Mass dismissals at Sudan’s Kenana Sugar Company

The Kenana Sugar Company in Sudan has issued letters of dismissal against more than 700 employees of the company without giving reasons, while sources within the company predict that up to 1,000 people – half of the company workforce – are slated for dismissal.

Jalal Ali Abdallah, a former supervisor in the company, said in an interview with the Sudan Today programme on Radio Dabanga, that the letters of dismissal are issued sequentially and almost daily. They include all the company’s departments and extend to various job grades.

Abdalla says that the dismissals include “an entire agricultural village”, asserting that “this is due to the active participation in the Kenana strike in August 2020 in White Nile state. He explained that the dismissal targeted those relatively few or medium years of service (up to 10 years), but excluded those approaching retirement age.

According to leaks from sources within the company management, it is expected the total number of dismissals will reach 2,000, amounting to half of the company’s workforce. The leaks indicate that the administration intends to complete the dismissals before the arrival of a Kuwaiti representative’s visit to the company in the coming days.

According to information on the KSC website, the company was established in 1975 to secure sugar production for the Arab world. It produces 400,000 tonnes of sugar per annum, 60 million litres of ethanol, and other by-products, and exports to African and Middle Eastern states and Europe. The company’s Board of Directors is chaired by Sudan Minister of Industry and Trade, Jibril Ibrahim, includes representatives of the Kuwaiti and Saudi governments, as well as the Governor of the Central Bank of Sudan.