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Vol. 13 Issue No 3448
OPINION P. 6
EDITORIAL:
When Two Elephants Fight, It is the Grass
That Suffers!
WORLD NEWS
Football
Legend
Jaksa
Says Still
Unmatched
Herbal
Therapy….
New Safe
Haven
SELLING
7.3181
6.3190
0.0592
10.0199
6.5959
21.7375
1.6825
1.7206
1.7360
16.9982
16.4295
TRANSFEER
7.2817
6.2876
0.0589
9.9700
6.5631
21.6293
1.6741
1.7120
1.7274
16.9136
16.3478
BUYING
7.2817
6.2876
0.0589
9.9700
6.5631
21.6293
1.67411
1.7120
1.7274
16.9136
16.3478
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AFRICAP.3
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January 21st, 2015
1st RabiaII,1436
CURRENCIES
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Zambians
Vote in Tight
Presidential
Election
7+7 to Discuss Dialogue, Freedoms with President
By: Zuleikha Abdul Raziq - Al-Sammani Awadallah
The release of Faroug Abu Eisa and Amin Makki Medani
as well as other political detainees will be discussed with
President Omar Al Bashir in addition to the restrictions in
freedoms witnessed by the country lately, said Kamal Omer,
political Secretary of the Popular Congress Party (PCP)
and member of the National Dialogue Mechanism, the 7+7
committee.
According to Omer, the meeting
will also discuss the relapse in the
National Dialogue process following
the exit of the National Umma Party
(NUP) and ways to activate contact
with the armed movements in order to
encourage them to join t he dialogue
process as the only remaining option
for a comprehensive solution to the
country>s problems.
“The National
Dialogue,
with all its
problematic aspects, is
still the solution and we
are working to move it
out the narrow
strip it’s in”
The government took some steps
which negatively affected the
National dialogue such as the pursuit
of constitutional amendments as well
as determining elections schedules,
said Omer but he also stressed that
the meeting participants will discuss
putting an end to the war and when
FVP to Open
Nile Festival
Friday
By: Staff Writer
Khartoum - The fourth Nile
festival for tourism and shopping
in the city of Damer will be
opened Friday by the First VicePresident (FVP) Lt. Gen. Bakri
Hassan Saleh.The festival this
year focuses on the ﬁgure of
Prof. Abdullah Al-Tayeb, with a
cultural centre to be established
in his name.Chairman of the
Supreme Committee of the
festival, Ali Ahmed Hamid
conﬁrmed the completion of
arrangements for the festival,
adding that the program includes
the FVP’s visit to Damer and
Atbara localities.He said the
committee meeting reviewed the
arrangements and workﬂow for
the success of the festival.Hamid
praised the role of Morocco,
noting that it will participate in
the festival with a delegation from
the University of Fez.Meanwhile,
Damer Commissioner, Abdul
Azim Tayfur said that the locality
will host the opening and closing
nights of the festival.He the FVP
will place the foundation stone of
the Abdullah Al-Tayeb Cultural
Centre, conﬁrming that the
arrangements were completed for
the success of the festival, which
is sponsored by the Governor of
River Nile, Al-Hadi Abdullah.
He pointed to the participation of
delegations from Nigeria, Britain
and Egypt, besides Moroccan
delegation.
to convene the dialogue committees
which had recently been formed.
Omer said the National Dialogue with
all its problematic aspects is still the
solution and they are working to move
it out the narrow strip it>s in so it can
include all the Sudanese people from
all walks of life. But Omer emphasised
that the holding of elections next April
is one of the problems facing the
National Dialogue as elections are one
of the main issues in the dialogue and
must be set-up under national political
accord.
«The government fears that should the
elections not be held at the appointed
time, it will lose legitimacy but that
can be overcome by extending the
mandate of this government for a year
until real elections can be held,» he
added.
“There is still hope that the armed
movements will take part in dialogue,”
Omer stressed, but he also reiterated
that guarantees from the presidency
of the republic must be provided
to the armed movements so that
their participation can be a realistic
expectation.
«We will do all that we can so that the
Kamal Omer
dialogue can become a reality,» he
added.On the other hand, a positive
decision regarding the National
dialogue is expected from the
president, said Bushara Jumaa Aror,
member of the 7+7 committee.
“All the preparations for the National
Dialogue have been ﬁnalized on the
internal level as per the dialogue
roadmap agreed among the dialogue
forces, and the Addis Ababa agreement
between the political forces which
agreed to take part in the dialogue
and the revolutionary front and the
armed movements,” added Aror.The
elections are not contrary to dialogue
or alternative for it, and dialogue
is the solution for the country’s
problems while the elections are a
constitutional requirement, whose
24th African Union Summit Begins
By: Mohamed Abdalla
Khartoum -The ten-day African
Union 24th summit is expected to
begin today in the Ethiopian capital
Adds Ababa at experts level.
The summit-level is due to convene
on January 31.
The meeting will discuss reports by
African Peace and Security Council
and African 2063 plan which address
economy, politic and social aspects
as well as the Ebola outbreak and the
feasibility of funding AU.
Spokesperson of the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs Yousif Al-Kordofani
briefed reporters yesterday, saying
that Sudan has played an important
role in achieving AU goals in terms
of peace and security.
“Sudan is a key member, it has
contributed to realising peace and
stability in both Libya and South
“
Sudan is a key
member, it has
contributed to
realising peace and
stability in both Libya
and South Sudan,
two crucial meetings
were held recently in
Khartoum
Sudan,
two crucial meetings were held
recently in Khartoum, so Sudan is
going to highlight Intergovernmental
Authority on Development (IGAD)
and communication group about
endeavours exerted by Sudanese
diplomacy to prevail peace,” said
Al-Kordofani.
Director of AU bureau in Ministry of
Foreign Affairs El-Zain Ibrahim told
press yesterday that his country aims
to achieve AU solidarity and peace
alongside promoting Africa.
The summit will discuss two crucial
topics related to the security situation
in South Sudan and Libya in separate
meetings through IGAD to review
the South Sudan conﬂict January 29
and Communication group to discuss
Libyan issues on January 28, added
Ibrahim.
The summit will convene under the
slogan, “Women Empowerment”.
Sudan
will
participate
with
delegations at all levels experts,
ministerial and summit.
NCP: ‘We Do Not Seek to Monopolise
Next National Assembly’
By: Mohammed Omer El-Haj
Khartoum - The National Congress Party (NCP)
has denied intentions to monopolise representation
in the next national assembly.
During a forum organised by the National
Centre for Media Production yesterday, NCP
leading ﬁgure, Ahmed Karameno said the party
has given opportunities to others to run in many
geographical constituencies without competition
from the NCP, with the aim of diversifying
political representation.
He revealed the participation of more than 26
parties in the April elections.
Karameno encouraged political parties to sue the
NCP if it does not adhere to holding elections on
schedule.
He went on to deny the existence of a relationship
between the national dialogue and elections
date.
“The dialogue is open without a speciﬁc time,
while the elections are scheduled to avoid a
constitutional vacuum in the country,” Karameno
said.
He stressed that the elections will be held in all
parts of Sudan, including disputed areas.
Media expert, Abdul Majid Abdul Hamid said
that the elections are a good opportunity for a
peaceful democratic transformation, calling on
all political organisations to participate.
time has come, stated Aror.Aror, a
member of the Justice Party, said his
party will submit its candidate papers
to the National Elections Commission
today.Yassir Yahia Salih Abd Algadir,
head of the party, will be running
for president after securing over 17
thousand votes countrywide and
several other candidates from the
party will also submit their papers
for geographical and proportional
representation seats today as well,
Aror announced.Elections, Aror
reiterated, are a tool for democratic
practice to attain power, not as a
goal in itself but to serve. “We aim to
transform parties from being bodies
whose membership is based on just
loyalty to become bodies based on
viable programs.” He informed.
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2
HOME
Vehicles
Exporters
Demand
Lifting of
Import Ban
By: Staff Writer
The Cars and Transport Vehicles
Importers Committee has demanded
competent agencies to intervene to
reverse the decision of halting cars
importation and to allow the entry
of 25,000 cars stuck in Port-Sudan.
During the forum held at the
National Council of Press Services,
Chair of the Executive Committee
of citizens affected and harmed
by the ban on Public Transport
importation vehicles said that
nearly 13,000 citizens affected
by the decision are now awaiting
solutions.
He said the sums paid by the
affected citizens amounting to
US$60 million has been lost in vain,
in addition to the 1 percent ground
charges along with the value of
the cars, a matter which has made
citizens default on payment of the
charges.
