SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung – It’s the Economy (Too), Stupid!

25/3/2022: Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung – It’s the Economy (Too), Stupid!, by Muzan Alneel

Muzan Alneel, cofounder of the ISTiNAD think-tank, suggests that a Sustainable Development Commission proposed by the Resistance Committees implements economic transformation via industrialisation policies that produce the surplus value necessary to establish inclusive health, education, housing and employment systems in Sudan based on a people-centred approach that minimises public harm.

Industrialisation would alleviate the “curse” of the rentier economy, which Alneel attributes to Sudan’s instability. Alneel argues that the revenues generated from Sudan’s limited extractive resources require oppression and primarily benefit security forces and militias that dominate them - at the expense of national development.

Alneel adds that Sudanese civil society acknowledges the curse as the “root cause” of national issues, but it is not discussed in UN consultations, while the civilian component of the transitional government ignored proposals for alternatives in 2020.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Guardian - Number of people facing extreme hunger in Sudan predicted to double

25/3/2022: Guardian - Number of people facing extreme hunger in Sudan predicted to double, by Zeinab Mohammed Salih

The Guardian report that the number of severely hungry in Sudan could double by September 2022 to 18 million as a result of poor harvests, economic crisis, internal conflict and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to a joint statement by the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO).

Food prices have steeply risen, with sugar and bread almost doubling in two weeks and a litre of gasoline increasing from 320 SDG in November 2021 to 672 SDG this March 2022.

A farmer in North Kordofan, which is experiencing an influx of internally displaced persons, said he lost all his sorghum plants this season because the rains did not come, leaving locals to reduce their daily meals.

With about 50% of Sudanese wheat coming from Russia, disruption caused by the Ukraine invasion increased prices by 180% to $550 a tonne.

SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Radio Dabanga - Economist: 'Coronavirus will not affect Sudanese economy'

25/3/2020: Radio Dabanga - Economist: 'Coronavirus will not affect Sudanese economy'

 Professor Hamid Eltigani, an economist at the American University in Cairo, told Radio Dabanga that he does not expect the coronavirus pandemic to affect the Sudanese economy significantly, as the isolation of the Sudanese economy means it is not affected by global economic tremors.

 Eltigani suggests that the state may benefit from the crisis, as it may balance Sudan’s consumption and spending relative to its production and export, with the latter likely to increase. He also called for the government to obtain as much oil as possible at the current low prices.

 Eltigani further states that coronavirus will be contained in Khartoum, unless those coming from abroad travel into Sudan’s peripheral regions. Nonetheless, Eltigani notes that Sudanese expats may be unable to send assistance to their relatives in Sudan.

 Eltigani called for the creation of a national fund to support the Ministry of Health’s budget.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Reuters - Sudan frees thousands of prisoners as coronavirus precaution

25/3/2020: Reuters - Sudan frees thousands of prisoners as coronavirus precaution

 Reuters report that Sudan has released 4,217 prisoners as a precaution against the spread of coronavirus. A health ministry official said those freed had been tested for possible infections.

 Reuters state that the Sudanese health system is in a poor state after years without investment and an exodus of doctors to seek work in Gulf Arab countries.

 Reuters further note that Sudan has closed all its airports, ports and land crossings to mitigate the spread of coronavirus, with only humanitarian, commercial and technical support shipments excluded from the restrictions.