Sudan: Cabinet reshuffle includes 13 ministers and 10 governors

Sudan’s National Congress Party (NCP) announced, Monday night, a reshuffle in the government of the National Reconciliation, which included eight ministers, five ministers of state and 10 governors (among 18 governors in the country). This government reshuffle is based on the recommendation of a national dialogue which was boycotted by most opposition factions.

This government reshuffle came after a meeting of the leadership office of the ruling party, led by President Omar Al-Bashir, at the party headquarters. Faisal Hassan Ibrahim, vice president of the ruling party, said after the meeting that “the ministers, who were included in the reshuffle, are 8 federal ministers, 5 ministers of state and 10 governors.” He added that Prime Minister Bakri Hassan Saleh will announce the cabinet reshuffle tomorrow.

The NCP ministers constitute 67 percent of the ministers of the National Reconciliation Government formed on May 11 last year. This government includes 31 ministers and 43 ministers of state, two vice presidents, and four assistants to Al-Bashir.

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Ibrahim explained that the meeting discussed the economic situation in the country, and, in light of that, decided to rationalize government spending. “We decided to cut government spending, the facilitation budget by 25 percent, stop buying government agencies and foreign exchange companies, and  rationalize the travel of government officials, except for the absolute necessity,” he said. He added, “it was decided to develop new policies and mechanisms for the distribution of gasoline (diesel) on agricultural projects, and revise the development budget in the country.”

Sudan has been suffering from a decline in oil production, after the secession of southern Sudan in 2011. Thus, oil production declined from 450 thousand barrels to less than 100 thousand barrels currently.

The Sudanese government has recently imported 60 percent of its petroleum products to meet its growing consumption needs day after day.

Khartoum is experiencing a fuel crisis that has entered its second month at a time when the Khartoum refinery is undergoing its annual maintenance, which began last March and runs through May.