He went on to request the state
not to implement its decisions on
a retrospective basis, <because we
do not have a say on state decisions
with regards to banning vehicles
import but we want solutions> he
said.
For his part, representative of the
Ministry of Commerce has asserted
that he will convey the outcomes of
the forum to the Minister of Trade
to look into them and ﬁnd a solution
to stricken citizens.
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
DUP Calls on NUP to Return to
National Dialogue
Ghandour Chairs Committee of Strategic
Dialogue with China Meeting
BRIEFS
Lead to be Exported
in Bars to Increase
Added Value
By: Khalda Elyas
By: Staff Writer
Khartoum - Lead excavated
and produced in Sudan will be
exported in the form of bars,
not raw material to increase
added value.
Four factories have been
approved for the transformation
process, which aims to achieve
positive growth in the industry
and increase revenues, said the
Ministry of Industry.
The four factories include
Saria Factory, Diyaa Factory,
Khartoum Factory, and Yousuf
Alzain Factory.
“There are problems pertaining
to
the
excavation
and
exploration of lead which cause
harm to humans as well as the
environment, “said Mahasin
Yagoob.
The minister added that
measures have been put in
place to ensure that the process
goes according to a strict
quality system controlled by the
Ministry of Industry, Customs
Administration, and Ministry
of Trade.
Countries of destination for
Sudanese lead include India
and Arab countries and the ton
is sold at US$1000.
Khartoum – The meeting of the Committee of
Strategic Dialogue with China was chaired yesterday
by Presidential Assistant Prof. Ibrahim Ghandour.
The dialogue will be held in China at the end of this
month.
State Minister at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Kamal Ismail Saeed said in press statement to SUNA
that Ghandour will lead Sudan>s delegation to the
meetings which aim to strengthen relations with
China.
Ismail said the meeting touched on the joint issues
between the two countries in the ﬁelds of agriculture,
mining, industry, electricity and oil besides the trade
and ﬁnancial dealings, adding that a number of issues
will be discussed with the Chinese side during the
visit.
DUP Calls on NUP to Return
to National Dialogue
By: smc
Khartoum - The Unionist Democratic Party (DUP)
called on the National Umma Party (NUP) to
listen to the voice of reason and join the National
Dialogue process.«NUP must join the dialogue
process and refrain from any act with the potential
of weakening the party, especially considering that
any step will eventually lead to dialogue,» said
Merghani Hassan Masaad, leading DUP ﬁgure.
“We must pursue the National dialogue so as to
resolve the country’s problems and refrain from
solutions that do not the serve inclusive interests,”
said Masaad.
He added that the DUP has resorted to military
means in the past, but is now convinced that
dialogue is the only way forward.
Sudan-Ethiopia Sign
Free Zones Cooperation Agreement
Health Ministry: Bad Diets Increase
Risk of Cancer
By: Hafﬁya Elyas
Khartoum - The spread of cancerous
diseases in Sudan has been attributed
to a bad diet by the Heath Specialist of
The National Nutrition Programme at
the Ministry of Health.Afaf Abdulfadil
Agab said eating food containing
high calories and large amounts of fat
leads to obesity, cholesterol and heart
diseases, while eating snacks containing
artiﬁcially coloured substances will
cause liver disease. Afaf further stated
that drinking carbonated beverages
causes fragility of bones.She called on
citizens to adopt a healthier diet which
include fruits and vegetables.She said
bad nutrition will lead to the shortage
of iodine which can cause hypertension
and heart disease.
Employer Union Rejects Some Articles in New
Labour Law
By: smc
Khartoum – The Sudanese Employers
Union has rejected a number of articles
in the new draft labour law that includes
unfair dismissal and overtime.The union
said it would not approve the law, only
after the removal of these articles, which
were described as illogical.The union
deputy head, Ali Hassan Apersi said in a
statement the union discussed these issues
with the competent authorities.Apersi
said that the new law is considered one
of the obstacles facing the development of
industries and the economy, pointing out
that some factories of large companies
employ more than 2,000 workers,
and contributed to the ﬁght against
unemployment, besides creating job
opportunities for graduates.
By: SUNA
Addis Ababa - Sudan and Ethiopia signed Monday a Free Zones
Cooperation Agreement to cooperate in investment and development of trade ﬁelds via setting
up of mechanism to implement
the proposal of establishment
free and other economic-zones
on the joint borders.
Minister of Investment, Dr. Mustafa Osman Ismail described his
visit to Ethiopia as successful
and resulted in the signing of a
number of agreements in investment ﬁeld, adding that agreement was reached on provision
of trade facilities on the joint
borders in accordance with the
directives given earlier by the
President of the Republic and
the Ethiopian Prime Minister.
Dr. Ismail said he met the Ethiopian businessmen and reviewed
with all the issues and problems
facing them.
3 SPECIAL REPORT
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Herbal Therapy….
New Safe Haven (1-2)
By Hafﬁya Elyas
Patients nowadays have an absolute and blind conﬁdence on herbal
medicine, with more and more Sudanese resorting g to this alternative medicine, which they can ﬁnd at
herbs selling shops in Khartoum.
Is it because people are having
enough of chemical drugs, which
have ultimately become ineffective
because of over use?
Or is it because people are more
and more in quest for safe havens,
away from the side effects brought
by over use of pharmaceutical products for treatment of hard-to-curediseases such as kidney failures and
cancers?
Whatever be the case, there are
those who have been lured in by
the well-crafted publicity and announcements that market such
herbal selling companies and
shops: publicities that claim magical outcome for consumers of herbs
as medication.
Along avenues and roads and inside the various quarters, in the
marketplaces, herb selling shops
are spread, herb treatment clinics
* New regulations
on herbs selling
shops, to be issued
this year.
* 72% of doctors
prescribe herbal
treatment for their
patients
* Over 200 herbs
selling shops in
Khartoum State,
and unlicensed
herbalists practice
in Khartoum
* Nile Herbs
Company: we
sell natural herbs
that are free of
any chemical
substances. We have
over 100 products
are everywhere.
Some herb sellers have resorted
to using mobile shops to market
their products, mixtures and blends
they would sell, using loud speakers to attack customers, and to this
end they would produce leaﬂets as
proof of the genuineness of their
product with patents, to cure diseases that medical doctors have failed
to cure.
This phenomenon has stirred a
wide debates, some accuse the herb
sellers, and practitioners, as phony
persons who only swindle and deceive ordinary people.
But others argue that people ﬂock
to buy such medications only because they cost less and are affordable for people with limited income.
Seeking to ﬁnd the reasons for individuals going to herbal medicines
we have interviewed ten pepole.
Some of them said that the high
prices of medicenes was the reason
as they can’t afford to pay for it.
Others claimed said that they use it
because they believe in its effectivness and that they will continue to
use it.They said that they have never suffered from taking the herbal
medicines
Various types and different categories: supply and demand that continue to come from patients now
and then.
Part of Heritage
In a remote corner in one of the
popular markets in Sharq Al Nil
area, I entered one of the shops. The
place gives the impression it was
built during the colonial era.
An old, white-headed man, in his
late seventies, stood up in earnest,
active and enthusiastic to greet his
guests, to describe to those who
come to his place the various prescriptions for his herbs.
Having dealt with the other customers, he then turned to me introducing himself:
My name is Omar Yusuf al Hajj,
and I have been in this business for
now thirty years. In fact I inherited
this profession from my father who,
in turn, got it from his grandfathers.
I have known enough of the secrets
of this profession that qualiﬁed me
to be an expert. I equally learned
from reading books on herbs and
the Prophetic medicines, and how
to measure the desired quantities
and how to mix them, all free of any
chemicals.
But different techniques are used
to promote those shops including resorting to embellishing the
goods sold, the storage, and using
A board of herbalist claiming treatment of various sicknesses for humans and donkeys
modern ways and appellations including calling the shops clinics for
herbal therapy, or cupping therapy,
prescription of medical treatment
and some might call it preventive
therapy.
h
erbal therapy
is prone to be
phony as people
might mix herbs with
chemical drugs of
unknown origin or
composition
But
Abdul Motalib Idris, owner of herb
shop in Khartoum Bahri Souq, argued that herbal therapy has been
in use since the times of Prophet
Mohammed.
It is an ancient practice that is now
fully applied in Arab and western
countries, he argues, adding that
this is a wide practice in most of the
pharmaceutical producing countries, top of which China, known
for its lead in the alternative medicinal practices.
May be, he ponders, because in
china herbs grow naturally. But
we in the Sudan, we have a limited
Health, and in particular the Department for Medical and Aromatic
plants.
He said one of their greatest
achievement is they have obtained
a license for the ﬁrst herbal apothecary in the Sudan.
