Day: May 5, 2022

• In West Africa, staple commodity prices increased and remained significantly above last year and the five-year averages. Reduced production and insecurity-related disruptions in the Sahel, strong export demand in coastal countries, cross-border trade restrictions across the region, lingering COVID-19 impacts, higher international prices, surging transport costs, and depreciation of currencies were the main driving factors behind these atypically high price levels. (Page 3)

• In East Africa, price trends were mixed, increasing in Uganda, Sudan, and parts of Ethiopia due to tightening stocks from below-average production and insecurity, which negatively affected market functionality. Prices for both staple foods and livestock remained significantly above last year and the five-year averages, particularly for for Sudan, southern Somalia, and Southern Ethiopia due to below-average production, high international wheat and flour prices, high transportation costs, local currency depreciation, and inflation. Livestock prices remained stable but elevated in many markets due to high input costs. (Page 4)

• In Southern Africa, staple commodity prices increased seasonally across most markets. The impacts of surging global food and fuel prices put upward pressure on prices, while the relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions eased constraints on supply. Below-average rainfall was recorded across most of the region. Currency depreciation continued also across much of the region. (Page 5)

• In Central America, markets were adequately supplied and operated normally. Maize prices increased seasonally whereas beans and rice prices were stable. In Haiti, markets were well-supplied and operated normally except in Port-au-Prince due to civil insecurity. Local and imported products increased due to seasonality and local currency depreciation. (Page 6)

• In Central Asia, food prices remained stable in March, while Yemen experienced price increases due to disrupted trade with Russia and Ukraine. Wheat trade across the region, notably in Kazakhstan, was impacted by a Russian export ban on all cereals, anticipating a shortage in downstream markets. Currency trends across the region were divergent. In Yemen, the price of diesel spiked while markets shift to alternative sources of food imports. (Page 7)

• **International **staple food markets are well supplied. Maize and wheat prices increased due to geopolitical tensions and higher freight and fuel costs. (Figure 2). Government efforts to mitigate these risks will be essential to monitor.

Source: Famine Early Warning System Network

• Maize grain remained the most traded commodity in the region in the first quarter of 2022 between January and March as shown in Figure 1. Wheat and maize flour surpassed dry beans as the second and third most traded commodities in the region while, rice, sugar, and sorghum were significantly traded.

• Regional trade in maize, sorghum, rice, and dry beans was above average driven by above-average prices in deficit countries including Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Somalia, South Sudan,

Eritrea, and Djibouti which attracted supplies from the main surplus countries of Tanzania, Uganda, and Ethiopia.

• The prices of staple food commodities followed seasonal patterns but were elevated because of below-average harvest, supported by high inflation as COVID-related pent-up demand drove up prices, in addition to high oil, wheat, and flour prices due to the Ukraine-Russia conflict.

• Livestock trade between Ethiopia and Somalia declined because of a prolonged drought that reduced the number of quality animals in the market, but trade increased between Somalia and Kenya due to demand by large ranches for animal fattening for the April-to-July religious festivities.

Source: World Food Programme

The Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union on Wednesday called on the Sudanese military authorities to create an environment conducive to dialogue in the country ahead of an intra-Sudanese process.

The UNITAMS, African Union and IGAD plan to launch a political process in mid-May to restore the constitutional order in Sudan after a coup d’etat that paused political and economic reforms carried out by a transitional government formed in 2019.

In a statement dealing with the unconstitutional change of government in Sudan, Burkina Faso, Chad, Guinea, and Mali, the PSC welcomed the efforts by the tripartite mechanism to hold an inter-Sudanese dialogue to restore the constitutional order in the country and expressed its commitment to support the process.

The 15-member body “calls on all stakeholders to place the supreme interest of Sudan above all else and commit to creating a conducive environment for the political transition process,” reads the statement.

The Council further urged to end violence, respect the right of peaceful assembly and end arbitrary arrests. Also, they called to release all political detainees to demonstrate goodwill in support of the intra-Sudanese consultations and transparent political transition;

The PSC, last October, suspended Sudan’s membership in the regional organisation as a result of a coup d’etat.

To tighten their grip on power, the military used excessive force against anti-coup protests killing over one hundred people, detained political leaders and activists and imposed a state of emergency to make use of exceptional powers.

The statement underscored the adverse socio-economic effects of the coup on the lives of ordinary Sudanese and encouraged the military to demonstrate a genuine commitment to the political process.

The Council “Appeals to the Sudanese authorities to consider a full lifting of the state of emergency to demonstrate the country’s readiness to return to normalcy,” stressed the statement0

On 28-29 April, special envoys from the European Union, France Germany, Norway, the UK and the USA were in Khartoum to encourage the military leaders to end political repression and take the required measures paving the way for the intra-Sudanese process.

They also stressed that the resumption of international financial and economic support to Sudan would resume only after the restoration of the constitutional order.

The head of the Sovereign Council and coup leader Abdel Fatah al-Burhan is expected to address the nation in the coming days to announce a series of measures related to the current political stalemate in the country.

Source: Sudan Tribune

South Sudan presidential spokesman, Ateny Wek Ateny has warned against undermining President Salva Kiir, denying allegations that the latter is an “alcoholic”.

Ateny, in a statement issued Wednesday, said allegations were a “display of frustrations that should not have been allowed by responsible journalism to be aired out on a platform accessible to members of the public”.

“For public information, President Salva Kiir Mayardit is not alcoholic as suggested by Peter [Biar Ajak] and his group. Also, the president has never fired anyone or appointed anyone unknowingly or under the influence of alcohol whatsoever. He is always sober and does things to the best of his knowledge. The notion of him being under alcohol influence and that he is infirm, is malicious, farfetched and wanting to say the least,” he explained.

Ateny described Kiir as “a man of integrity, steadfast and resilient”.

The presidential spokesman was reacting to statement in which renowned South Sudanese activist, Peter Biar Ajak was quoted to have criticized Kiir.

Ajak, while appearing on a Kenyan television station, claimed Kiir could not speak at the funeral of ex-Kenyan leader Mwai Kibaki since he was “drunk”.

“We just finished. And here it is folks, the reason why Kiirdit [Kiir] could not address the gathering for the funeral of President Mwai Kibaki. He had a terrible hangover. The day before, he consumed an enormous amount of alcohol. The next day, he had a terrible headache. This combined with his ailing knees incapacitated him,” Ajak said during the televised interview.

He further added, “He [Kiir] could not walk, let alone address anyone”.

Ajak, a strong critic of Kiir, said it was not the first the South Sudanese leader absented himself from delivering a speech on important platforms or where he was expected to speak on behalf of the people of South Sudan.

He cited Kiir’s encounter with former United States President Barack Obama in 2012 another incident the same year at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Ateny, however, described the allegations labeled against Kiir as “rubbish”.

Sources at the presidency told Sudan Tribune that Kiir could not speak at Kibaki’s funeral service in Nairobi due to the poor quality of his voice and inability to stand for more than two minutes to deliver a message.

South Sudan’s Cabinet Affairs minister, Martin Elia Lomoru spoke on Kiir’s behalf.

Source: Sudan Tribune