Sudanese Pound hits record lows against world currencies - Committee to investigate El Fakhir

The rate of the Sudanese Pound (SDG) is trading at all-time lows on the streets of Khartoum. There is no end in sight for the ongoing economic malaise in the country – largely a legacy of the corruption and mismanagement by the deposed Al Bashir regime – that has led to unrelenting price hikes for consumer goods, and widespread shortages of bare essentials such as bread. Read more.

Sudanese Pound hits record lows against world currencies

Report from and by Radio Dabanga.org

Dated Thursday 27 February 2020

Photo: A man waits for his money at currency exchange brokerage in Khartoum (Photo: ASHRAF SHAZLY / AFP)

(KHARTOUM) - On Wednesday [Feb 26], traders in Khartoum were asking SDG 107 for one US Dollar (USD) the highest cost for the greenback to date. By comparison, today’s official daily middle US Dollar rate quoted by the Central Bank of Sudan (CBoS) is SDG 54.63.

According to dealers who spoke to Radio Dabanga, Pound Sterling (GBP) reached SDG 136.74 on the parallel market, while the price of the Euro reached SDG 114.48. Saudi Riyal (SAR) reached SDG 28.26 on, while the Emirati Dirham (AED) reached SDG 29.04, and the Qatari Riyal (QAR) trades for SDG 29.07.

The head of the Flour and Fuel Distribution Unit in South Darfur announced that the quantities of flour available in the state do not exceed 3,000 50 kg sacks, which is not enough for a day.

He attributed this to the departure of three of the five companies that supplied flour to the state.

In a meeting with the flour distribution mechanism on Tuesday, the acting governor of the state, Maj Gen Hashim Khaled, harshly criticised the mechanism for not notifying him earlier of the seriousness and exacerbation of the state’s bread flour crisis.

Rising commodity prices

Members of the Sudanese Professionals Association of the Ministry of Finance in Kassala accused the state government of causing the price of 50 kg bag of sugar to rise from SDG 1,850 ($33.86*) to SDG 3,100 ($56.74).

In a statement, she stated that the state’s Ministry of Finance has sold a large amount of subsidised sugar, estimated at 32,000 sacks to merchants, expecting increase in sugar prices due to this procedure and demanded the governor of the state to direct the return of the sugar sold to the merchants immediately so that it can go to the target citizen in the specified manner and the specified price, threatening to follow the legal means to return it.

They also demanded the formation of an investigation committee to find out those responsible administratively for this administrative corruption that occurred and hold them accountable immediately.

As reported by Radio Dabanga on February 13, Sudan’s Minister of Industry and Trade Madani Abbas, has apologised to the Sudanese people for the lack of a solution to the bread shortage. He affirmed the state’s commitment to continue subsidising bread until the end of the transitional period. The government currently subsidises a sack of flour by more than SDG 1,600 ($30).

Economists

In recent days, independent economic experts have cited the instability of the Dollar exchange rate and subsidies as major factors in Sudan’s economic crisis.

In an interview with Radio Dabanga, Professor Hamid Eltigani, economist and Head of the Department of Public Policy and Administration at the American University in Cairo.

He describes the economic situation as “dangerous”. He warns against “an explosion in the country” in case the economic crisis is not dealt with. He calls for a gradual lifting of subsidies on petrol and diesel, and normalisation of the exchange rate between the Sudanese Pound and the US Dollar.

In an interview with Radio Dabanga this week, former banker and civil society activist Hafiz Ismail, who is a leading member of the Sudanese panel of experts, says that “the current economic crisis is attributable to the lack of vision and the absence of an economic plan to manage the crisis”.

Ismail warns of economic collapse in the country due to the rapid deterioration in value of the Sudanese Pound “around the clock”. He expressed concern that the economic failure would “neutralise the public towards the government and increase the growing rejectionist trend“.

The analyst told Radio Dabanga that the Sudanese economy suffers from two distortions, namely commodity subsidy and multiple [Central Bank of Sudan, customs, and unofficial] exchange rates, and calls “for the development of policies to mitigate harm to the most affected groups through social security networks in preparation for the lifting of subsidies”.

In a separate interview with Radio Dabanga, Professor Hamid Eltigani, economist and Head of the Department of Public Policy and Administration at the American University in Cairo.

He describes the economic situation as “dangerous”. He warns against “an explosion in the country” in case the economic crisis is not dealt with. He calls for a gradual lifting of subsidies on petrol and diesel, and normalisation of the exchange rate between the Sudanese Pound and the US Dollar.

* USD 1 = SDG 54.63 at the time of publishing this article. As effective foreign exchange rates can vary in Sudan, Radio Dabanga bases all SDG currency conversions on the daily middle US Dollar rate quoted by the Central Bank of Sudan (CBoS).