He said they have equally inaugurated branches in Europe, the
United States of America and the
Gulf states. He said this was proof
the herbal therapy is successful and
useful, and free of any side effects
on the patients receiving the treatment.
He boasted that yet another proof
of the effectiveness of their treatment is that patient keep on coming
more than once, and are seen more
and more ﬂocking to herbal companies, consistently.
Ali Hassan, a 6-year old boy who
lives in Gazira state, suffers from
Parkinson paralysis since his birth.
Doctors have failed to properly
treat him. His family left no stone
unturned to ﬁnd a cure, in al Gazira
and Khartoum, but to no avail.
This was until they came to the
Nile Company, via one of their
relatives. Here the family started a
three month treatment and the child
A long queue of patients at a herbal clinic
number of herbs.
Still, he added, these herbs receive
little attention, that is why most of
types in use here, hail from outside
the Sudan.
And, he went on, we have ventured
into this domain after people have
become aware of the usefulness of
herbs, which are free of any side effects. Now the percentage of people
using herbs has risen to between 60
to 70 percent.
First Licensed Shop
Mohamed al Muntasir Zain, chairman of the Board of Directors of
the Nile Herbs Company said his
company works in the ﬁeld of herbal therapy and herbal cosmetics,
extracted from herbs, and which are
free of any chemicals.
He said they also provide follow
up services for customers receiving
long duration treatment.
He explained that they provide the
needed long time care services and
consultations, via telephone or direct contact with the customers, at
all branches of the company be it in
Khartoum or in other states of the
country.
Zain claims that his company disposes of over 100 products, thus a
wide variety is made available for
customers to select.
On the problems they face in their
business, Zain said on the contrary
they have received every possible
help from the Federal Ministry of
returned home safe and sound,
cured. When I saw him during my
research for this report, I could not
believe my eyes. His mother told
me his story.
Pharmacies Business:
A visit to three pharmacies in Khartoum State the pharmacists said
that their business is not affected
much by people by this trend.They
were clear that the rate of buying
medicines from pharmacies did not
change.
s
ome herbalists do
practice without
a certiﬁed license
from the Ministry of
Health
Streamlining Legislations
To legalise the work of the herbalists, chairman of the Union, Shakir
Ibrahim Guaily, said they have tried
their level best to legalize their work
of herbalists, through laws from the
ministry of health and through submitting the practitioners to training
courses to better their understanding and improve their skills.
The Director of the Herbs and
aromatic plants Department at
the Ministry of Health, Khartoum
State, Najmul Deen Al Majzoub,
said he expects a regulation organising he work of the herbalist to be
issued soon.
The first licensed herbal pharmacy in the country
He said the ministry has embarked on drafting the regulations
for the alternative medicine as well
as spreading the culture of herbal
treatment, by educating physicians
and doctors on how to write a herbal prescription.
He said so far 60 herbal drugs have
been registered. He argued that the
satisfaction of the customer-patients
is the impetus that encourages people to resort to such treatment.
It is not difﬁcult to take a decision
stopping any herbalist from practice or from selling a drug that is not
registered with the Sudan Medical
Council, he said, adding but we do
address people and people’s minds.
He said any herb that is not registered a medical herb should not
be used. He said this should be by
legislations and laws. He added
the council has made the Ministry
of Justice issue a decision banning
granting of patents to any herbalist.
The Sudanese National Council for
Drugs and Poisons has meanwhile
warned against the hazards of using
herbs that are mixed with pharmaceutical drugs. This is because such
a combination would lack the proper and right proportions or taking a
bigger doze than is allowed.
The center for drugs information
at the national council for Drugs
and poisons has meanwhile said in
a statement that herbal therapy is
prone to be phony as people might
mix herbs with chemical drugs of
unknown origin or composition, or
some which contain huge and poisonous materials.
The center argues that the proportions of the mixture could not be administered but only by experienced
specialists.
It added that the mixture need to
be stored at speciﬁc temperatures,
as bad storage would increase the
toxicity of the mixture.
It warned that because of bad
storage, these herbs could be contaminated. The Council has advised
those who resort to using herbs,
should make sure the herbs is registered with the national council for
Drugs and that the herb is manufactured in a proper pharmaceutical
formula.
On his part, Dr Nassr Eddin Shulgami, President of the Consumer
Protection Association, has revealed that there are currently over
200 herb shops in Khartoum State
alone.
He said some herbalists do practice
without a certiﬁed license from the
Ministry of Health. He said some
of them have permits, provided by
the localities, to work in Khartoum.
He added some foreigners are also
practicing this work in the market
places within Khartoum.
Shulgami has pinpointed to the
lack of rigorous measures, streamlining the work in this ﬁeld. He also
referred to the publicity in the various media. He said the matter has
reached dangerous proportions, as
this has to do with the health of people, and also a threat to the resources. Shulgami said the government
should take measure to protect the
health of the people.
What the Ministry Says:
However the Department of Pharmacology at the Ministry of Health,
Khartoum State, stressed that any
one indulging in herbal therapy
without a license would be liable to
a breaking the law. It said in case the
medication used causes any harm to
a patient, the practitioner will be liable to punishment in accordance
with the Sudanese criminal law.
Zain, the Director of the Department,
has stressed that there is no law regulating the traditional medicine and
that the country is actually applying
a policy of turning a blind eye on the
matter. He said the law currently in
place is weak when it comes to bringing to justice phony individuals who
pose as genuine herbalists.
He said the whole practice is
cloaked with a misty status. He revealed that a survey has shown that
72% of the physicians give their
patient herbal prescriptions. But he
said alternative medicine and traditional medicine should be viewed
neutrally.
He announced that the beginning
of this year will see issuance of
regulations governing herb selling
shops.
Read in Part Two
The medicine industry
in the country.
High prices of
medicines: The
problems and solution.
The storage and
its impact on the
medicines.
Uniﬁed prices of
medicines.
Uniﬁed registration of
medicines.
Move to stop illegal
imports of medicines
by individuals.
4 SPONSORED PAGE
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
National Students Welfare Fund Holds
Second National Tournament dubbed
“Students with Determination”
Children with disabilities constitutes a major
concern for the National Students Welfare
Fund as key to education structures, therefore, the Fund started
with donating 1000
motorbikes to female
and male students with
special needs at different Sudanese universities, in addition to
holding special competitions for these groups
including sporting
contests such as football, bell-football, and
other cultural activities, arts, singing.
The closing ceremony
was graced by Dr.
Jalal Yousif Al-Digair,
state minister for
Welfare, the minister
for culture as well as
number of ofﬁcials,
Dr. Jalal Yousif Al-Digair, the
presidential assistant in his speech
commended tremendous efforts the
National Students Welfare is making led by Professor Al-Nagrabi to
ensure the welfare of the students in
aid of academic achievements. He
cited a number of scholars with disabilities, who achieved admirable
successes in different careers.
Nagrabi called on the state organs
and universities to ensure that their
policies cater to the needs of students with disabilities and special
needs so that they become effective
members in the society.
He further stressed that the National
Fund places a premium importance
on the welfare of students sectors,
especially those with special needs
for their major role in developing their counties. “We do not say
students with special needs but say
students with high motives in all
ﬁelds,”
Disabled Students’ representative addressing the audience
He revealed that it is not only the
Students fund that care about the
students with special needs but also
the state has its share in this, especially the Presidency, the Ministry
of Social Welfare and other institutions.
He thanked Sheikh Nawal, known
as students’ mother, for attending
the event and standing by students
with special needs. Nawal, for her
part, lauded the National Students
Welfare Fund for its gracious support for students with disabilities,
adding that she was happen to be
part of the events in support of the
students with special needs and disabilities, which she said is not solely conﬁned to physical disabilities
but also includes time and work.
In his speech on behalf of his colleagues, Hatan Al-Wathiq, a student with disability, saluted all the
personnel at the National Students
Welfare Fund, the attendees, adding
that they will work hard to shine
Honouring the Blind Student Mujahid
and become successful to contribute to building the nation. A “sound
mind in a sound body,” he said.
While donating and distribute
special bikes to students with disabilities, the Minister for Welfare
and Social Security Mashair AlDolab hailed the students fund’s
efforts, afﬁrming that the state
represented in the Presidency
places importance on care about
students with special needs, hence
National Council for Persons with
Disabilities was established to that
end; in addition to other similar
institutions. She added that these
students are not “with disabilities
but with strong will and determination”. The Minister thanked
Sheikha Nawal, the visiting Kuwaiti patron of persons with special needs, for visit to Sudan to
grace the event; in addition to fostering persons with special needs
and disabilities in her homeland,
Kuwait, and Sudan as well.
