Day: May 16, 2021

May 16, 2021(KHARTOUM) – Sudanese government delegation arrived in the French capital on Sunday to participate in the Paris Conference on supporting the democratic transition in Sudan which will begin on Monday.

The delegation includes Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok and the Head of the Transitional Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. Both arrived on separate flights in Paris which is still under health measures in response to the COVID pandemic.

The conference which Monday, includes two parts, the first on Monday dedicated Sudan’s debt relief as the government aims to get cancellation of $50 billion at least.

On Tuesday, there will be a conference for international investment in Sudan organized with the French businessmen federation MEDEF.

In statements at Khartoum airport before arriving in Paris, Foreign Minister Mariam al-Mahdi said that the conference is crucial for a successful transition in Sudan, adding it is the largest international forum through to present the country to the world after the collapse of the former regime and its removal from the list of countries supporting terrorism.

Al-Mahdi emphasized that the conference is also seen as the inauguration of Sudan’s return to the international community after its long international isolation due to the policies of the ousted regime.

She added that the conference will deal with basic issues that concern Sudan, including debt relief after Sudan fulfilled all its obligations and implemented economic reforms in accordance with the requirements of the international financial institutions.

The transitional government will present dozens of projects in various sectors including agriculture, livestock, mining, communications and internet, energy and infrastructure.

The President of the Sovereign Council and the Prime Minister will address the conference, in which the French President and a number of heads of state and government, regional and international organizations will participate.

Several foreign leaders are expected to take part in the conference including Presidents of Egypt and Ethiopia.

Also, the two leaders and the foreign minister will hold bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the conference.

Sudan’s debts amount to more than $ 60 billion. With the support of the U.S. and the UK, the East African nation has recently paid off its debts to the World Bank and the African Development Bank.

The transitional government implemented harsh economic reforms that included lifting subsidies on fuel, bread and electricity, and floating the exchange rate of the national currency.

 

Source: Sudan Tribune

May 16, 2021 (JUBA) – South Sudan is stuck with more than 126,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines due to low turn up of people who show up to receive the COVID-19 doses, a health official said.

“In terms of vaccination, we are still at a low point. As per Saturday the total number of people so far vaccinated is 6,403. This shows that we still have over 126,000 doses to be administered,” Richard Lako, Covid-19 Incident Manager in the Ministry of Health said on Sunday.

According to the country’s health ministry, plans are currently underway to vaccinate at least 2.4 million people out of the estimated population of 12 million.

Lako said the ministry has decided to extend the vaccination across the 10 states to enable more people receive the Covid-19 vaccine.

He urged the public to continue to adhere to the preventive health guidelines, saying there is a rise in cases of the disease in the region.

In March, South Sudan received 132,000 doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines from the COVAX facility and is expected to receive up to 732,000 in the first six months of the year.

 

Source: Sudan Tribune

May 16, 2021 (KHARTOUM) – The Alliance of Civil Society Forces (ACSF) in Sudan has praised the resignation of a member of the Sovereign Council, Aisha Musa, in protest of the killing of two youth by soldiers in the vicinity of the army headquarters last week.

Musa was nominated for the Sovereign Council by the ASCF, which part of the ruling Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC).

Following the murder of the two youth, there were unconfirmed press reports about the resignation of the female member of the Sovereign Council but there is no official confirmation until now.

Also, The Sudan Tribune sought in vain to reach Musa despite the repeated calls.

“We salute the stance of Aisha Musa a,d the submission of her resounding resignation from the membership of the Sovereign Council,” said the alliance in a statement on Sunday.

The ACSF pointed out that the resignation was an expression of its rejection of “all forms of killing and oppression that our people are facing by the transitional power structures.”

On Sunday, the head of the transitional Council handed over to the Attorney General a report by the Sudanese military justice about the bloody attack on the peaceful protesters at the end of a rally to commemorate the killing of over 200 protesters two years ago by the security forces.

The army also handed over 7 militaries involved directly in the shooting and 92 others suspected by the army of playing a role in the deliberate attack.

The transitional cabinet has been facing huge criticism for the slow pace of the investigation committee which failed to produce a report about its findings on the attack on protesters outside the army headquarters on 3 June 2019.

The ACSF’s statement called for the resignation of all the FFC members from the Sovereign Council. Also, it called for holding the military component responsible for the killing of civilians on 11 May 2021.

The alliance also called on Prime Minister Hamdok to dismiss the heads of the relevant security and executive agencies, amend the existing legislation and adopt a new law for the security apparatus that protects public freedoms.

On May 12, the Council of Ministers called on the Ministry of Justice to finalize a draft law on the Internal Security Agency and hold wide consultations about it.

Also, the government summoned the investigation committee into the 2019 attack on the sit-in to report about its findings and said it would give it a time frame by which it has to complete its task.

 

Source: Sudan Tribune