoints; a collection of excessive and illegal taxes continued along the River Nile and roads linking up ten (10) States as well as those checkpoints at South Sudan's borders with its neighbouring countries. In some places, you can find the distance between this and that checkpoint range is five to six kilometres or even less. For example, the number of checkpoints along the River Nile alone i.e. between Juba-Malakal is estimated to be over one hundred (100) checkpoints, plus now those that set-up also along Malakal-Renk or along Sobat, Zeraf, Bhar El Ghazel (in the Nile River's tributaries) as well as along the land. In some parts of the floods that affected the Greater Upper Nile, the canoeists paddling local people from one village to another are also being taxed. How many legal and illegal checkpoints (both along the rivers and on land) are there across South Sudan? Who is controlling those checkpoints, the RTGoNU? I think the RTGoNU is not in the one control. Because since it was partially formed in March 2020, I have never seen any practical sign that can show a unified call it revitalized Government is formed, at all levels. The way I see it, the responsibility of these checkpoints looks like is still in the hands of those certain cliques of the bigwigs and the allied sections of communities. Therefore, the RTGoNU is having no power or audacity since it was established to generate one unified policy that can regulate the creation of checkpoints; taxes and revenue collection at all levels of government or across South Sudan. So, the said same cliques and their allied sections of communities but within the government are the ones still very powerful than the R-TGoNU.