Al-Dawalab, Sheikha Nawal and NSWF Director distributing the motorbikes to the disabled students
Bakri Announces Presidential Prize for Best Student Work
Director of students Extracurricular Activities:
Dr. Mohamed Sidahmed Al-Alawi, the director of extracurricular activities at the National Students Welfare Fund, underscored the
value of competition, which was initiated by
activities societies at residential complexes.
He thanked those stood behind making the
contest a success in addition to supervisors
and board of trustees, and students’ parents
FVP Handing the winners their prizes
Bakri Hassan Saleh, the First Vice-president rewarded the winners of the prize
for the 10th edition of students creative
work, which involved 3210 contenders
from different states of Sudan in the attendance of the governor of Khartoum
Abdel-Rahman Al-Khidir, Minister of
Culture and Information, the chairman
of National Students Welfare Fund,
Prof. Nagrabi, in addition other senior
ofﬁcials. Addressing the ceremony, the
Vice-president announced special presidential prize for outstanding students
work to be held annually.
Federal Minister of Culture
Hassan Badawi, the minister for culture, described the efforts of the National fund as appreciable and aimed
at inculcating the values of patriotism
and religion in the students, lauding
the students who contested in the students creative work, who he said represents the future of this country and
future leaders, adding that their works
reﬂected their respective indigenous
cultures as well as diverse Sudanese
cultures.
Professor Al-Nagrabi, the Chairman
of the Fund, said that the organization
has so far established 150 university
towns in all parts of Sudan, expressing his conﬁdences that the students
will demonstrate outstanding creativity in all ﬁelds, adding that there is
no special winner of the contest but
all participants are winners. He congratulated the Sudanese people on the
Independence Anniversary, wishing
that they live in peace, security and
prosperity.
Students making the Independence Portrait
for being part of the contests.
Deputy Governor of Khartoum Mohamed
Ali Al-Sheikh state described the heritage
exhibition that accompanied the ﬁnal day
of the contest as “national resource” for encompassing the diverse Sudanese cultures
and values in addition to the spirit of belongingness. Al-Sheikh lauded the great role of
the Students Welfare Fund and its care about
talented students.
For his part, the Commissioner for Omdur-
man Al-Yasa’a Sidiq stressed the role of students in independent and ﬁnalizing the renaissance of Sudan.
Eventually, Omdurman National Theatre
hosted cultural and artistic shows by students of high education from the states of
Gezira and Khartoum. The closing evening
was held within the framework of the 10th
edition of National Contest for Students’
Creativity, which involved 3210 female and
male student contenders from 16 states.
5 BUSINESS
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
New Oil Pipelines to Be Built
By: Shadia Basheri
New oil pipelines are set to be built
this year, extending from Khartoum
to Medani to Gedarif.
The new pipelines are also intended
to extend from Khartoum to AlObeid.“These pipelines will offer
a safe and quick route to transport
oil derivatives within the country as well as prevent smuggling,”
said Makkawi Mohammed Awad,
Minister of Petroleum.“There is a
vast pipeline network spanning the
country, “said Awad. He added that
the network is among the economic
assets of Sudan and will encourage investment in the oil sector.In
addition to the pipelines, new oil
storage facilities will be built in different states to accommodate the
inﬂux of oil derivatives from the
pipelines, said the minister.Speaking at a function for technological
LEGAL VIEWPOINT
development in the oil sector attended by a variety of experts and
interested personnel, Awad stressed
the importance of linking scientiﬁc
knowledge to practice and experience in the ﬁeld, saying his ministry
has sought to apply this approach to
achieve higher economic yields.
Darfur Regional Authority (DRA)
By: Najat Ahmed
BRIEFS
Rambo
..
32nd
International
The
Fair
ofDynamic
Khartoum
Kicks-off Today
By: Khalda Elyas
Khartoum - 32nd Session of
International Fair of Khartoum
(IFK) will take place throughout
the period from 21-28 January
2015. The International Fair of
Khartoum is considered as the
largest general trade Fair in the
region and is one of the important windows of trade exchange
and promotion between Sudan
and Arab, African, European
and Latin American countries.
More than 20 countries representing 650local and international companies will participate in the IFK.Inauguration
Committee Head, Shaza Osman
Omer said this session represents a great economical event
hosted by Sudan, pointing out
that the Ministry of Foreign
Trade aims at attracting more
Oil steady at $49
after IMF Cuts
Growth Forecast
Reuters
London - Brent crude oil prices
steadied around $49 a barrel on
Tuesday after the International
Monetary Fund cut its forecast
for global economic growth in
2015 implying lower demand
for fuel.Global growth is projected at 3.5 percent for 2015
and 3.7 percent for 2016, the
IMF said in its latest World Economic Outlook report, reducing
its forecast by 0.3 percentage
points for both years.“New factors supporting growth - lower
oil prices, but also depreciation
of euro and yen - are more than
offset by persistent negative
forces,” said Olivier Blanchard,
the IMF’s chief economist.
Dr. AbdelGadir Warsama Ghalib
Legal Counsel
[email protected]
Current position: Senior legal advisor Bank of Bahrain & Kuwait
Professor of law American University - Bahrain
Earlier positions:
Legal advisor : Ministry of Justice Sudan
Legal Advisor to the Central Bank of Oman - Muscat
Legal Advisor to the Central Bank of UAE - Abu Dhabi
Regular speaker in international conferences covering legal ﬁnancial economical issues.
Published many articles in legal journals & magazines.
An Accounts Inventory
An inventory of all accounts of the
money which was rallied from the
three sources: The World Bank, The
UN Programme for Rehabilitation
of Darfur and Darfur Peace Strategy was presented by Dr. Al-Tijani
Sisi, President of Darfur Regional
Authority (DRA) .
He explained that the Authority is
preparing to inaugurate 315 development and services projects in the
ﬁve states of Darfur which were
ﬁnanced by the local component
from which the government paid
800 million Sudanese pounds made
available in 2013 through letters of
credit by the Ministry of Finance
and National Economy, endorsed
by the central Bank of Sudan and
funded and approved by the National Bank of Omdurman.
DRA institutions have not received
moneyDr. Sisi indicated that the
DRA Ministry of Finance and Darfur Rehabilitation Fund have not
received any money from any international, regional or local body nor
Dr. AbdelGadir Warsama Ghalib
Legal Counsel
[email protected]
Foreign Investment Laws
in Sudan
Opening ceremony of Kwait model village in Fasha area in South Kordofan
have they received funds in-kind
from the donors. He added that he,
personally, has not received any
cash money, except the small running fees from the Federal Ministry
of Finance which makes monthly
transfers to the DRA Ministry of
Finance. Despite the hardships it
has experienced, the government
of Sudan paid 1,700 million Sudanese pounds through the Federal
Ministry of Finance and National
Economy accredited by the Bank of
Sudan against letters of credit from
the National Bank of Omdurman.
The government, he explained, paid
this amount in 2013 (800 million)
and in 2014 (900 million). Execution of the projects is supervised by
the DRA’s ministries of Engineering and planning in Darfur states.
Ready Projects:64 projects were inaugurated in
Darfur states during January 13-18
in the. All development projects in
Darfur have been executed through
the United Nations, adding that
Qatar has offered 35 million US
dollars in the framework of fulﬁllment of pledges by the donors’
conference for building ﬁve villages for voluntary returns, while
an amount of 88 million dollars
has been transferred to the UNDP
for implementation of short-term
projects.New International PartnershipBritain, which is willing
to contribute to development and
services projects for Darfur, will
establish a partnership with the
Qatari government. The kind of
this British-Qatari partnership for
development in Darfur would have
been deﬁned at a meeting of the
donors’ committee which was recently held in Nyala, South Darfur,
in international, regional and local
presence.Qatar State in the Lead
Considering what it has paid and
fulﬁlled, Qatar is so far one of the
biggest supporters of the entire
peace process. It has paid 35 million US dollars for construction of
model projects for voluntary returns
in the ﬁve states of Darfur. All the
money was paid by Qatar direct to
the organizations, without entering
the Darfur Development Fund or
the DRA Ministry of Finance, for
building ﬁve model villages in the
ﬁve states of Darfur. Those villages are: Tabit in North Darfur, Um
Dhai in East Darfur, Arara in West
Darfur, Bulbul in South Darfur and
Ramtas in Central Darfur. Three
villages were ﬁnished while Tabit
and Um Dhai are under construction; those villages will be inaugurated by the First Vice President
and the Deputy Prime Minister of
Qatar Ahmed Bin Abdullah next
week. Qatar paid the funds to the
UNDP for implementation by the
United Nations of several projects
in Darfur states in the ﬁrst phase.
