Four Darfuri made ministers in new national government of Sudan

Four men from Darfur are now ministers in the national government, according to the record of appointees announced yesterday. The new Darfuri ministers are Mohamed Bushara Dousa, Farah Mustafa Abdalla, Ali Mahmood Abdul-Rasool and Ahmed Babiker Nihar. The men represent different tribes of Darfur but are all members of the ruling National Congress Party – except for Ahmed Babiker Nihar, who is a member of the Umma Federal Party.Mohamed Bushara Dousa, formerly a prosecutor and the chairman of the political parties council, is now Minister of Justice. This is the first time that a Darfuri has become Minister of Justice. The new finance minister, Ali Mahmoud Abdul-Rasool, is a former governor of South Darfur. He replaces Awad Ahmed Al Jaz, who was shuffled to Minister of Industry. This is likewise the first time that a Darfuri has headed this ministry. Another leading party figure from South Darfur, former deputy governor Farah Mustafa Abdalla, is now Minister of General Education. In the Ministry of Antiquities, Tourism and Wildlife, Ahmed Babiker Nihar takes over from a Southern Sudanese opposition politician. He had been serving as Minister of Environment and Urban Planning.

Two state (junior) ministers are also from Darfur. Abu El Gasim Imam Mohammed El Haj is appointed Minister of State for Youth and Sport. He is a former rebel commander who served as governor of West Darfur under the terms of the 2006 Darfur Peace Agreement. He lost his position in the April 2010 election. The state minister of culture, Ali Majouk Al Momin, is a member of the Rizeigat tribe from South Darfur. As a member of a faction of the Sudan Liberation Movement that signed the Darfur Peace Agreement, he was promoted in September 2008 to State Minister in the Council of Ministers.