Day: January 26, 2023

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Thursday paid a one-day working visit to Khartoum where he advised Sudanese political forces to solve problems without external interference.

The visit to the Sudanese capital was the first for the Ethiopian leader since border clashes between the two neighbours.

“I’m pleased to come back again and be among the wise and vibrant people of Sudan. My appreciation to General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan for the warm welcome,” Abiy said in a tweet after his arrival in Khartoum.

“Ethiopia continues to stand in solidarity with Sudan in their current self-led political process,” he stressed.

After a welcome at the Khartoum airport, al-Burhan and Ahmed held a meeting to discuss bilateral relations.

A joint communiqué released at the end of the visit said that the talks included the giant dam and the border dispute. The leaders reaffirmed the need to resolve it through establishment mechanisms.

The communiqué stressed the purpose of the one-day visit was to show solidarity and support for the government and people of Sudan as they exert efforts to reach an intra-Sudanese consensus to establish a smooth transitional period.

“Sudanese are capable of solving their internal problems,” stressed the statement issued at the end of the visit.

“The Ethiopian side expressed hope that the Sudanese reach an agreement to form a transitional civilian government and other institutions, paving the way towards elections at the end of the transition,” further said the statement.

The pro-democracy political groups led by the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) and the military leaders signed a framework agreement to restore a civilian government on December 5, 2022.

But two armed groups, signatories of the Juba peace agreement, and their allies of the Democratic Bloc oppose the process and seek to renegotiate the deal, which provides an end to the participation of the political forces in the transitional government.

The Ethiopian prime minister held separate meetings with the FFC leaders and the Democratic Bloc. He exhorted them to put aside their difference and find homegrown solutions.

The non-signatory groups prepare to travel to Cairo where they are invited by the Egyptian government for a seven-day meeting.

Also, Ahmed met with Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo “Hemetti” to discuss bilateral relations.

The Ethiopian leader met the members of the Trilateral Mechanism from the UN, the African Union and the IGAD who have been facilitating the political process in Sudan.

Source: Sudan Tribune

The Sudanese Teachers Committee, whose members have been participating in months of strike action, announced on Thursday that an agreement has been reached with the authorities in Khartoum. Most of their demands have been met, however, the main one concerning a rise in the minimum wage, will be dealt within due course.

In a press statement, the committee said that in a meeting with representatives of the Sovereignty Council and the Finance Ministry on Wednesday, it was agreed to increase the proportion of government spending on education to 14.8 per cent of the 2023 budget, and to immediately implement Cabinet Resolutions 380 and 363.

The authorities agreed to disburse a cash alternative and a three-month grant for teachers in all of Sudan, in addition to clothing allowance for teachers in Khartoum and Central Darfur. Fixed-value bonuses in the 2023 budget will be reviewed.

A national conference on education will be held under the auspices of the Sovereignty Council, financed by the Ministry of Finance, and supervised by the Ministry of Education and the Sudanese Teachers Committee.

The raise of the minimum wage was discussed as well. “The Ministry of Finance’s response was that the minimum is a concern for all employees in Sudan. The ministry is working on plans to reform the salary structure.”

The statement called on all local strike committees to give their opinions on the agreement “in order to reach a decision regarding the current strike”.

The meeting was attended by the head of the Sudanese branch of the El Gadiriya Sufi sect, Sheikh El Riyeh Azrag Teiba, who, together with a number of politicians, met with the Teachers Committee in Khartoum on Sunday “with the aim of identifying problems with education and teachers’ rights”.

In March last year, the Sudanese Teachers Committee announced a partial strike in all states of Sudan as the Finance Ministry did not meet their demand for a raise of the minimum wage and a reform of the salary structure, now divided over two lines, and a better work environment.

They decided to intensify their protest actions, and laid down their tools again on various days in November and December. When talks with the Finance Minister “reached a dead end“ in mid-December, the Teachers Committee called on all teachers to close the primary, middle, and secondary government schools in the country from January 8 until January 28.

More than 16,000 government schools in Sudan are participating in the strike.

Source: Radio Dabanga

The arrangements for the launch of the conference on the Juba Peace Agreement (JPA) have been completed, and that the dialogue will start in the South Sudanese capital on Tuesday, according to Mohamed Abdelhakam, leading member of Sudan’s Federal Association and the Forces for Freedom and Change-Central Council (FFC-CC).

In an interview with Radio Dabanga, Abdelhakam says that “111 seats have been allocated to displaced people, in addition to 80 seats for representatives of the conflict regions Darfur, Blue Nile, and South and West Kordofan. 43 seats are reserved for nomads, 20 for women groups, and 30 for members of the resistance committees.”

“The conference, in which about 400 people will participate, aims to review the JPA in line with its signatories and stakeholders,” he said.

Abdelhakam explained that the rebel movements that signed the Framework Agreement are given seats from the 96 seats allocated to the signatories of the agreement.

El Wasig El Bereir, Secretary-General of the National Umma Party (NUP) and member of the Executive Bureau of the FFC-CC also confirmed to Radio Dabanga yesterday that the conference on the review of the JPA will start in Juba on Tuesday, with the participation of 60 per cent of the signatories of the JPA and 40 per cent of the non-signatories of the agreement.

He told Radio Dabanga that all invitees confirmed their attendance except two rebel groups.

“Of the rebel movements that signed the JPA in October 2020, the Sudan Liberation Movement-Transitional Council (SLM-TC) faction headed by El Hadi Idris, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North faction led by Malik Agar (SPLM-N Agar), the Sudanese Alliance led by Khamees Abakar, and the Sudan Liberation Forces Gathering,” he said. “The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and the Sudan Liberation Movement faction of Minni Minawi refuse to participate.

It was agreed in November last year that negotiations between the signatories of the Framework Agreement on five contentious issues (empowerment removal, transitional justice, reform of security and military institutions, a review of the JPA, and the issue of eastern Sudan) were to be launched in five dialogue conferences in Khartoum. The outcomes would be discussed with the military and laid down in a Final Agreement with the ruling junta after which a new civilian government of technocrats is to be formed.

On Thursday, the FFC-CC, originally responsible for the organisation of five dialogue conferences announced that the AU-IGAD-UNITAMS Trilateral Mechanism will take over the organisation of the conferences on the review of the Juba Peace Agreement (JPA) and the governance of eastern Sudan.

Rebel leader El Hadi Idris said in a press conference after his return from Juba on Saturday that the dialogue conference on the JPA will be held “before the end of the month”.

The dialogue on empowerment removal concluded in Khartoum earlier this month.

The planned conferences on (transitional) justice, and security and military reform that were supposed to be discussed before the signing of a final agreement with the military, have been postponed until after the formation of a new transitional government, FFC-CC announced yesterday.

Source: Radio Dabanga