♦ This week’s news in brief ♦

July 20 – 2019 KHARTOUM Farmers in Sudan complain about the shortage of fuel, seeds and fertilizers, while prices tripled and labourers demand increased wages.

Minister of Agriculture Babikir Osman stated on July 18 that the agricultural sector is facing several challenges during the current rainy season that began in May-June, “most notably the transport of fuel to the farms, and shortages and high prices of seeds and fertilizers in some agricultural areas”.

A member of the Agricultural Chamber of El Gedaref confirmed to Radio Dabanga that the current season is threatened because of the disrupted supply of diesel. Especially small farmers are affected. According to a farmer in El Gedaref, prices of diesel and other requirements tripled lately.

In South Kordofan, farmers are still complaining about an acute fuel shortage. One of them told this station that “the price of diesel exploded. The price for a barrel of diesel used to be SDG 1,730 ($38*). We now pay SDG 6,000 ($ 133) for the same amount on the black market.”

A farmer in El Gezira noted that sorghum seeds to cover three acres cost SDG 400,000 ($8,800), and warned for a poor harvest this season.

♦ Sudan opposition: Political accord gives all power to junta

July 20 – 2019 KHARTOUM The members of the National Consensus Forces (NCF, a coalition of opposition parties) have expressed strong reservations to the contents of the political agreement between the ruling junta and the opposition Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC). The FFC have postponed negotiations about the Constitutional Declaration.

In response to negative reactions from the armed movements and the NCF on the power-sharing deal signed by the Transitional Military Council (TMC) and FFC on June 17, the FFC negotiating team cancelled their meeting with the TMC on Friday. “We need more internal consultation to reach a united vision,” Omar El Degeir, chairman of the Sudan Congress Party said.

While delegations of the opposition forces were discussing the contents of the political agreement in the Ethiopian capital, the FFC negotiation team signed the document in Khartoum.

The NCF said in a statement on Thursday that the agreement “goes towards granting of power to the military junta and does not meet the demands of the revolution, including a civilian-led government”. The political deal also fails to provide for an international commission of inquiry into crimes committed throughout President Al Bashir’s rule.

The opposition forces further criticised the signing of the political agreement separately from the constitutional document, and emphasised the importance to take in the views of the signatories of the FFC and the armed movements.

They urged the FFC to solve imbalances in the agreement through the Constitutional Declaration text. The Sudanese people should be able to comment on the draft text of the Constitutional Declaration before it will be signed.

♦ Op-ed Sudan: Hidden economic stakes in ongoing power struggle

July 17 – Khartoum In deposing their boss, former President Omar Al Bashir, Sudan’s top generals seemed to bend to the will of a massive, nationwide uprising this spring. Yet strategies by the old guard to retain control over a hijacked economy continue to stymie both the hopes for political transformation and prospects for an economic revival that have brought millions into the streets, says Dr Suliman Baldo, Senior Policy Advisor at the Enough Project.

More news from Radio Dabanga:

Investigation report on June 3 massacre submitted
July 22 – 2019 KHARTOUM Judge Fathelrahman Saeed, head of the committee of inquiry that investigated the massacre at the army command in Khartoum on June 3, has sent the …
 
Six villagers – including children – killed in North Darfur attack
July 22 – 2019 NORTH DARFUR A paramilitary group wearing uniforms of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Sudan's main government militia, riding camels and horses, opened fire on the …
 
More than 240 people killed in Sudan uprising
At least 246 people have been killed and 1,353 others injured since the outbreak of the anti-government protests in mid-December, according to the Sudan Doctors Central Committee. …
 
Food prices soar in Sudan
July 19 – 2019 ED DAMAZIN / NYALA Food prices in Sudan soar as the cash crisis continues. This hits the people living in the remote regions of the country hardest. People in South …
 
Int’l community applauds Sudan political agreement
July 18 – 2019 KHARTOUM / LONDON / OSLO / WASHINGTON The international community has welcomed the initial political agreement signed by Sudan’s ruling Transitional Military Council …

Sudan rebels reject junta-opposition political agreement
July 18 – 2019 ADDIS ABABA / KHARTOUM The Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF), a coalition of Sudanese armed movements, has declared its rejection of the political accord signed …
 
Sudan junta, opposition sign initial political agreement
July 17 – 2019 KHARTOUM Sudan’s ruling Transitional Military Council (TMC) and the opposition Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) today signed an initial political agreement. …

EU envoy discusses Sudan with Arab League
July 17 – 2019 CAIRO Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit, and Finland’s Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto, who is currently visiting Cairo, discussed the latest developments in …
 
Chikungunya outbreak in Sudan’s Red Sea state: 73 stricken
Sudanese medical sources have reported an outbreak of the mosquito-borne chikungunya fever in Jebeit in Red Sea state. Quoting medical sources, journalist Osman Hashim told Radio …

Saudi emergency aid ship heads for Port Sudan
July 16 – 2019 JUBAIL / PORT SUDAN Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have sent an emergency aid ship to Sudan “to save the agricultural season”. The Saudi News Agency …

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