In first meeting, Sudan’s new cabinet to focus on economic stabilisation
Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok has delayed appointing a new cabinet which was scheduled to meet today.
While he was expected to announce the candidates on August 28, he is still deliberating a civilian backed list of 49 nominees for 14 ministries. Sudan has been without a government for about five months now and this delay challenges the fragile political and economic state of the country.
Towards achieving economic stability, PM Hamdok reached out to the US, World Bank and IMF officials on August 24. He appealed to the US to remove Sudan from its terror list, which would allow foreign investment to come in. Mr Hamdok also discussed how Sudan can restructure its hefty debt—around 60% of GDP— and requested some $2 billion in international currency reserves to stabilise the Sudanese pound.
However, the delay in forming government impedes policy making. PM Hamdok has vowed to select only competent candidates and is likely to announce the cabinet in the coming weeks. Once complete, the transitional government is likely to design policies to include marginalised and rebel groups to tackle unemployment and poverty.
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