Elegu and Nimule one stop border post

Where the post is and why it matters

Elegu is in Amuru District on the Uganda side. Nimule is across the border in South Sudan ^7,3. Daily Monitor reported in 2018 that Elegu is a major crossing with the largest daily volumes of goods and people between the two countries ². Daily Monitor reported in February 2020 that 80 to 90 percent of South Sudan's merchandise passes through the Elegu and Nimule border points ⁵.

Eye Radio reported that South Sudan and Uganda signed an agreement in November 2016 to build border posts at Nimule and Elegu ⁴.

The Uganda side at Elegu

Eagle Online reported on 15 November 2018 that Trade Minister Amelia Kyambadde officiated at the technical handover of the Uganda side to the government ¹. Daily Monitor reported on 26 November 2018 that the post was handed to URA after three years of construction ².

Daily Monitor said TradeMark East Africa financed construction with support from the UK's DFID and others. Canada financed the integrated border management system and the Government of Uganda paid for land and VAT ². Eagle Online reported that Kyambadde thanked TradeMark East Africa, the European Union and the UK government ¹.

Eagle Online listed a freight building, a cargo verification building, a light vehicle inspection shade, a gate house, a power house and a waste treatment plant ¹. Daily Monitor listed warehouses, verification sheds, a truck parking yard and a scanner yard ². It said the post would work alongside the Uganda Electronic Single Window ².

Cost figures differ

Sources give different costs for the Elegu side. They are shown as reported and are not converted here.

The Nimule side

Eye Radio reported on 6 February 2020 that Vice President James Wani Igga officiated at the launch of the Nimule one stop border post ⁴. Daily Monitor reported that Kyambadde handed the key to Wani Igga and that South Sudan customs officials would manage the post ⁵. Both reports gave a cost of US$5 million funded by the UK through TradeMark East Africa ^4,5.

Eye Radio said the Nimule post has a parking yard for 150 cargo trucks, a cargo examination yard and an office block for customs, immigration, the Bureau of Standards, security agencies and the trade and health ministries ⁴.

The EastAfrican reported on 27 November 2020 that the post ran at a quarter of capacity. It said only police and army were present on the South Sudan side, and the Uganda side had customs, URA, UNBS, immigration and agriculture and health inspectors ³.

Traffic and trade figures

• A June 2013 baseline put crossing time at 59 hours 50 minutes from Elegu to Nimule, as reported in 2018 ².
• Daily traffic averaged 381 vehicles from Elegu to Nimule and 308 the other way, as reported in 2018 ².
• URA's Customs Commissioner Dickson Kateshumbwa said URA collected Shs3.6 billion a year from businesses using the point, as reported in November 2018 ¹.
• URA records showed about 200 trucks a day crossing into South Sudan, as reported in 2018 and 2020 ^1,3.
• Uganda's exports to South Sudan in 2018 were US$355.9 million per Daily Monitor and US$365.9 million per The Independent, which cited the Ministry of Trade. Both were reported in February 2020 ^5,6.
• Trade between the two countries was US$389 million in 2021, per a Bank of Uganda report cited by URA ⁷.

Audit rating and smuggling controls

Daily Monitor reported on 28 June 2024 that the Auditor General's special audit found Elegu OSBP consistently inefficient over the three years reviewed, 2020/21 to 2022/23 ⁸. The same report said Elegu is one of six border points where X-ray machines were installed, per Customs Commissioner Abel Kagumire ⁸. URA's response in the report covered scanners and valuation reviews across its posts, not Elegu by name ⁸.

A URA article, undated, reports that URA and South Sudan's National Revenue Authority signed a bilateral agreement at the Elegu one stop border post to curb cigarette smuggling and fuel round tripping ⁷. The deal covers joint patrols, quarterly joint border committees and a complaint desk at the Nimule and Elegu borders ⁷. It names six common areas, starting with Elegu and Nimule ⁷.