The Sudanese pound hit a new low against the dollar which equaled 3.9 Sudanese pound compared to 3.6 last week. This came amid a scarcity of hard currency, while annual inflation in the African country, according to the central office of statistics, accelerated to 21.1 percent in August compared to 17,7% last June\July.
North Sudan’s central bank governor asked Arab countries to deposit funds in the African country’s central bank and commercial banks as foreign currency reserves fell to the range of hundred millions according to the statistics of the Foreign Currency Fund amidst the absence of any sound economic plans as well as a sharp decline in agricultural revenues which is the cornerstone of the Sudanese economy.
Mohamed Kheir Al-Zubeir said he did not ask for a precise amount, but said: “We of course need about $4 billion for this year.” “We are now having a three-year emergency program, which will basically address this problem. Within three years I think we can adjust our economy again. We are going to make fiscal monetary policies, and also diversification of production particularly in the agro and industrial sector for import substitution and export promotion,” Zubeir said. He added: “there will we be a cut of 25% in government expenditures”.
Moreover, the North has lost 75 percent of the country’s oil production of 500,000 barrels per day after South Sudan gained independence on the 9th of July, but South of Sudan is expected to pay fees to the north in exchange of using its facilities which, according to analysts, will be less than the agreed fifty-fifty. (Source: www.yallafinance.com)
