Economist: ‘Sudan 2019 budget faces financing challenges, spreading corruption’

Prof Hasan Bashir, Professor of Economics at El Nilein University, says that Sudan’s 2019 National Budget will face the main challenges related to the provision of financial resources for financing both local and foreign currency, in addition to planning programmes and the executive side related to a weak civil service and the spread of financial and administrative corruption.

Prof Bashir said in an interview with Radio Dabanga that the budget this year has significantly affected the purchasing power and incomes of individuals, which led to low tax revenues.

He pointed out that indirect taxes and fees have peaked, and that the Prime Minister stressed not to impose more taxes or lift subsidies.

Debt forgiveness

He said the availability of funding for the budget is subject to political factors related to the improvement of the political situation at home and Sudan’s relations at regional and international levels leading to debt forgiveness and benefiting from the initiative of poor countries.

The economist described the mechanism of market makers as not reducing the exchange rate or to helping the government implement programmes, pointing to the steady increase in the Dollar exchange rate.

He considered the austerity measures announced last week by Sudan’s Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Motaz Mousa as the first of its kind since the secession of South Sudan, but said that the amounts provided will not have a significant effect. He says that the largest spending is on security, defence, and administrative inertia at state, locality, and legislative council levels.

He warned that the recent economic measures negatively affect the economy with high rates of inflation and low exchange rate, explaining that the import will be at the new price of the Dollar, which leads to further rise in prices.