SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Sudan Tribune - U.S. Congress links Sudan’s debt relief to fiscal transparency of security services
Sudan Tribune reports that US Congress has introduced a bill to support the democratic transition in Sudan, which links Sudan’s foreign debt relief to the full control of the civilian government over the finances and assets of the security and intelligence services.
The bill authorises assistance for development programmes, supports debt relief and multilateral financing from international financial institutions, provided that governance and fiscal transparency benchmarks are met.
The transitional government must:
· Establish that the security and intelligence services are no longer involved in the "illicit trade in mineral resources, including petroleum and gold".
· Identify the shareholdings in all companies held or managed by the security and intelligence services, and transfer them to a public civilian entity.
· Develop a "transparent budget that includes all expenditures related to the security and intelligence services.”
· Establish and implement a methodology to recover the state assets and profits transferred to the National Congress Party.