‘Sudan’s economy collapsed, 2015 budget fake’: economist

The general budget prepared by the Sudanese government for the year 2015 is “a fake budget”. Institutional corruption has reached unprecedented levels according to a leading economist. “The Sudanese economy has collapsed. The average inflation rate is not less than 50 percent,” Prof Hamid Eltigani Ali, economist, and head of the Department of Public Policy and Administration at the American University in Cairo, told Radio Dabanga. “The 2015 general budget is based on fake predictions, and will not be implemented in reality, as the government is spending about $2 million daily on defence and militias.” “Institutional corruption has become extremely high,” Prof Ali noted. “About $180 billion of government revenues are circulating outside the public treasury, somewhere in the pockets of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP), and their allies.” “The revenues of about 249 oil wells are not deposited in the public treasury. In reality, the total of oil revenues amount to $250 million, rather than the $70 million that appear in the financial reports. There must be about $180 million circulating outside the public treasury.” The economist furthermore explained that the stability of the Dollar in Sudan is a result of money laundering. “A total of $3 million black market dollars came from Libya, the Central African Republic, and from the accounts of NCP affiliates that are held abroad.”Finance Minister Badreldin Mahmoud Abbas will present the general budget for 2015 to the cabinet tomorrow. Sudan News Agency reported last Tuesday that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will “extend its technical aid” to support Sudan’s Economic Programme for 2015.  Reliable data The USA-based Heritage Foundation also points to a lack of reliable data in its 2014 Index of Economic Freedom. “Sudan is considered one of the world’s most corrupt countries. Power and resources are concentrated in and around Khartoum, and outlying states are neglected and impoverished. Members of the ruling party tightly control the national economy and use their wealth to buy political support. There is little respect for private property, and the legal framework is severely hampered by years of political conflict,” its report states. Sudan ranks 173 out of 175 countries, after North Korea and Somalia, in the Corruption Perceptions Index of 2014, published by Transparency International. File photo: Prof Hamid Eltigani Ali Related:Inflation eases in Sudan: statistics office (14 November 2014)Sudan’s President pledges to improve economy (6 October 2014) ‘IMF figures on Sudan inadequate; economy imploding’: analyst (28 September 2014)Oil in Darfur waiting to be explored: expert (26 September 2014) Prof: ‘Cost of Darfur war estimated at $50 billion’ (24 September 2014)