Sudan’s Prime Minister Hamdouk: ‘Ministers must be technocrats’

Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdouk will be selecting his cabinet Ministers from lists of candidates presented by the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC). Hamdouk reiterated his commitment to the criteria set by the FFC to choose the Ministers of the civilian government, adding that it will be a government of technocrats.

“If I get the list of candidates for a ministry and I do not find any candidates that meet the criteria, I will return the list to the FFC”, Hamdouk said.

He also said that the choice of Ministers will be the first test for the FFC to fulfil its promise that the new government will be a government of technocrats.

The Cabinet is scheduled to hold its first meeting on August 31, while the first joint meeting of the Sovereign Council and the Cabinet will be held in early September. That will also be the beginning of the comprehensive peace process in the country.

Foreign aid

The Prime Minister said in a television interview on Saturday that Sudan needs foreign aid worth $8 billion during the next two years to cover imports and to help rebuild the economy. In addition to this, another $2 billion in cash reserves are needed at the Central Bank of Sudan to help stop the fall of the Pound.

Hamdouk said he had begun talks with the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and international donors to discuss restructuring Sudan’s debts of about $56 billion.

He called for an understanding on the interest debt of about $3 billion that the former regime was unable to pay.

He said he has been in talks with Washington to remove the country from Washington’s list of states that sponsor terrorism.

Peace

Professor Siddig Tawir, member of the Sovereign Council, told reporters in Khartoum on Sunday that the new government’s priority is to achieve peace by reaching out to armed movements and by tackling problems of the people living in the remote parts of the country, who were marginalised by the former regime.

He called for support for the transitional government “so that the slogan of the revolution Freedom, Peace, and Justice will be realised on the ground”.