Long queues for cash as Khartoum banks, ATMs run dry

Cash withdrawals have been severely limited in Khartoum state in Sudan as the country-wide liquidity crisis continues without a solution in sight. Each day sees hundreds of residents queueing at the cash points.

A number of residents told Radio Dabanga said they had queued in front of the cashiers since 8 am without receiving a single Pound.

A teachers said that he went to more than five cashiers but they were all empty. He said an employee at one of the banks confirmed the lack of liquidity at the banks, and that any person with a bank account is entitled to withdraw only SDG 500 ($10.50*).

In December 2018, the Central Bank of Sudan issued a decision to set the limit of cash withdrawals by bank cards at ATMs at SDG 20,000 ($421*) per month.

High prices

Kadugli in South Kordofan is still suffering from high consumer prices with no solution in sight.

Residents of told Radio Dabanga that life has become very difficult in the light of soaring prices and low salaries.

Most of the city’s large shops and cafeterias have been shut-down due to lack of liquidity and low means of livelihood. Long queues for bread in front of the bakeries has become routine.

Residents said there is general dissatisfaction among the city’s residents due to the lack of living means with no foreseeable solutions.

* As effective foreign exchange rates can vary widely in Sudan, Radio Dabanga bases all SDG currency conversions on the Market Makers Mechanism-determined daily US Dollar rate quoted by the Central Bank of Sudan (CBoS).