Ten years after independence, the world’s youngest country is home to an entrenched political economy of conflict premised on checkpoint taxation. Humanitarian aid is not exempt, reveals a major new mapping report by DIIS and IPIS. When South Sudan became independent ten years ago, oil revenues were supposed to fuel the economy of the world’s … Checkpoint economy: the political economy of checkpoints in South Sudan, ten years after independence Read More »

The report states that since independence in 2011, the number of checkpoints in South Sudan has nearly doubled while checkpoint taxes have increased 300 percent.

According to the findings, over the past two years, both IPIS and DIIS have mapped 319 checkpoints along major trade routes in South Sudan, of which 253 are roadblocks and 66 river checkpoints.

It states that government soldiers and civilian authorities control most of the checkpoints along overland routes, while the SPLA/M in opposition, led by Riek Machar, controls slightly more than half of the checkpoints along river routes, the White Nile, its branch the El Zeraf, and the Sobat.