Author: Web Desk

Economic analyst Kamal Karrar said that the 2023 budget, which has not yet been approved, includes a significant increase in military and security spending and a significant decrease in the budgets for education, health, development, and services.

The leaked budget items confirm an increase in revenue estimates to SDG 6.7 trillion, an increase of 140 per cent, and spending to SDG 8 trillion. SDG 667 billion has been allocated to rebel movements which signed the Juba Peace Agreement with the Sudanese government in October 2020.

In an interview with Radio Dabanga last week, he predicted that the new budget “will most probably lead to the collapse of the country.”

“The budget for this year will be funded by the pockets of ordinary Sudanese people by increasing taxes and prices.” He warned of great deterioration in the economic conditions, referring to the ongoing strikes being organised by teachers, university lecturers, students, researchers, bus drivers, meteorological workers, tax bureau employees, and various other sectors.

On December 30, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning deposited the draft budget for 2023 on the table of the Council of Ministers, in preparation for its discussion at the level of the specialised committees and sectors of the Council, before submitting it for approval by the Council.

The absence of a government since October 2021, in addition to the lack of government units which can add numbers to the budget, has delayed approval of the budget, according to Karrar.

In December, Economist Mohamed El Nayir also criticised the delay in the 2023 budget approval. He told Radio Dabanga that the absence of support from the international community in terms of loans and grants is creating challenges for the budget. Therefore, the state should search for new additional resources that do not affect the life of the people, he said.

The Communist Party of Sudan criticised “the allocation of huge sums for the sovereignty and defence sectors in the 2023 budget” in a statement on Sunday.?

The party said that “the putschists continue to plunder the country’s resources through suspicious agreements with foreigners, for example, the Wadi El Hawad agricultural project in River Nile state, the Port Sudan-Edri railway project [from Red Sea state to the border with Chad], the Abu Amama port in Red Sea state, along with increased land sales which deplete national sovereignty.”

The statement condemned foreign interference in Sudanese affairs “which aims to consolidate the interests of global imperialism and its regional allies.”?

Professor Esam Abdelwahab Bob does not believe the inflation figures, because they “aren’t grounded in authentic statistical surveys and given the stormy political climate they may not be true”. He explained to Sudan Tribune in October that inflation was traditionally known to be the diminishing ability of a unit of currency to buy goods and services, but that it may occur while the economy is still growing.

However, these days and globally there is increasing talk of stagflation, which is inflation coupled with low growth rates, high unemployment, depressed wages, and a growing deficit in the balance of payments.

Source: Radio Dabanga

The El Hilal Club announced on Sunday that the Blue Jewel Stadium in Omdurman is ready to host matches of the Champions League of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) after the club’s facilities committee completed all the requirements demanded by the CAF.

All seats that were damaged by supporters of El Meriekh football club, El Hilal’s arch-rival, in December last year were replaced, and the number of benches have been increased.

The Blue Jewel Stadium is a multi-use stadium located in Omdurman. It has a capacity of 25,000 seats and is mostly used for football matches. The stadium is also used for athletics.

Rami Kamal, Deputy Secretary-General of El Hilal Club explained in a press statement on Wednesday that the Sudanese Football Association aims to rehabilitate three stadiums, Sports City, El Hilal and El Meriekh.

He denied rumours that the El Hilal Club’s Board of Directors reconsidered its decision to refuse hosting matches of the El Meriekh Football Club during the African Champions League at the Blue Jewel Stadium.

End December last year, the El Hilal Board of Directors decided to refuse to host El Meriekh matches at the Blue Jewel Stadium because of repeated vandalism of its supporters. Earlier that month, they damaged a number of VIP seats and about 500 seats at the southern side of the stadium.

El Meriekh has now arranged with the Benina Martyrs Stadium in Benghazi, Libya, to play the CAF Champions League matches there instead.

Source: Radio Dabanga

School teachers, university lecturers, and research centre staff continue to strike to demand better wages in Sudan, joined by bus drivers in Khartoum and meteorological workers on Sunday.

The bus driver strike caused “complete paralysis” in the Sudanese capital yesterday after workers laid down their tools in protest against “recent increases in license fees and traffic fines, and unreasonable taxes.”

Meteorological workers began to strike on the same day to demand better wages. The strike committee for the employees of the General Meteorological Corporation announced that all operating airports no longer have access to weather information, calling on the air navigation safety authorities to take notice.