The Arab Fund for Social and Economic Development (AFSED)Dr.
Sisi the Arab Fund for Social and
Economic Development (AFSED)
has paid 200 million US dollars to
meet the cost of stretching a line
from the national power grid to the
three states of Darfur. Work on the
project has begun, he added..
The European Union
The European Union (EU) has
undertaken implementation of its
projects by itself and has paid six
million euro for construction of
Wadi Al-Kue revival project and
another six million euro in support
of education in Darfur states for
provision of the school-book. The
EU ﬁnances the projects direct
and is engaged in implementation
other projects in Darfur in fulﬁllment of the pledges it made in the
donors’ conference, Sisi said.
Turkey
Dr. Sisi disclosed that the Turkish
government has paid 50 million
US dollars which was used for ﬁnishing construction of Nyala Hospital which is one of the outstanding hospitals in Sudan.
Germany
The DRA President said the German government has begun execution of a number of development
projects in Darfur. Those projects
which the German government
undertook to implement are being carried out by the German
GIZ organization. Those projects
are concerned with environment
and capacity-building in West and
North Darfur states, Sisi added.
Sudan government
The government of Sudan has
provided 800 million Sudanese
pounds with a letter of credit in
2013 with which more than 315
services and development projects
and 900 million Sudanese pounds
with a letter of credit in 2014.
These two installments are part of
the commitment the government
pledged in the DDPD, Dr. Sisi
said, adding that the economic
difﬁculties in the country have adversely affected implementation
of the agreementThe DRA President said no dollar has entered
the DRA treasury, adding, unlike
destruction, the construction does
not ﬁnish overnight. He ruled out
a notion that inauguration of the
development projects was for political gains or for promotion for
the ruling party. He said that the
government and his DRA are partners and that it is better for them
not to exploit the development and
services projects for political purposes.
The Western Ingaz Highway
The completion of the various
stretches of the Western Ingaz
Highway needs more than 400 million US dollars which the government is incapable of providing at
present under the current economic circumstances. As the treasury
is facing a deﬁcit, it is better for
the government to look for loans
to be able to complete all sections
of the highway which the people
of Darfur are waiting in earnest.
Foreign investments look for places wherein policies &laws providing for promotion, encouragement & protection of investments.
As a fact, it is obvious that investors look for save places and jurisdictions where they can put their minds, hands and money for
gain.
In Sudan, the policy makers are eager in inviting investors to come
over for business. The Investment Law of 2013 in Sudan provides
for lucrative incentives to promote and encourage foreign investment. In fact, this law of 2013, is the outcome of many revisions
and is under scrutiny with the aim of polishing to give more bush
for investments. This is taking in consideration that, Sudan was
classiﬁed as one of best places for investments…..
The main features and characteristics of 2013 law include, inter
alia, clear non-discrimination policy and treatment between local and foreign investors. All investors are treated equally without
any discrimination. This makes a drastic big advantage in favor of
foreign investors, as in most countries there is preference to local
vis--vis foreign investors. Accordingly, based on capability, ﬁnancial strength or know-how..., a foreign investor could take advantage over a local investor depending on the merits of each case.
Investors, are allowed to bring machinery, equipment, tolls, raw
materials… without paying tax. This free-tax policy gives the opportunity to rejoice tax haven and to start with fewer overheads.
The law gives investors the opportunity to relocate, re-export or reimport what they have imported, if this project didn’t continue nor
succeed for any reason whatsoever. The law, also, allows investors
to bring experienced labor & personnel from abroad whenever
needed. This privilege is given to investors even thought could
be at the cost of local labor and the Sudanese human resources
respectable asset.
Investors are exempted from fees, utilities, local tax in all forms…
at the start of the project and the exemption continues for years to
give investors a breath and stand on themselves to produce. Investors are allowed to utilize their proﬁts and proceeds, repatriate
proﬁts, capital or part thereof… The law, also, allows investors to
export their products.
The project, according to the law, is protected from conﬁscation,
liquidation or any similar actions without lawful cause and after payment of appropriate compensation. This gives water-tight
guarantee and protection to investors and allows work in calm
and peaceful environment. Moreover, there is special Court with
qualiﬁed Judges and speedy procedures, to look litigation cases
related to projects covered under the law of 2013.
Above, features and characteristics of the law are very hospitable
and lucrative compared to laws in the region. Based, on this, investors run their projects and beneﬁt from the welcoming investment policy and friendly environment in Sudan.
Sudan is very rich with “virgin” opportunities in different ﬁelds
including mega or middle-size projects. This covers oil, gas, gold,
agro-industry, transportation, telecommunication, housing… it is
a place of opportunities and the future is promising for genuine
optimistic eager investors…
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6 OPINION
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Editorial
National Dialogue
Anniversary!
When Two Elephants Fight,
It is the Grass That Suffers!
A
t the beginning of 2003 Darfur rebels
managed to control Gulu town in central Darfur and they raised the ﬂag of
the Sudan Liberation Movement led by Badallah Abakar and Abdul Wahid Mohammed
Nur, after which they also struck the airplanes
landed in El Fashir airport. From that time the
Darfur crisis took-off and didnít land up to this
moment. The war in Darfur claimed the lives
of more than nine thousand people according
to the Sudanese government while the UN
said that more than 300 thousand citizens were
killed. According to studies 3408 villages were
destroyed and 44% of Darfur villages were
burnt totally. There are now 150 IDPs camps in
Darfur besides 12 camps in neighbouring Chad
accommodating more than 280 thousand Darfurians. The latest chapter of the war is the battle
between the Sudanese Army supported by the
Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and Darfur rebels
took place early this month in which the army
managed to liberate several rebels’ stronghold
areas a matter that resulted to the ﬂow of about
40 thousand new displaced persons to the IDPs
camps. This tragic situation should make the
Darfur peace signatory leaders to cry tears of
blood and provide all the possible sacriﬁces to
rescue the situation Instead, differences within
Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM) have
escalated following the decision of the movementís leader, Dr. Al-Tijani Al-Sisi, to dismiss
the secretary-general, Bahar Idriss Abu Garda.
The differences between the two leaders
emerged over the implementation of security
arrangements but now reached the implementation of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD) as the two sides accuse each other
of failing or hindering its implementation.
We donít know what will the two rivals say to
their people in Darfur who were waiting peace,
security, stability, services and development
according to the DDPD? Darfur people reaped
heartbreak while their leaders are busy quarrelling for personal interests and ephemeral
wealth. What Al-Sisi and Abu Garda are doing
is far away from what is going on in the country from political rupture and partisan ﬁssions.
It is sad and deplorable to see the leaders of
Darfur who allege that their target is the human
welfare to their people quarrelling to achieve
their narrow gains.
Muawad Mustafa Rashid
E-mail: [email protected]
I
t is now almost one year since President Al Bashir addressed the nation
on the 27th January 2014 in which he
promised to initiate reform and change
through involving Sudanese from all
walks in an inclusive national dialogue
forum.
In his address President Al Bashir admitted that the country is passing hard times
which should be subject to a broad national dialogue between the government,
the opposition and the people to remove
the congestion.
The President set four pillars to the proposed national dialogue; i.e. pace, political freedom, poverty eradication and reviewing the Sudanese identity.
Having a look to what has been achieved
in the whole year since the President’s
address and the steps taken by the government, we will ﬁnd that the initiative
delivered nothing.
The opposition is in its weakest and instead of taking up the gauntlet, it started
wrangling and expressing suspicions on
the seriousness of the government so it
delayed the practical start of the national
dialogue.
The opposition was supposed to break
into the national dialogue arena within
the apparent recession in popular action.
On the other hand, the President’s address came as a result of an internal
reform within the ruling NCP party a
matter that overthrew the old guards
Editor-in-Chief:
Mohamed Osman Mustafa
E-mail: [email protected]
Alrikabi Yagoub
The Message has Been Received
Email: [email protected]
O
nce again in conjunction with
the decline in marching of our
country towards the national
dialogue, some political powers and
parties threaten to resort to the option
of toppling the regime by hard power.
In my opinion, resorting to this option
will be a major setback and reckless
leap on the darkness which will take
the political arena to squire No one.
The opposition parties will commit an
unforgivable sin if they adopted this
option as the sole means at hands. Regrettably some of the opposition parties believe that the government is at
peak of weakness at the present time
and they think that they should seize
this opportunity and strike the hot iron.
They misunderstood the call to dialogue by the government; they interpreted the call as a sign of weakness
from a collapsing regime.
Changing the present regime would
not be a picnic as many parties leaders think, it is an adventure fraught
with great risks and severe threats to
the survival of the Sudan as a country
not only the ruling elite, and the experiences around us telling much.
