ECONOMIC SUFFERING IS TIGHTENING THE NOOSE…

Sudan is witnessing is tightening noose (of suffering) around the citizen’s neck. The harsh economic conditions the people are suffering from are far greater than those which pushed them to streets to demonstrate against Al-Beshir’s 30-year long military dictatorship of the Islamic Movement.
As a matter of fact, people are just enduring such economic hardship and do not take to streets for one reason: that they are afraid that the Islamists might avail the opportunity to ‘come back’ to the saddle! However, people can keep patience only to ‘some extent’, at the ‘break-even point’ they may burst with anger because of hunger due to the ever increasing prices vis-à-vis poor/low incomes and wages. Commodities are available but people are not afforded to buy them – even the basic needs are financially unattainable.
One of the main reasons for the deterioration of the situation under the Transitional Government is that it has not adopted any strategic/revolutionary program to deal efficiently with the transitional period. It failed to prioritize the different items of the period’s agenda. It has involved in many details and marginal issues that the TG is not entitled to or they are not part of its mandate as a “transitional machinery” to address the emergent issues such as the economic conditions, security, correcting foreign relations and prepare for elections.
The TG has gone astray as it has engaged itself with such issues as: relations between state and religion (including thinking about the adoption of a secular system); discussing the possibility of normalization with Israel, talking about a trend of granting self-rule to the Nuba Mountains’ area, negotiations with the armed opposition (now renamed movements of strife for justice)… etc while neglecting the suffering of citizens and deterioration of the Sudanese currency to an unprecedented level, besides not (even) talking about elections!
Another point of weakness of this TG is that it has formed the cabinet according to partisan appropriation – or division of power among the components of the Forces of Freedom and Change regardless to competence or efficiency. The outcome is a very poor performance of the government with a consequent deterioration in all walks of life – including health, education, water, transport and all services where people stand in queues from the very early hours in the morning to get bread, benzene, gas or gasoline!
With regard to education the TG failed to prepare for the new academic year for general education and failed to apply the new salary structure for universities’ teaching staff.
The picture is gloomy since no signs to raise hopes for an immediate shift in policies. In contrary by next October the TG is expected to enter into new Marathon with respect to dividing the cabinet seats and portfolios among the “new comers” after signing the Peace Agreement. More time will be lost in consultations and prolonged talking about “who will take what” whereas more spending would be made to pay for the new posts to meet the (ambitious) demands of the leaders of the movements leaving the citizen to further suffering!!