View Original: https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/all-news/article/sudanese-pound-hits-record-lows-against-hard-currencies

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Sudanese Pound hits new low as US Dollar and gold prices soar

Sudan: Economist: Plunging Sudanese Pound leading to economic collapse

A leading economic analyst has called for a programme to stabilise commodity prices and the US Dollar exchange rate in Sudan, warning of economic collapse and loss of public confidence in the transitional government. Read more.

Economist: Plunging Sudanese Pound leading to economic collapse

Report from Radio Dabanga.org

Dated Tuesday 25 February 2020

Former banker and civil society activist Hafiz Ismail, who is a leading member of the Sudanese panel of experts, says in a new interview with Radio Dabanga, that “the current economic crisis is attributable to the lack of vision and the absence of an economic plan to manage the crisis”.

Ismail warns of economic collapse in the country due to the rapid deterioration in value of the Sudanese Pound “around the clock”. He expressed concern that the economic failure would “neutralise the public towards the government and increase the growing rejectionist trend”.

The analyst told Radio Dabanga that the Sudanese economy suffers from two distortions, namely commodity subsidy and multiple [Central Bank of Sudan, customs, and unofficial] exchange rates, and calls “for the development of policies to mitigate harm to the most affected groups through social security networks in preparation for the lifting of subsidies”.

Ismail expressed concern that social security in Sudan is being obstructed by what he described “a corruption machine”, and stressed the need to start fighting corruption, while identifying clear mechanisms to implement the programme.

He calls for a unified currency exchange rate to curb the accelerating deterioration of the Pound. He called on the government to accelerate the changes of bank managements and the departments of Ministry of Finance at all levels, in addition to comprehensive tax reform to prevent tax evasion.

The former banker also stressed the need “to focus on investment in agriculture as a sustainable resource”, and “the need for the state to dominate the gold sector as a public resource, legalise prospecting, and allocate 50 per cent of production to the state with an appropriate proportion to be allocated to exploration areas”.

As reported by Radio Dabanga on February 9, Sudan’s Anti-Corruption Committee has dissolved the administrative board of the Central Bank of Sudan (CBoS) and 11 other banks and dismissed nine bank managers with alleged links to the deposed Al Bashir regime. The decision also dissolves nine administrative boards of directors of corporations, and removal of a number of directors of other institutions.

Sudan’s Anti-Corruption Committee (The Empowerment Elimination, Anti-Corruption, and Funds Recovery Committee) has issued a decision to form sub-committees in all states to be chaired by the governor of each state.

View Original: https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/all-news/article/economist-plunging-sudanese-pound-leading-to-economic-collapse

Sudan: Bread subsidy to continue during the transition - 1 person killed by security forces in Kosti

BBC News report by Mary Harper,

Africa editor, BBC World Service

Dated Wednesday 12 February 2020

Sudan: Bread subsidy to continue

Sudan says it will continue to subsidise the price of bread during the transition period.

Trade Minister Madani Abbas Madani said the country had sufficient wheat reserves to last until May.

On Tuesday, there were large protests in the capital, Khartoum, and other towns against shortages of bread and fuel.

There are reports that one person was killed by the security forces in the town of Kosti.

Demonstrations in 2018 about the rising cost of bread and other essentials escalated into the mass political protests that led to the downfall of President Omar al-Bashir last April.

View Original: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/cq23pdgvgm8t/sudan

Sudan: Needs $8B in foreign aid over next 2 years - Plus $2B of foreign reserves deposits in next 3 months

Article from Africa News.com

Written by Reuters

Dated Sunday 25 August 2019

Sudan needs $8 billion in aid to rebuild economy

Sudan needs $8 billion in foreign aid over the next two years to cover its import bill and help rebuild its ravaged economy after months of political turmoil, its new prime minister said on Saturday.

Abdalla Hamdok, sworn in three days earlier to head a transitional government after the ousting of veteran leader Omar al-Bashir, said up to another $2 billion of foreign reserves deposits were needed in the next three months to halt a fall in the currency.

The 61-year-old economist, who has worked for the U.N. Economic Commission for Africa, said he had started talks with the IMF and the World Bank to discuss restructuring Sudan’s crippling debt, and had approached friendly nations and funding bodies about the aid.

Mounting public anger over shortages of food, fuel and hard currency triggered mass demonstrations that eventually forced Bashir from power in April.

“We are in communication to achieve this,” Hamdok said in his first interview with a foreign media outlet. “The foreign reserves in the central bank are weak and very low.”

“However,” he said, “there won’t be a forced prescription from the IMF or the World Bank on Sudan.”

On the politically tricky topic of government subsidies for bread, fuel, electricity and medicine, Hamdok said any changes would only be made after “deep discussions” with the people.

“The people are the ones who will make the decision on this issue,” he said.

He also said he had been talking with the United States to remove Sudan from its list of state sponsors of terrorism – a designation which has left Khartoum isolated from most of the international financial system since 1993.

There was no immediate comment from the U.S. government, the IMF or the World Bank.

SOURCE: https://www.africanews.com/2019/08/25/sudan-needs-8-billion-in-aid-to-rebuild-economy/