Long queues for salaries as Sudan’s Kassala runs short of cash

An acute liquidity crisis in New Halfa locality of Sudan’s Kassala state has led to long daily queues of employees and workers in front of the city's cashiers without being able to get their salaries.

Employees told Radio Dabanga that workers have to come from local villages to New Halfa and stay there for days to get their salaries.

They said the lack of cash liquidity has led to the spread of the phenomenon of liquidity traders in Khartoum and the states who buying and sell cash at a mark-up of up to 10 per cent – this in addition to the spread of cheques and sales of cash.

They said the shortage of liquidity in the markets has also prompted a number of traders and suppliers to offer their commodities to consumers at a loss, desperately seeking cash funds to meet their financial obligations.

The crisis also led to the loss of confidence in the banking system and the reluctance to deposit money in banks in return for the traditional ways to store savings cash in storages at home and in offices.