The Influence of Strategic Controls On Cross Border Trade in Jonglei State, Bor Town Municipality, South Sudan

Abstract

In South Sudan, strategic control is a crucial instrument for boosting cross-border trade. It contributes to the fair exchange of goods and services, which supports South Sudan's sustained economic growth. Numerous obstacles face local firms in South Sudan, such as expanded capacity, increased competition from new competitors, the danger of imports, and high production costs from electricity, imported clinker, and transportation. This study's main goal was to investigate how strategic control affects cross-border trade in South Sudan. The research specifically sought to accomplish the following goals: appraise the impact of surveillance control, analyze the impact of financial control, and assess the influence of premise control, implementation control, and investigation control on cross-border trade in South Sudan. In order to obtain detailed information from the staff of the Bor town municipality in Jonglei state, South Sudan, a descriptive survey methodology was used. The study's target population comprised 158 individuals who are employed at the Bor town Municipality in Jonglei State. Using simple random selection, 61 employees in the sample size were chosen at random to participate. Both structured and unstructured questions were included in the questionnaires used to collect the data. The statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) was utilized for data analysis, which includes descriptive statistics such as tables, charts, percentages, tabulations, means, and other measures of central tendencies. The study discovered the following: alignment of cross-border trade strategies with the overall business objectives significantly impacts the success of trade implementation; compliance with tax regulations and accurate tax reporting practices contribute to the financial control and transparency of cross-border trade operations in Jonglei State; efficiency in customs clearance processes positively contributes to the success of cross-border trade activities; and efficient compliance monitoring mechanisms play a crucial role in ensuring adherence to trade regulations and preventing violations in cross-border trade activities. The study concluded that successful cross-border trade operations in Jonglei State are positively impacted by efficient customs clearance procedures, and that effective compliance monitoring systems are essential for guaranteeing that trade laws are followed and averting infractions during cross-border trade operations in Jonglei State. The study suggests that governments should coordinate their policies to promote effective trade integration in order to support the efforts of cross-border traders. Encouraging and facilitating the policy-making process is essential, as is making sure the Customs Union continuously oversees how the policies are being implemented. If policymakers include cross-border commerce in their strategy, they will be better equipped to support their own economic empowerment and solidify their place as a prominent player in regional trade activities. The researcher recommends doing a comparable study across the EAC nations in order to determine the impact of strategic control on cross-border trade and to compare the results with those of Jonglei State.