‘Sudan’s economic woes to deepen in 2016’: analyst

Sudanese economic analyst Abdelhadi Ibrahim predicts that 2016 will witness “an escalation in the economic and living crises in the country”.

Ibrahim also predicts that the New Year will witness an increasing rise in the prices of basic and strategic commodities, deteriorating water services, and a remarkable increase in electricity outages.

He asserts that the 2016 budget, approved by Parliament last week, “includes promises not supported by reality”.

In an interview with Radio Dabanga, Ibrahim describes the statement of the Sudanese Finance Minister on subsidising the strategic goods as unrealistic, citing the decrease in the world fuel price.

In his presentation of the draft budget to the Parliament on 7 December, Finance Minister Badreldin Mahmoud stated that next year’s budget aims to reduce inflation and imports, direct more resources to agricultural production, and boost non-oil revenues. He pledged to develop “policies and procedures” to regulate the foreign currency rate and eliminate the black market, to stimulate development in the country.

Ibrahim denounced the rise in spending on security and defence by more than 70% against spending on services such as education and health. He also criticised “the lack of transparency by not letting governors and senior officials see the spending on the security field”.