SUDAN NEWS ALERT: AP – Sudan’s Cabinet sworn in, 1st since al-Bashir ouster

9/9/19: AP – Sudan’s Cabinet sworn in, 1st since al-Bashir ouster

 AP reports that Sudan has sworn in its first Cabinet since the military ousted autocratic President Omar al-Bashir in April.

 Eighteen Cabinet ministers were sworn in before the country’s top judge, Babiker Abbas, as well as Prime MInister Abdalla Hamdok and Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, the head of the sovereign council. Hamdok is still negotiating with the pro-democracy movement over the last two ministerial posts to complete his 20-member Cabinet.

 Burhan headed a joint ceremonial meeting of the Cabinet and the sovereign council.

 The culture and information minister, Faisal Saleh, said that both bodies “share responsibility for achieving the targets ... and the whole world is watching” their performance.

 Finance Minister Ibrahim Elbadawi, who is a former World Bank economist, said the governing bodies would carry out “urgent measures” in the first 200 days to “restructure the budget, control prices and tackle youth unemployment.”