Kamaleldin Ibrahim, member of the Meteorological Media Committee, told Radio Dabanga that the staff members aim to achieve “legitimate demands.” These include a salary raise, continued quality of working conditions, and the dismissal of the corporation’s director general.

University lecturers continued their strike for the second week, demanding the implementation of the proposed salary structure for the year 2023. The University Lecturers Committee said that 90 per cent of universities in the country are participating in the strike.

Last week, the committee said that the comprehensive strike for an indefinite period is taking place because the Ministry of Finance has failed to respond to their demands within the allotted timeframe.

Staff members of research centres at the Ministry of Higher Education continue to demand better wages and the dismissal of the minister.

School teachers in Sudan are continuing their three-week strike for better pay. More than 16,000 schools in Sudan are participating in the strike, which also took place throughout much of December with previous industrial action in November as well.

Source: Radio Dabanga

The Sudanese National Museum in Khartoum on Saturday witnessed the transfer of the statue of King Taharqa to a new location in the museum. The moving of the statue, which weighs about seven tons, from the entrance to a new place inside the hall is part of the ongoing renovation of the museum.

The statue of the most prominent ruler of the Kingdom of Kush was moved, nearly 3,000 years after his death, during a ceremony enlivened by the Sudan Music Corps and attended by media professionals, diplomats, and others interested in antiquities.

The Sudanese Minister of Culture and Information, Graham Abdelgadir, told the Sudanese News Agency, that with this transfer, the final procedures for the reopening of the National Museum began.

The Project “Protecting and Promoting the Sudanese Cultural Heritage in a Social Development Prospective: Rehabilitating the Sudanese National Museum” was launched in November 2018 with the signing of an agreement by the UNESCO Khartoum Office with the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation and the Sudanese Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities to renovate the museum.

The work is being implemented by Sudan’s General Authority for Antiquities and Museums, with the participation of UNESCO and a number of international agencies and private sector companies.

The Deputy Director of the Sudanese Museums Department, Ikhlas Abdellateef, said at the ceremony on Saturday afternoon that the transfer of the statue of King Taharqa, the largest artifact in the museum, can be considered one of the most important stages of the renovation of the museum.

“The operation was carried out with a one million Dollar grant grants from the Italian government and half a million Dollar from the Sudanese government,” she said during the ceremony. “Private companies were commissioned to start rebuilding and renovating the National Museum in 2020, but the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic delayed the project.”

The statue was found in Jebel Barkal in northern Sudan. It was moved to the National Museum in the early 1960s as part of the campaign to save Nubian antiquities during the operation of the High Dam Lake.

Source: Radio Dabanga

YOKOHAMA – The United Nations World Food Programme has welcomed a contribution of around US$130 million from the Government of Japan to support vulnerable people in 37 countries across Asia, the Middle East and Africa amid the deepening global hunger crisis.

Over US$19.1 million will be allocated to provide emergency food assistance in Ukraine, where the war that erupted in February last year continues to displace people, damage infrastructure, disrupt supply chains, and hold back the country’s economy.

In Afghanistan, a contribution of US$12.4 million will be used to provide emergency food and nutrition assistance to acutely food insecure people facing a severe economic crisis compounded by earthquakes, droughts, and other climate shocks.

By providing over US$13.9 million to Myanmar, Japan is supporting WFP to respond to increasing humanitarian needs across the country affected by the political and economic crisis.

Among the Horn of Africa countries, some US$5 million goes to Somalia for emergency food assistance in schools amid the ongoing drought crisis while USD$3.9 million will be allocated to Ethiopia for life-saving nutritional treatment for vulnerable children as well as pregnant and breast-feeding women affected by the recent conflict in the north.

A further grant of US$6.6 million will be used to support vulnerable people in Yemen, a country ravaged by prolonged conflict and an economic crisis that lifted food prices and weighed on food security.

“The Japanese support comes at a critical time when needs are skyrocketing amid a food crisis of unprecedented proportions,” said Naoe Yakiya, Director of the WFP Japan Relations Office. “We are grateful for this generous contribution, which will enable us to save and change the lives of the most vulnerable people who are pushed to the brink.”

Japan has consistently been one of WFP’s top donors. The countries and regions benefitting from this year’s US$130 million supplementary funding are: Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Jordan, Iraq, Kenya, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Moldova, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palestine, Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Gambia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Syria, Tanzania, Uganda, Ukraine, Yemen, Zimbabwe.

Source: World Food Programme