‘Privatisation of Sudanese ports a disaster’: Beja Congress

The Beja Congress strongly condemns plans to privatise the Red Sea ports and other government policies that aggravate the huge unemployment figures in the eastern Sudanese state. 

Abdallah Musa, member of the Beja Congress Central Committee told Radio Dabanga that there have been serious attempts to privatise all Red Sea ports. 

"The authorities have alread sold the Sudan Shipping Lines’ Corporation, which has definitely damaged Sudan’s economy. Also large numbers of stores are leased to cement companies, flour mills, and other enterprises," he said.

No work

The Beja official stressed that the biggest threat for the people in the state is the dismissal of large numbers of port workers as a result of the privatisation, "as already happened with the Southern Port." 

He said that because of Sudan's political isolation, most of the commercial relations with the world have been cut off. "Weeks, sometimes months pass without having any ship anchored at the ports.

"This is not only a national disaster, but also aggravates the already huge unployment figures in the Red Sea state, in particular among university graduates.

"There used to be about 30 factories in Port Sudan accommodating about 2,000 workers," Musa explained. "All these factories have stopped operating because of a lack of work and the government's plans to sell the ports."

Instead of selling the ports to private investors, the government should develop and upgrade the seaports, he stated. "The ruling National Congress Party, however, considers national companies as enterprises that generate funds to them and their affiliates, instead of an important source to support the country's economy."