Eastern Sudanese denounce ‘extravagant spending’ on festivities

The residents of Kassala and Red Sea states in eastern Sudan expressed their resentment about the huge expenditure planned for the visit of President Omar Al Bashir and the Tourism Festival this month.

“The Kassala government is planning to spend huge amounts of money on the reception for President Al Bashir,” Radio Dabanga listener Ibrahim Mohamed Nur reported.

“At the same time, Kassala state is witnessing a significant deterioration in the provision of clean drinking water and health and education services, in addition to repeated delays in the payment of salaries and allowances,” he said.

“These days Kassala is experiencing a complete paralysis, as all state institutions are busy preparing for the visit of the president”.

Tourism

In neighbouring Red Sea state, the people are complaining as well about the “extravagant spending of government money on the Tourism Festival that will start this week.

“At the same time, the ordinary citizens are facing great difficulty in obtaining clean drinking water. Health and educational services are scarce and have become almost unaffordable,” an activist told Radio Dabanga from Port Sudan.

“The people resent the spending of their tax money on a festival that does not benefit them in any way. They are in particular angry about the allocation of a percentage of the admission fees of the hospitals in the state to the Tourism Festival,”he added.

After Khartoum liberalised the fuel prices last week, transportation prices are soaring in the country. 

Red Sea state Governor, Ali Ahmed Hamid, has announced that singing groups from Egypt and Eritrea will participate in the festival.