Sudanese Government Clarifies its Economic Policies
Port Sudan – Sudanhorizon – Telal Ismail
Four ministers met in the General Intelligence Service hall in Port Sudan, Red Sea State, eastern Sudan, with local and international media to discuss Cabinet Resolution No. (154) of 2024, which concerns reviewing the trade policy for car imports. Other economic topics were discussed, most notably changing the currency from 500 pounds to 1,000 pounds.
At the press conference the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Dr. Jibril Ibrahim, the Minister of Interior, Major General Retired Khalil Pasha Sayreen, the Minister of Trade and Supply, Omar Ahmed Mohamed Ali, and the Minister of Culture and Information, Khaled Al-Aiser, spoke, the journalists’ questions addressed the concerns of the citizen and the challenges of the Sudanese economy during the war period.
The Minister of Culture and Information, Professor Khaled Ali Al-Aiser, the government’s official spokesman, said that the government is keen to provide the public with the full facts.
He continued: “The ministry works through an approach based on linking the people with the state officials through the slogan: The people have the right to know, the media has the right to ask, and the official has the right to answer.”
He pointed out the continuation of enlightening the Sudanese people, and the necessity of communication between the ruling institutions and the people as it is a vital and important matter in the history of Sudan.
He mentioned in this regard that some parties want to disrupt the government’s achievements during this period, indicating that the ministers have made significant efforts in several economic files.
Arrangements of the Ministry of Finance
The Minister of Finance discussed the technical arrangements underway to enable the Sudanese to deal with money transfer applications and electronic payment without the need for the Internet, saying: “With regular phones” even Rebecca’s phone “they can make electronic payments.”
Jibril said: “The new currency is widely available and there are large shipments of it on the way to the country and there is no shortage and we are pressuring the banks to develop banking applications. Printing the currency is very expensive and we want to reduce cash dealings. Less than half of the existing currency has been spent.”
He added, “There is no shortage of alternative currency or new currency, we do not have a problem with currency, but we want to put pressure as much as possible on banks to develop their applications, and on telecommunications companies to provide the network for the Sudanese citizen so that he can transfer via a simple phone message.”
He stressed the need for Sudan to overcome the issue of dealing in cash to avoid the negative effects of cash and cash dealing, pointing out that the whole world has shifted to electronic systems.
He added, “The whole world now no longer deals in cash, and in the end, cash creates very big security problems, and creates health problems, diseases are transmitted through paper currency, and we are seeking to reduce the negative effects of cash, and make the banking system and electronic applications the ones that are prevalent in the country.”
He pointed out that the currency replacement project is a national project to advance the economy and said, “We were late in moving towards electronic banking systems,” noting that the purpose of currency replacement is to regulate the movement of money and control suspicious practices related to the movement of money.
Jibril confirmed that the Ministry of Finance went through difficult stages as a result of the war launched by the Rapid Support Militia, stressing that the ministry has overcome this stage and is moving towards fulfilling all the state’s obligations. He explained that there are those who are lying in wait for the state and waiting for it to collapse and that their hopes will not come true.
Jibril announced that the state’s economic situation is going well, as is evident from the current budget for the year 2025, discussing some features of the budget, indicating that 100% of wages were paid to workers, in addition to making arrangements for service aspects, especially water, electricity, and health, in all regions, including the regions and cities to which citizens are supposed to return.
The Minister of Finance revealed the establishment of partnerships with regional and international economic institutions that will have positive effects on the national economy during the next stage.
Voice of Blame for the Islamic Development Bank
The Minister of Finance directed a voice of blame on the Islamic Development Bank, and its position since the outbreak of the war in Sudan, and described its position as dishonorable and shameful after stopping the implementation of projects that have a great impact on the lives of citizens, indicating that there will be meetings soon during which they will discuss how to continue implementing the projects, calling on the management of the Islamic Development Bank to review its policies towards Sudan.
Regarding the Ministry of Finance’s policy on importing cars, Gibril Ibrahim said: “In the Ministry of Finance, as much as possible, we do not want to say that importing cars is prohibited, but we are working on them gradually, the older the car is, the more the owner will pay.”
For his part, the Minister of Trade addressed the extent of the destruction that the transportation sector was exposed to in the war, and said: “Cars are a very, very important sector in the production process, and one of the tasks of this sector is to transport production, which means that without cars there is no production, and cars are a very, very necessary commodity in the production process and one of the most important revenues of the state.”
The Minister of Trade indicated that the procedures for importing cars start from the Ministry of Trade and include banking procedures that guarantee the requirements of foreign trade for commercial payment for companies and individuals.
For his part, the Minister of Interior, Major General Retired Khalil Pasha Sayreen, said that Cabinet Resolution No. (154) of 2024, regarding reviewing the trade policy for importing cars, aimed to review the 2015 law and address the negatives resulting from the changes that occurred as a result of the war and approve a trade policy after the loss of thousands of cars, pointing to the necessities imposed by importing buses to provide transportation for citizens and transport trucks to transport production to consumption areas, in addition to providing development and reconstruction requirements of cranes, cranes, bulldozers, loaders and crop harvesting mechanisms.
He added: “The decision puts an end to the waste of state resources for vehicles that enter through smuggling, indicating that the new policy will stop smuggling like Boko Haram, which will be addressed by the new laws and policy.”
He revealed the formation of 12 technical committees for study and evaluation, including ministries, councils, and bodies.
The minister listed the stages in which the decision was approved until it was approved by the Council of Ministers.
He said that the decision included nine general controls, including controls for saloon cars, which will impose progressive fines that will be greater the longer the consumption period, by imposing a progressive fine for used cars and vehicles as a means of rationalizing the import of new and less used vehicles.
In addition to applying codes for used cars, it sets an indicator in terms of the period of use, allocating identification codes for used cars for inventory and monitoring purposes.
In addition to taking into account their suitability for the road network, with a census and inventory of the currently existing cars, taking into account that the quantities of vehicles allowed to be imported are proportional to the capacity of the road network, taking into account the contribution of trucks and vehicles to road maintenance, especially national roads.
The controls also included proof of citizenship, and fulfillment of financial controls in terms of transferring value through banks, in addition to the approval of used cars for quality and technical specifications.