The belief that the regime is weak is
incorrect at all, considering the present
complicated security situation. No
weak government can deal potently
with different crisis and challenges the
country witnessing at the present time,
no weak government can achieve suc-
cessive victories in various fronts despite deliberate discouraging acts done
by irresponsible politicians who do not
differentiate between what is of national type and what is of partisan.
Even those who claim they want to
change the regime by what they call
“peaceful means” they also do not realize the seriousness of what they call
for.
Any attempts to topple the regime at the
current timing when the armed movements trying to expand their operations
have one deﬁnition “High treason”. It
is like scratching a matchstick inside a
fuel magazine.
I think only dialogue nothing else, is
the only way to reach a comprehensive
national reconciliation that will keep
our beloved country as one entity; dialogue is the sole means that will take
the Sudanese to a better and brighter
future.
The government is the safety valve,
must be backed up not toppled, in its
turn the government should responsibly take the burden of maintaining
peace and security over the whole
country and hinder Sudan from sliding
into the abyss of civil war.
I think the message the government
wanted to send it to those who have
signed the so-called “Sudan Call” , has
been sent successfully , it has reached
its destination and the receptors has
understood its content well .
Thus the government should set them
free as a token to the political parties to
come together to the round table of the
national dialogue.
The Importance of Environment
Adil Mohamed Ali
E-mail: [email protected]
E
An Independent Daily
and brought into surface new cadres to
determine new policy consistent with the
proposed national dialogue.
Despite the blessing of the international
community to the national dialogue initiative and assigning the AUHIP to assist
the concerned parties to participate in the
process to achieve its goals; it seems that
the steps taken by the government up to
this moment do not help much in pushing
forward the issue.
The arrest and release of prominent political ﬁgures without bringing criminal
charges against them represented a kind
of setback from the ﬁrst item of the national dialogue initiative and this sends
negative messages towards the seriousness of the government in adapting the
national consensus.
Meanwhile, the government announced
its insistence to conduct the elections
on time, and that means ofﬂoading the
national dialogue from its contents and
objectives.
Assuming that the national dialogue
process is still continuing, the question
that emerges to the minds is with whom
will it continue, considering that the
Popular Congress Party (PCP), the Reform Now Movement (RNM), The National Umma Party (NUP), the Sudanese
Communist Party, and others announced
boycotting the upcoming elections if the
government insisted that it will be conducted on time.
It seems that the dream of internal reform
and national consensus is vanished until
further notice.
God bless Sudan.
The Message has
Been Received
nvironment is continuously
gaining signiﬁcance at the local,
national, regional and global
arenas. This column will be dedicated
to introducing environmental concepts
and issues to the reader and then will
explore the environmental issues and
concerns at the national level.
Environmental governance is a concept in political ecology and environ-
mental policy that advocates sustainability (sustainable development) as
the supreme consideration for managing all human activitiesópolitical,
social and economic. Governance includes government, business and civil
society, and emphasizes whole system
management. To capture this diverse
range of elements, environmental
governance often employs alternative
systems of governance, for example
watershed-based management and in
Sudan communal ownership of range
lands.
It views natural resources and the
environment as global public goods,
belonging to the category of goods
that are not diminished when they are
shared. This means that everyone beneﬁts from a clean atmosphere, stable
climate and thriving biodiversity.
Public goods are shared by all on
common rather than competitive nature; natural resources enjoyed by one
person can still be enjoyed by others
and non-excludable; it is impossible
to prevent someone consuming the
good (breathing). Nevertheless, public goods are recognised as beneﬁcial
and therefore have value. The notion
of a global public good thus emerges,
with a slight distinction: it covers necessities that must not be destroyed
by one person or State. Governing
our planetís rich and diverse natural
resources is an increasingly complex
challenge. In our globalised world of
interconnected nations, economies
and people, managing environmental
threats, particularly those that cross
political borders such as air pollution
and biodiversity loss, will require new
global, regional, national and local
responses involving a wide range of
stakeholders.
Tel: +249183571702
Managing Editor
Muawad Mustafa Rashid
Qatar Rises
E-mail: [email protected]
Tel: +249183571702
Associate Editor
Alula Berhe Kidani
E-mail:[email protected]
Tel: +249183571702
Senior Repoter
Al-Sammani Awadallah
Email:[email protected]
Production Editor
Lilly Lamunu
E-mail: delﬁnolilly@ yahoo.com
News Editor
Zuleikha Abdul Raziq
Email: zulikhahamza2012@gmail.
Promotion Manager
Awadallah Al Tayeb Al Bahari
Mob. 0912301742
Email:[email protected]
Art Director & Designers
Jamal Osman Hamdan
Hafez Gaffar Elsaid Onsa
Mohammed Abdelhakam
Address :Khartoum 2
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Fax:(83)571700
Disclaimer
The views and opinions expressed
are solely those of the writers and
do not in any way represent the
views of Sudan Vision.
SPLM-N, Darfur
Rebels Hit in
Soft Spot
Khalid Al Mubarak
Email: [email protected]
T
he map of Doha, capital of the state
of Qatar looks like a round disc, a
shape that is dictated by the semicircular bay around which the city has
developed. The round shape is not only
suggestive of the forthcoming football
World Cup that the city will host in 2022;
or of the global reach of Al Jazeera channel that has dislodged the entrenched ìmedia hegemonyî of older and more famous
international media outlets. It has a wider
relevance.
While both the World Cup and Al Jazeera
are important, their real signiﬁcance is that
they are indicators of a more subtle and
far-reaching engagement and inﬂuence in
regional and global affairs.
As a country with huge natural resources
and a small population, the temptation to
enjoy the privileged position and close
both eyes to the hunger, anger and frustration facing the rest of the world must have
been great; but Qatar, small in size, made
a large, more daring and more humanistic
choice. It decided to reach out generously
and use its considerable resources to create a better and more stable world.
When the terror attacks shook Paris recently, many wise voices were raised, condemning terrorism; but calling for a more
durable response that promotes moderation by addressing the root causes of grievances in both politics and economics.
Long before the Paris terror attacks, the
State of Qatar had donated a million dollars in 2006 and another million dollars in
2011 and a million and a half in 2013 to
cover the expenses of the UN- supported
Dialogue of Civilisations. It is one of the
most signiﬁcant alternatives to desperation and confrontation. Qatar has got a local follow-up committee for the Dialogue
of Civilisationsí activities.
Similarly, during the Gaza Reconstruction conference in Cairo ñ last October,
Qatar donated a $billion. As usual, many
other donations were only made on paper;
Qatarís was one of the exceptions where
funds were actually delivered.
The country is aware of the importance
of training young people for the future.
Apart from expanding the educational
system, there are now more than 1000
students in Europe and the USA. With a
young Prince at the helm, who is more in
tune with the aspirations of youth, the future stability and forward-looking policies
seems secure.
One example of successful regional policies is the role of Qatar as mediator in the
Darfur crisis.
When major powers mediate, their efforts
are clouded by the suspicion that their
geopolitical strategies would inform their
mediation. The advantage of a State like
Qatar is that its mediation is more acceptable. Consequently, both the Government
of Sudan and the fractious Darfur rebels
agreed to negotiate in Doha. At one point,
hundreds of stake-holders were ﬂown to
Doha from Darfur. Their input in the negotiations was pivotal and helped the sides
to sign the Doha Document for Peace in
Darfur, the basis of the Darfur Regional
Authority which is now accepted by the
International Community as the best way
forward.
Qatar ﬁnanced the construction of ìmodel
villagesî for the Darfur displaced. Sheikh
Eid Ibn Mohamed Al Thani Foundation
paid for the rebuilding of villages. H.E.
Ahmed Ibn Abdalla Aal Mahmoud, Qatarís deputy PM attended in January 15 the
ninth follow-up meeting of the DDPD.
Qatar as a country is a microcosm of our
globe. Tens of languages and human features are evident. Doha in Arabic means
a green shade tree. Under its branches
there are peacefully co-existing cultures
and religions. The Museum of Islamic
Arts reﬂects the enlightened face of our
faith. Other believers in various religions
are free to practice peacefully. A whole
ìReligious Complexî is under construction
for non-Muslim worshippers.
Women are encouraged and they are
prominent in many ﬁelds of government
and education.
Very wisely, modernisation is not seen
as a substitute of traditional culture. The
Qatari architecture is preserved in Waqif
Souk, ﬁshing and jewellery are preserved
as heritage. When I visited Doha, town
council elections were under way. There
is an active Shura Council.
