KAMPALA, April 6 (Xinhua) -- The Ugandan government has resolved to pay traders who made losses arising from the insurgency in neighboring South Sudan.
David Bahati, minister of state for planning, said late on Thursday that government will pay out a total of 41 million U.S. dollars to the traders after a tight verification process.
"We are working on the framework which will be used to pay the traders. Parliament directed that we should first verify the numbers before we can start paying them," Bahati said.
He said the money will be paid to companies and individuals who supplied the government of South Sudan but were not paid.
Bahati said the money would later be reimbursed to Uganda by the South Sudan government under a bilateral agreement.
Fighting broke out between troops loyal to South Sudanese President Salva Kiir and his then deputy Riek Machar in late 2013.
Business was interrupted between Uganda and South Sudan with many traders registering losses. Traders have since been petitioning the Ugandan government to have their money paid.
