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Sudan PM Shuffles Cabinet in Response to Protests

Nabeel Biajo

   WASHINGTON - Sudan's prime minister has replacedhisfinance, energy and
   health ministers andfour other cabinet-level officials in response
   togrowing publicdemands for sweeping reforms.

   The government said in a statementThursdaythat Prime Minister
   AbdallaHamdokhadfired Health MinisterAkramAltom and accepted the
   resignations of sixotherministers. No reasons were given for the
   removal of anyparticularminister.

   Protests precede changes

   Suleiman Baldo, a senior policy analyst at the Sentry, a
   Washington-based organization that tries to expose government
   corruption linked to African wars, toldSouth Sudan in Focus the
   reshuffle was not unexpected,as it followed nationwide protests in
   which citizens demanded the transitional government implement economic
   reforms andhold former officials accountable for crimes.

   "There's a lot of popular frustration with delays in carrying out the
   agendas of the transition, noticeably in the area of justice and
   economic reforms to alleviate the very severe economic crisis and the
   crushing burden that the economic crisis is causing to people's
   livelihoods and the dwindling of their incomes due to the crisis,"
   Baldosaid.

   Hamdokruns a power-sharing government of civilian technocrats and
   military officials, many of whom were allied with oustedPresident Omar
   al-Bashir.

   The transitional cabinet was appointed in August and September 2019
   after Bashir's ouster in April.

   Although Sudan's constitutional document grants broad powers to
   theprimeminister and hisCabinet, economic reforms are needed now, not
   later, Baldosaid.

   "I believe that the slowness in deploying these extensive executive
   powers is what frustrated people, including observers and analysts such
   as myself, in the sense that you could see that theCabinet is not using
   the full extent of the constitutional powers that were granted to it,
   and therefore there was an objective reason to carry out this change,"
   Baldo told VOA.

   Surprise firing

   Few had anticipated the firing of IbrahimAlbadawi, who steered efforts
   to stabilize Sudan's struggling economy and worked with foreign donors
   as finance minister.

   Hamdoknamed Hiba Mohamed Ali as caretaker minister. Baldo said the
   change would do little to relieve the dire economic straits the country
   is facing.

   "Hiba Mohamed Ali was the right arm of former Minister Badawi, in the
   sense that she was in charge of several policies that the ministry was
   pursuing and overseeing the implementation of many of these policies
   and therefore she is no stranger to the policy line," Baldosaid.

   Even though U.S. sanctions on Sudan were lifted in October 2017, which
   brightened expectations among many that the economy would improve,
   Sudan's economic situation continues to deteriorate. According to the
   transitional government, the inflation rate has reached 64%this year.
   Financial experts say it could be closer to 100%.

   Costs of basics on rise

   The prices of basic commodities like fuel and food have more than
   doubled since last year, and the Sudanese pound has depreciated
   threefold against the U.S.dollar in the same time period.

   To achieve meaningful reforms,Hamdokshould use his executive power to
   bring the army and other Sudanese military forces under theCabinet's
   control, Baldosaid.

   "We do have aCabinet that has full executive powers, but the real
   powers in terms of physical power, in terms of the control of weapons
   and the control of money, is in the hands of the security sector
   institutions of the army, the police and the rapid support forces, in
   addition to the general intelligence services,"Baldo told VOA.

   Hamdoktold Sudanese in a televised address on the eve of nationwide
   rallies June30 thathis government would respond to demonstrators'
   demands for peace, faster economic reform, and justice for the hundreds
   of people killed and injured during protests to topple Bashir. One
   person waskilledand several others were injured during the
   demonstrations held just over a week ago.

   Carol Van Dam Falk contributed to this report.

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