Darfur states struggle with currency exchange

Citizens say lack of security, difficulty of movement and expenditure are main obstacles

Citizens of North, South and West Darfur, especially villagers, complained of facing difficulties with replacing their money with the new currency, some of them told Radio Dabanga on Thursday. One of the main obstacles for the Darfuris is the lack of security and difficulty of movement. The villagers who travel to the cities for replacing their currency have to stay several days in the cities and stand in queues for hours on end.

Transportation to and stay in the cities leads to greater expenditure at the hands of the villagers.

“We would like the government to extend the period of replacement of the currency so that we don’t lose money. This is the sum of all our possessions,” a citizen in Jawgana in the state of South Darfur told Radio Dabanga.

Radio Dabanga reported earlier this month about protests in For Baranga over lack of new currency in various localities of Darfur. Despite the serious problems facing citizens regarding currency exchange, the Sudanese government hasn’t announced an extension of the September 1 deadline for switching the nation’s currency.

No bank in Gereida

The absence of a bank and the looming deadline is also a serious concern for citizens in the village of Gereida in South Darfur.

“Most citizens have not yet been able to switch their money or receive new currency. Only those people working for government offices or organizations owned by the government are able to get their hands on new currency,” a citizen of Gereida told Radio Dabanga.

However, most villagers in Gereida who are farmers and pastoralists or refugees have not been able to convert their monies, he added.

‘Speed up,’ says N Darfur bank manager

Rehman Malik Muhammad, branch manager of the Central Bank of Sudan in the city of El Fasher has asked the citizens of the state to speed up the replacement of their currency before August 25.

Malik said that the bank has sufficient currency to provide all the citizens of North Darfur with new pounds.

Sudan decided to adopt a new currency after newly independent South Sudan switched to its own currency after its secession from the North.