Khartoum (AFP) – The Sudanese schoolteacher Babiker Mohamed barely covers his family’s livelihood on his meager income, but since the military coup last year he no longer knows whether he can even keep his head above water.
Like many in Sudan, Mohamed has been struggling with shortages of basic necessities, new taxes and high price hikes on fuel, electricity and food since a military coup led by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan in October.
“I bought 20 loaves of bread for 100 Sudanese pounds before the coup,” Mohamed, who looks after a family of six, told AFP.
“Bread alone now costs me around £27,000 a month, which is about 90 per cent of my salary,” he said.
“I don’t know if I can still afford to send my children to school.”
Mohamed joined teachers on strike this week against deteriorating living conditions.
The recent coup in Sudan has upended a transition laboriously negotiated between civilian and military leaders following the 2019 ouster of President Omar al-Bashir, which was marred by crippling US sanctions and international isolation.
It also sparked international condemnations and punitive measures, with the United States, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund suspending much-needed aid to the impoverished country.
Sudan’s exports have plummeted, foreign exchange shortages have been reported and efforts by local banks to restore ties with international partners in the US and the West have come to an abrupt halt.
“It’s like the embargo is back since October 25,” said economist Sumaya Sayed.
“Out of reach of humans”
Demonstrators held several rallies this week against the deteriorating living conditions.
Sudanese citizens have suffered severe economic hardships for decades due to government mismanagement, internal strife and the oil-rich south’s secession in 2011.
Bread prices in Sudan have recently risen sharply, impacted by global supply shortages following the Russian invasion of Ukraine ASHRAF SHAZLY AFP
Bashir himself was ousted in April 2019 after months of street protests initially sparked by bread prices tripling.
Essameddine Okasha, spokesman for the Association of Bakery Owners in Khartoum, said bread prices had risen “out of people’s reach”.
He attributed the hikes to rising operating costs.
Sudan is also particularly vulnerable to the impact of global supply shortages following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Protesters in northern Sudan have blocked a key trade route between Egypt and Sudan in recent weeks following a sharp increase in electricity tariffs.
In January, the Sudanese authorities sharply hiked electricity prices across all sectors, with households seeing an increase of about 500 percent.
Sudan had already begun plans to end fuel subsidies as part of the transition derailed by the coup.
Fuel prices have risen several times over the past year.
Gasoline was £672 ($1.50) a liter at the pump on Saturday, up from around £320 before the coup.
laid off workers
Many local business owners were forced to shut down operations.
“I fired about 300 employees, mostly women, who were the breadwinners of their families,” a food manufacturer in north Khartoum said on condition of anonymity.
Since the ouster of longtime dictator Omar al-Bashir in 2019, prices in Sudan have continued to rise along with inflation ASHRAF SHAZLY AFP
“I couldn’t keep up with the price increases for electricity and production inputs.”
Economist Mohamed al-Nayer says Sudan is in a “state of shock”.
“The lack of international aid and credits in the 2022 budget is having a negative impact,” he said, noting that fiscal plans are heavily dependent on tax increases.
“Taxes now make up 58 percent of the budget, raising prices sharply and pushing the country into recession.”
Sudan is suffering from triple-digit inflation, which was 258 percent in February.
“The government won’t be able to bring inflation down…instead it will likely go up to 500 percent,” Nayer predicts.
“Right decision, wrong time”
Sudan has yet to appoint a prime minister since the resignation of UN economist and prime minister Abdalla Hamdok in January.
This month, Sudan formed a council to address key economic challenges, led by the Deputy Chairman of its Sovereign Council, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, known as Hemeti.
Protesters in northern Sudan blocked a key trade route between Egypt and their country after a dramatic increase in electricity tariffs -AFP
On March 9, Daglo accused a “mafia” of currency dealers of being responsible for currency and gold speculation in the local market.
The Central Bank of Sudan announced this month that it would float the currency as part of measures to curb the black market.
“It was the right decision, but at the wrong time,” Sayed said.
She said the move would only push up inflation and further weaken the local currency.
In mid-February, the Sudanese pound was hovering around 450 pounds to the dollar, but now the greenback is buying around 600 pounds.
“Central bank policies … have failed so far,” Sayed said. The situation “requires adequate reserves of funds and gold”.
© 2022 AFP
Comments are closed.