Seized assets of former Sudan regime to be auctioned

Finance Minister Ibrahim El Badawi said that his ministry is organising an auction to monetise assets seized by the government committee to dismantle the ousted Al Bashir regime.

El Badawi said at a press conference in Khartoum on Monday that the auction will meet “international standards”. The money raised will be transferred to the Ministry of Finance “to support the budget”.

The minister hinted at his intention to liberalise the US Dollar exchange rate, while keeping the customs Dollar rate stable at around 18 Pounds.

The Minister emphasized that the government will overcome all problems with regard to the lifting of subsidies on bread and fuel.

When presenting the Sudan’s 2020 annual budget a month ago, El Badawi said that its entire SDG 150 billion ($ 2,7 billion*) deficit could be covered by raising the price of petrol gradually between March and July or August this year, and by gradually reducing the subsidy on diesel from August onwards for a full year.

According to the 2020 budget, the government will spend SDG 252 billion ($4.8 billion) on subsidies in 2020, which is 36 per cent of the total budget. In 2019, the subsidies amounted to SDG 188 billion ($3.6 billion).

* As effective foreign exchange rates can vary in Sudan, Radio Dabanga bases all SDG currency conversions on the daily US Dollar rate quoted by the Central Bank of Sudan (CBoS), which at this moment is SDG 51,6 for $ 1.