Sudan’s new govt sworn in

The members of the new transitional government, which was announced on Tuesday, took the constitutional oath yesterday at the Republican Palace in front of President of the Sovereignty Council Lt Gen Abdelfattah El Burhan, Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok, and other political figures.

After being sworn in, PM Hamdok addressed the new government and said that this second cabinet of the post-revolution period was formed during a time of great complexity, with many economic and security challenges. 

Hamdok also called the formation of the new government “a possibility to agree on a programme that focuses on addressing the country’s basic issues”. He said that the new government will offer a broad political alliance with the ability to “save Sudan and lay the basic building blocks to provide stability and avoid the country from collapsing into chaos".

El Burhan also addressed the new government and said that “the train of the Sudanese revolution continues and will not stop”. He stressed that the government changes were guided by the will of the Sudanese people.

He called upon ministers to understand the people’s problems and work to address them.

He further called upon them to pledge to collaborate with all the state agencies that will be included in the Legislative Council to ensure the continuation of the democratic transition.

He said that “the people want to see that we serve them because this government was formed due to their desire for change and we must not let them down in achieving their hopes and aspirations”. He pointed out that the previous government made every effort to do so but faced many dilemmas and challenges.

Khaled Omar Yousef, the new President of the Council of Ministers and former Deputy Head of the Sudanese Congress Party (SCP), said that the new cabinet is “one of the fruits of the Juba Peace Agreement”. He said that there were five priorities that the new government will work on. These include raising the living standards, economic reform, security and military reform, achieving justice, and issues related to the democratic transition and further implementation of the Juba Peace Agreement.

The Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA) called on the new government to proceed with the restructuring of the security and military sector, something that had been neglected under the last government. They further stressed the need to confirm the authority of the state and its executive institutions over public funds and the need to achieve the required administrative reform.

The SPA also spoke about the need to complete the implementation of the Constitutional Document and the Juba Peace Agreement and the need to improve the economic situation.

The formation of a new government provides more agency to the rebel parties that signed the Juba Peace Agreement. The Forces for Freedom and Chance (FFC), for example, presented a list for 17 ministerial positions earlier this month.