December 26, 2018
Several days of protest triggered by an increase in the price of bread and petrol have created a serious political crisis for the government of Sudan. The core reason for the civil eruption is the adherence by the leadership of Sudan to the diktats by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (WB), who have ordered the removal of subsidies for food and fuel. Sudan has been told by the Western financial institutions that its people must continue to suffer economically for future consideration of partial debt forgiveness. These same organizations have insisted that so-called market forces must determine the valuation of the Sudanese Pound. Unfortunately, Sudan acquiesced resulting in a steep devaluation of their currency causing more hardship for the already suffering Sudanese people. This is no exaggeration. During the 2018 Spring Bank/Fund meetings in DC, I attended as a journalist, the discussion with officials from the IMF/WB, US State Department, European nations, et al and representatives from Sudan. When I objected to the economic conditions that Sudan was being bludgeoned to submit to, the WB/IMF officials responded that the Sudanese people will have to undergo more pain. Their justification? It was necessary for Sudan to reduce those state expenditures that provided some economic relief for its people. That dialogue confirmed what I already knew: IMF/WB policies are not good for a nation’s health.
I re-emphasized to my Sudanese friends in the strongest terms what I have been telling them for years; for the welfare of your nation, Sudan must break from these policies. I warned my friends that the same political-financial forces who have been unsuccessful in trying to remove President Omar al-Bashir and weaken the National Congress Party for the last 25 years would change tactics. Now the enemies of Sudan will use the legitimate frustrations of the population against these harsh economic conditions to mobilize the Sudanese for regime change. There is no doubt in my mind that there are agents operating on the ground in Sudan to channel these protests into a movement for the over throw of President al-Bashir.
A repressive response will not succeed in quelling the people’s anger. In fact, that is what the enemies of Sudan are expecting. What is immediately required to prevent this crisis from escalating to a full-scale destabilization pf the nation is; 1) an abrupt termination of the IMF/WB prescriptions, and 2) articulating a national economic development plan that will utilize all of Sudan’s natural resources, most especially its people.
I’ll not blame the IMF/WB cartel entirely without pointing out the root cause. Most if not all of African rulers handle their countries as their personal property. They don’t include the people in decision making. This creates a clove/vacuum between the people in power and their citizens. This clove is usually occupied by these vultures(IMF/WB and other Western Multinationals). Had the Sudanese government consulted their populus with the choices they faced in the form of a referandum, the outcome would have been different. But since they always take their citizens for granted and pass themselves for god almighty, these are the usual outcomes.
You raise some valid points. I tried to persuade (and hoped) for many years for the Sudanese leadership to adopt a national economic development program focused on improving the living conditions of the Sudanese people, but unfortunately they have stuck with following the IMF diktats.
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It is always better to have the population engage in private sector investment and entrepreneurship,in the face IMF/World Bank stipulations. Beside, it is also advisable to conduct structural readjustment, in the light of which some citizens could borrow substantial loan to operate businesses which could hire a large number of citizens. It’s all like driving through a tunnel. The prospects may seem bleak, but with passing of time,it will all pay off. The struggling economy will bounce back.
I would be happy to see the economy improve-too much pain and suffering right now.
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Excellent interview on Press TV explaining riots in Sudan and destabilization as well as solution. Thanks