Sudan cabinet passes budget maintaining subsidy on wheat, cooking gas
Khartoum, Sudan (PANA) - The Sudanese cabinet has approved the 2020 budget that maintains subsidies on wheat and cooking gas, but calls for gradual lifting of fuel subsidies.
Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdouk, chaired a cabinet meeting on Friday that approved the budget that drastically increased money set aside for education and health.
Dr Ibrahim Badawi, the Sudanese Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, said the cabinet has initially approved the budget which will be submitted to the joint Cabinet and Transitional Sovereign Council meeting for ratification on Sunday.
In Sudan at present, the cabinet and the Sovereign Council (a hybrid military and civilian collective presidency) act as the "legislative body".
Badawi pointed out that the 2020 budget will “double the spending” on education and health compared to the budget of 2019.
He added in a statement following the meeting that the budget is also committed to securing free basic education for all, while at the same time prohibiting imposition of fees at the primary education stage.
He said the budget also secures free meals for pupils at all government schools in the country.
Badawi said the budget will also remove all "deformities" within the salaries and wages system in the country where employees of the same grade might be cashing different salaries, depending on which ministry they work in and to which minister they are affiliated.
The minister also announced that the basic salary will be increased by over 100%, going up from 435 pounds (about US$6.00) a month to 1,000 pounds (about US$13.00) a month.
He also announced that over 250,000 new jobs will be created targeting the youth sector.
The minister, however, stopped short of saying when the fuel subsidies would be removed and at what percentage the government currently contributes to the prices of fuel.
One of the main reasons that served as impetus for the current revolt that ended President Omar Bashir rule is that as early as 2013, there was an attempt to remove subsidies on fuel, which would have spilled over to all other goods and services.
The removal of subsidies, though economically sound, remains a politically combustible topic that governments avoid.
-0- PANA MO/MA 28Dec2019
