Port Sudan bread protests set to escalate, Northern State sit-ins unrelenting

The Port Sudan Resistance Committees announced the escalation of their protests, starting from Monday, due to “the government’s failure to respond to its demands related to the ongoing flour crisis“. Sit-ins in by the residents of El Borgeig and El Golid localities continue, with no resolution in sight.

The Port Sudan Resistance Committees said in a statement that the schedule of escalating protests continues until next Friday and includes letters, demonstrations in neighbourhoods, and protests.

They explained that the state government did not implement the terms of the memorandum that was handed over to the state governor relating to the dismissal of the head of the Economic Committee, noting the continued absence of solutions from government officials and the political incubator.

The Resistance Committees accused the head of the economic committee in the state of abusing his powers, disavowing responsibility for the economic process, and exploiting influence to issue uncontrolled permits.

Sit-ins

In the Northern State, the sit-in by the residents of El Borgeig and El Golid localities continue without any response to their demands raised.

Suheib Osman, a member of the Coordination of the Resistance Committees in El Borgeig, told Radio Dabanga that their sit-in, which entered its eighth day, is continuing in the absence of the authorities in the state.

He explained that their movement is continuing through the various activities carried out by the Resistance Committees in the sit-in, indicating that they organise seminars in cooperatives and health on Saturday and Sunday, addressed by specialists.

He also indicated that there is a general mobilisation among health workers and resistance committees to deal with the fever that has appeared in the neighbouring localities to prevent its spread.

Poverty

As reported by Radio Dabanga this month, Sudan’s newly established Social Security Commission says that 77 per cent of Sudanese now live in poverty. With the launch of a pilot of the Family Support Programme, the Ministry of Finance aims to reach half a million people. El Thiqa Islamic Bank has signed an agency contract with Western Union.

Dr Ezzeldin El Safi, Director of the Social Security Commission, said that the number of people living in poverty rose from 50 per cent in 1994 to 77 per cent in 2016, according to a report of the World Bank.

Their per capita income no longer exceeds $1.25 a day, he said. Red Sea state is the poorest state.

* USD 1 = SDG 55.1375 at the time of posting. As effective foreign exchange rates can vary in Sudan, Radio Dabanga bases all SDG currency conversions on the daily middle US Dollar rate quoted by the Central Bank of Sudan (CBoS). The greenback traded SDG260 at the parallel market in Khartoum on September 10.

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