Newly appointed leaders ‘seek to extend justice’ in Sudan

​Following a drastic reshuffle of governmental positions on Friday, President Al Bashir’s new vice-president, prime minister, and governors express hope for cooperation by all in addressing issues in Sudan.

On Sunday, newly appointed First Vice-President, Lt Gen Awad Bin Auf, was sworn in at a ceremony. He said that economic complexities and ongoing crises experienced by Sudan requires concerted and redoubled efforts of every person of various affiliations, stressing, “We will seek to extend justice to the people as much as we can”.

He stressed that security and stability is a priority, pointing out that this can only be achieved with unity of the people and solidarity. He pointed out that youths represent the future of the country, calling on everyone to help him extend justice towards them in particular, meanwhile asking that youth be reasonable in their demands.

Oaths taken before President

Yesterday, the governors for the country’s 18 states took oath before Omar Al Bashir, all of whom are members of the military.

Addressing the governors after the ceremony, Al Bashir stressed that the country is going through a new historical phase that requires concerted efforts and hard work in order to maintain security, stability, and prosperity in the country.

Al Bashir reiterated his confidence in the ability of the governors to carry out their tasks in full and pointed out that their selection was done carefully. He confirmed the support of the state for them to carry out their tasks and achieve the desired goals. The governors have been authorised to select those they deem appropriate for their support and directed that the choice be for efficiency and qualification in the first place.

New Prime Minister, Mohamed Tahir Eila, expressed hope that he will succeed in his mission, which  “requires the effort and cooperation of all, to address all outstanding issues that concern citizens, issues of people's livelihood, and provision of services to them.”

Following his ceremonial oath to the President, Eila stressed that they will adopt policies that will give justice to people and fight corruption, with a special focus on jobs for youth.

He said, "We hope that the coming period will be a period in which we will overcome many of the obstacles the country is facing.”

Long-term solutions

The previous Prime Minster of Sudan, Motaz Mousa, was appointed in September 2018 as part of a cabinet reshuffle by President Omar Al Bashir in line with new measures to cut government spending. Mousa’s policies were harshly criticised by civil society activist Ismail Mohamed at the time.“The recipe for shock treatment might bear fruit in the short term, but the situation in Sudan requires medium- and long-term plans… the people are no longer capable of absorbing any shock, because prices have doubled in the past six months and are continuing to rise,” he told Radio Dabanga. 

Over the past few months, against the background of mass demonstrations against the Sudanese government, the value of the Sudanese Pound has dropped steadily against the US Dollar. Banks across Sudan have limited cash withdrawals due to a severe lack of liquidity. The printing of new currency by the Central Bank of Sudan has been necessitated by hyperinflation, coupled with a chronic shortage of hard cash.