A Small state with a huge regional and international reach, represented by a capital
that reverberated with the sounds of the
Arab Spring and celebrated 2015 against
the background of Gulf States consensus.
SS
T
he SPLM/N ﬁghting the Sudanese government in South Kordofan and Blue and Darfur rebel
groups have been completely given a
hard lesson following the subsequent
defeat and loss of strategic points.
In South Kordofan, the Sudanese army
recaptured the two areas of Al-Qneziah,
northeast of the state capital of Kadugli
in the road leading to Um-Sirdiba and
Oanagarto which lies east of Kauda.
In Darfur, the army and ﬂushed out
Sudan Liberation Army of Minni Minnawi (SLA-MM) from Finga in eastern
Jebal Marra. Sudan Liberation Movement-Minni Minnawi (SLM-MM) has
conceded that its general commander
of operations was killed by the Sudanese army (SAF) in North Darfur state
Shardgo was one of the pillars of the
group since its early inception.
The successive recapture of rebel defeat
came to conﬁrm President Al Bashirís
pledge to uproot the rebels, outlaws
and agents from all parts of the country.
The area had been used by the rebels
as a base for operations of sabotage
and undermining security and stability,
said the Sudanese military spokesman,
noting rebels suffered heavy losses in
lives and equipment in both battles
while SAF ìlost a number of martyrs
and woundedî. The defeat has silenced
SPLM-N and Darfur rebels who according to military analysts will not
be able to battle the government in the
short or long run. The Sudanese army is
targeting Kauda, the last stronghold of
the rebels in South Kordofan. The imminent recapture of Kauda will be ﬁnal
nail in the rebel cofﬁn.
7 SPONSORED PAGE
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Khartoum Stock Markets,
Egyptian Exchange Bourse,
Exchange Company Sign Agreements
Considering historical and cultural
bonds in the Nile Valley that connects the two brotherly peoples in
Sudan and Egypt, and documenting Sudanese-Egyptian African
identity, cared about by the leaderships in both countries within efforts to boots mutual cooperation
and reenergizing a agreement between Khartoum Stock Market and
Egyptian Stock Market Company,
the president of the Egyptian Stock
Market Mohamed Abdel-Salam
noted following the signing of the
agreement that the agreement is
aimed at implementing a system
for cooperation and exchange of
information between the parties to
develop, improve and its performance and work to facilitate works;
besides comparing notes with regard to the membership and their
participation in international and
Arab conferences on economy,
in general and stock markets, in
particular. Khartoum Stock Markets issues regulations to combat
money-laundering and ﬁnancing
terrorism:
The
Khartoum
Stock Market has issued a new regulation to combat money-laundering and ﬁnancing terrorism among
companies operating in the ﬁeld of
exchange market. The regulation
encompassed procedures regarding
clients and verifying and following
up on operations relative to dealing with fake persons and artiﬁcial
banks; verifying identiﬁcation to
specify the real beneﬁciaries in order to deal with different risks such
as agents risks, ofﬁcer of commitment, his duties, internal control
system, companies’ obligations,
general provisions; including commitment by the legal auditor, and
relevant obligatory international
decisions, and leakage of information.
Stock news
In achieving the state’s strategy for
privatizing government companies,
Al-Nasr Company for Housing and
Construction has been included
Within the frame of transferring
state’s capital assents to national
groups, Khartoum Stock market
had seen in mid November, last
year the turning of Al-Nasr Company for Housing and Construction
to public share company, thanks to
efforts of the technical committee
on handling public sector utilities.
It was the second real estate company to be included in Khartoum
Stock market.
Dr. Azhari Al-Tayeb, the company’s general manager, lauded tre-
mendous efforts by BOBA for privatizing Al-Nasr Company, citing
success achieved by the company
in question in addition to giant
projects that earned it a reputation
and distinguished ﬁnancial status.
He praised the management of the
company for ﬁnalizing the privatization of the company by meeting the requirement of the market
to turn to public share company
in a limited period. He noted that
the company has estimated capital
of 20 million Sudanese pounds,
with the opening share value 22
pounds, net proﬁts of 4.4 million
pounds.The representative of the
technical committee on privatizing
government companies wished A\
the newly privatized Al-Nasr best
progress and prosperity.
The director general of Al-Nasr
Eng. Al-Tahir Ali Al-Tahir, for his
part, pointed to the history and the
background of the company prior
to being privatization; adding that
the company was involved in the
business of importation of construction material business in addition to housing and construction,
operating after wining ISO 9001,
2000; Safety and Profession Health
Certiﬁcate (OSHAS 18000) 2007.
Graced by the head and members
of parliamentarian economic committee, Khartoum Exchange Market Launches New Website
A delegation of the parliamentarian economic committee headed by
the chairman Salim Al-Saﬁ Tom
and his deputy Dr. Babikir Mohamed Tom paid a visit to Khartoum Stock Market along with
members of the committee to get
acquainted with recent technological development. The delegation
was received by Dr. Azhari AlTayeb Al-Faki, the Director General. The visiting delegation was
briefed on the operations and developments at the market over the
past period. The Director general
spoke about the new law approved
by the Cabinet in preliminary to
submit it the National Assembly,
citing notable amendments to the
law of 1994, including a full chapter on investment funds in lieu of
law on ﬁnancing funds of 1995,
which was annulled in accordance
with the new law.
The general features of the new
amendments embodied percentages of shareholder ownership to
encourage private and family companies to transform to public share
companies, the director general
noted, adding that the amendments
WWW.
also provided penalties that were
lacking in the law of 1994.
He said that the Cabinet endorsed
a law on organizing stock markets
in Sudan under the supervision and
monitoring by Khartoum Stock
Market to be established soon as
commodity, real estate and mineral
market.
During such grace visit, the new
Khartoum Stock Market website
was launched as an electronic door
to enable brokers to carry out transactions from their locations without
the need to be present at the market in the future. It is also aimed at
enabling investors to follow on the
ﬂow of their investment at regularly in addition to data and information on the market and ﬁnancial
and stock transactions, administration, which may be of investors
concern. The delegation hailed the
website and assured their support
to the market in recognition of its
vital role in boosting and developing the national economy. Ofﬁcials
at the Stock Market – eventuallyexpressed their appreciations to the
delegation for honoring them with
this gracious visit. Cabinet Approves Bill for Organizing Sudanese Stock Markets:The Sudanese
Council of Ministers on Aug. 14,
2014, in its meeting chaired by First
Vice-president Bakri Hassan Saleh,
endorsed a new bill on organizing
Sudanese exchange markets, in
accordance with which the establishment of stock markets shall be
made and supervised to encourage
investment and protect clients and
investment in full conﬁrmation and
compliance with the provision of
Islamic Sharia Law.
The spokesperson for the Cabinet
Dr. Omar Mohamed Saleh, following the session said the cabinet also
approved a new bill annulling the
law of stock markets of 2014 and
ﬁnance of 1995, indicating that
the Sudanese stock market aims to
provide need factors to help facilitate and expedite money invested
in stock markets and establish the
regulation professional code of
conduct and self-monitoring.
In a real and leap –in-kind, Khartoum Stock Market Baraka Bank
concludes a deal to establish Taswiyah BankSudanese Baraka Bank
and Khartoum stock market have
signed a dead to establish a bank
for electronic technology dubbed
“Taswiyah” Mr. Abdullah Khair,
the General Manager of Baraka
Bank, singed for his bank, while
Dr. Azhari Al-Tayeb, the Director
General of Khartoum Stock Market, signed for the market, in the
attendance of Khamis Abu Amir,
the Director General of Sudan ﬁnancial Services Co., the representative of brokers society, head of
sectors, and directors of Khartoum
market departments. The step for
establish new bank for electronic
technologies was regarded as a
leap in kind for the market to save
effort and time when conducting ﬁnancial transactions and settlement
via technology immediately on the
accounts of brokers at the end of
transaction session, and will also
help increase and expedite transaction operations in harmony with
share settlement system, which is
done via deposit center and central
depositing.
Khartoum Exchange Market Receives Delegation from Egyptian
Stock Market, Nile for Technology and Dissemination of
Information:The Director General
of Khartoum Stock Market Azhari
Al-Tayeb received a delegation
from Egyptian Stock Market, Nile
for Technology and Dissemination
of Information, headed by Mohamed Suleiman Abdel-Salam, the head
of the Egyptian exchange market,
the president of the association of
deposit centers in Africa and Mideast, along with other ofﬁcials. After
welcoming the visiting delegation,
Mr. Al-Tayeb cited deeply rooted
and established relations between
Sudan and Egypt, and briefed the
delegation on the birth and operations of Khartoum market up to the
moment; in addition to mechanism
for operating electronic exchange
systems. In their 3-day visit to the
country, the Egyptian delegation
also paid a visit to the Central Bank
of Sudan, Sudanese Financial Services Co., Sudanese Banking Services Co., Sudanese-Egyptian Bank,
Sudanese and Egyptian national
banks in Khartoum. The possibility
of transforming the Khartoum National Club into a publicly traded
company and the beneﬁts it stands
to reap from such transformation
were discussed between Fuad Nigga, president of the Khartoum National Club and Dr. Azhari Altayeb
Alfakki, director of the Khartoum
Stock Exchange.
