High prices make life in Darfur ‘an unbearable hell’: resident

Prices of commodities recently jumped to unprecedented rates, Hamid Ali Jubair (also known as Abu Gurra) from Buram town, South Darfur, told Radio Dabanga. “As there is no control on the commodities’ prices in the region, they have jumped dramatically.” Jubair appealed to the Buram authorities to fight against the price rises and to support vulnerable families, since “the high costs of living have turned life in Darfur into an unbearable hell.” El Fasher The Chairman of the Economic Committee of the Legislative Council in North Darfur, Ibrahim Abdelrazik, is calling all citizens, through Radio Dabanga, to boycott the airlines operating in the state, in case they do not repeal their decision of increasing the ticket prices. Recently the price of an air ticket from El Fasher to Khartoum has mounted from SDG615 ($139) to SDG735 ($166). The chairman of the Darfur parliamentary caucus, Engineer Ibrahim Abakir, reported that the caucus had discussed the issue with the airlines operating in Darfur, Nova Airline, Tarco, and Badr Airlines, stressing that the caucus is seeking to reduce the ticket price and that the justifications presented by the airlines are unconvincing. Abakir also confirmed that the local Legislative Council received a complaint, signed by the Head of the Chamber of Commerce of El Fasher locality, about the Council’s imposition of new local fees on commercial shops, ranging between SDG100 ($22.50) and SDG5,000 ($1,128). File photo: A Darfur market trader (Albert González Farran/Unamid) Related:Airfare hike riles Darfuris (1 September 2013) South Darfur imposes price limit on fuel (16 August 2013) Short rations, rising Ramadan prices plague Darfur displaced (12 July 2013)