The Khartoum Stock Exchange offered the Khartoum National Club
with a presentation through the Research and development branch.
The president of the Khartoum National Club said it was necessary
for the club to transform into a publicly traded company and said the
issue will be discussed at the meeting of the board of directors of the
club.This year witnessed a hike in
most circulation and trading indexes. The trading in 2013 recorded a
high of 3.885.405.658 while this
year it went up to 5.762.717.820.
The number of trades in 2013 was
16.435 and it went up this year to
22.670.The capital of the market
was 11.188.777.913 and went up
to 13.112.314.650 and the number
of traded bonds which was at
8.430.665 went up to 11.194.967.
While the traded shares recorded
a notable rise from 80.857.419 to
175.035.760 and the number of
companies on the market went to
64 from 62.
8 SPORTS
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Football Legend Jaksa Says Still Unmatched
helped” he humbly says about
the match that kept the Mirrikh danger at bay for some
time.
Jaksa’s fame also crossed
countries and even continents that he was ﬂirted with by renowned
internationals like FC
Boca Juniors of Argentina, FC Bayern Munich of Germany, FC
Soﬁa of Bulgaria and
FC Bucharest of Romania.
Jaksa
About Boca Juniors approaches he said it was during a trip to the United Kingdom with his team al-Hilal. Junior
scouts put their eyes on him and
By Fahmi Mohamed Al-Sayed asked for his service, but the then
al-Hilal president Hassan Abdulga- Sudanow
dir refused to take the responsibilSudanese generations of the 1960s
ity of releasing him. “What would
and 1970s mentally associate footI say if al-Hilal ask why did you let
ball with player Nasr Eddin Abbas,
him go”, Abdulgadir argued at the
broadly known for his nickname
time.
“Jaksa”.
Then there came another offer from
He is a footballer who was once
the German giants Bayern Munich
thought to be Africa’s Pele for his
which was about to take hold. “I
unique talent in maneuvering, scorpromised the manager of the airlining and play making.Tall, handsome
er Lufthansa who was on business
and well-built, Jaksa had gripped
visit to Khartoum to sign for the
the hearts of many Sudanese both
Bayern once a tournament in Ethiomale and female.
pia is over, but back from Addis
Part of Jaksa’s fame can be attribAbaba I could not make it because
uted to the fact that he played for
my mother stood in the way. She
the First Division club al-Hilal and
warned that if I would go to Gerpart of that fame is because he was
many she would travel back to our
known to have stopped a series of
home town of Um Rawwaba in KoHilal defeats from its arch-rival
rdofan”. Jaksa said he grudgingly
al-Mirrikh that once counted eight
apologized to the Lufthansa boss.
consecutive defeats in the city of
Omdurman derby
Jaksa Sweet
“Al-Hilal of that time was made
Because of the euphoria he caused
up of aging lacklustre players and
people had chosen to name sweet
this had given al-Mirrikh side the
things and fashionable dresses after
chance to prey on them eight times
him. It could be remembered that
in a row”, Jaksa remembers.“Then
some sweets sold during Prophet
the administration made some rejuMuhammad’s birth day festivities
venations, listing new players be(al-mawlid) were called halawa Jaside myself”, he asserts.
ksa (or Jaksa sweets).“That was on
“I remember, we did good team
the day we stopped our successive
work and obtained a 2-2 draw to esdefeats from Al-Mirrikh. The then
cape a 9th defeat. Although I scored
Mirrikh boss Hassan Abu-Alaila
the equalizer for my team, I am of
warned that after the match Mirrich
the view that it was team work that
The famous Jaksa goal
fans would taste al-mawlid sweets
all by themselves because they
were sure to be the winning side.
But when I scored the equalizer, the
Hilal fans said they were the ones
to eat the sweets and, then, poured
into the streets chanting “halawa Jaksa” and made a lovely melody out
of it” Jaksa remembers in an interview with Sudanow magazine. The
same happened in another match
when Hilal defeated Mirrich scoring 3 goals.
At that time a tailor in the city made
an ‘above-the-knee’ skirt for a girl
and when her peers saw how lovely
it was, they rushed to get similar
ones. Football fans took the opportunity and called the new dress:
Jaksa Fi Khat Sitta (or Jaksa in line
six meters – the penalty area).
Football fans also remember Jaksa
for a photo shot as he swam into the
air to reach for the ball with his right
foot. People had always thought that
leap was a goal. But Jaksa had some
corrections to make and some bad
memories to tell about that shot.
“It was not a goal. The ball had just
touched the net from the outside”,
he says. “What was bad about that
spectacular jump was that it caused
me an ailment in the back that took
me to London and elsewhere in
search for a cure but to no avail” he
laments. Nevertheless, he continued playing wearing a belt around
his waist upon the advice of his
doctors.
Making History
Jaksa had made history with al-Hilal
Club as well as with the country’s
national squad. With al-Hilal he
played lots and lots of outstanding
matches winning scores of trophies
for his side in the local competitions. He also scored a lot of goals
for al-Hilal in the African contests
where he shone so brightly that he
was consequently rated among the
ﬁrst 30 players in the history of African football.
At the level of the country’s national team he had the honour to
be among the group of players that
lifted the African Nation’s Cub in
1970, scoring and play-making in
a hard-won competition.It was for
those achievements that Jaksa had
received many accolades at the national and club levels.
He had received decorations from
the governments of former Prime
Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi and former
presidents Ibrahim Aboud and Gaafar Nimeri. He was decorated twice
during the rule of President Omar
al-Bashir.
“I am very contented with what I
have done for my country and my
club and its fans. What really gratiﬁes me is the respect and good feel-
ing I receive from al-Mirrikh fans
irrespective of ages of rivalry between the two clubs”, he says.
“I am particularly elated by the fact
that the Ministry of Education had
included an article about me in the
English syllabus”, he further acknowledges.
Jaksa began his football career in his
home city of Omdurman as a very
young boy at the religious seminary
(or Khalwa) in Abbasia suburb. He
remembers that because of his passion for football, he carried a ball
wherever he went.
Then he formed his own team with
some play mates in the neighbourhood which they called al-Mujahid team. He then joined al-Rabie
Club.
He remembers the ﬁrst day he joined
al-Rabie club when he was denied
entry by the club gate keeper who
considered him too young to enter
that world. But when the club president noticed the scene he interfered
and asked the man to let him in.
It was in al-Rabie club that he attracted ﬁrst division club scouts.
A feverish squabble for his signature broke out among al-Hilal, alMirrikh and al-Mawrada after he
scored two goals in a few minutes
of play with al-Rabie. Because alHilal was his favourite club, he
opted for them.
He said he did not receive any trans-
fer money from al-Hilal save a sum
of 200 pounds al-Hilal paid to repair the Rabie-club building. “Neither al-Hilal nor the national team
had paid me anything other than
the play clothes and I remember to
have taken care of my medication
all by myself”.
Because of his infatuation with
football Jaksa had to quit education
at the intermediate school stage.
He joined the Ministry of Defense
in a clerical job for sometime. There
he was asked by the army chief to
join the army but he refused. He
also turned down an offer to train
as a police ofﬁcer. He feared that
the army or police service might
deprive him from football.However
Jaksa joined the American Mobil
Oil Company and spent a long time
with them.
Money and Football
Comparing present football in Sudan with that of his generation, he
said in those days there were more
talents than now. “It was talent that
counted then. But now it is money
that directs football”, he argues.
Jaksa advises a return to city football instead of the current national
tournament. “The national tournament had deprived us from excellent city teams. We are in a situation
when outstanding city teams join
the national tournament leaving behind weaker clubs for the city competitions”, he argues, adding that
this had caused regional football to
diminish.“Look at Wad Medani and
Port Sudan. They no longer generate teams and players like what they
did in the past. Regional football is
about to become defunct”, he says.
Jaksa had started a football academy to nurture young talents and because of cash shortage the academy
died in its infancy of three months
after having attracted more than
450 talented kids.
Iran Beat UAE with Last Gasp-goal in
Final Asian Cup Group Match
Mexico Books Passage to
New Zealand
Reuters
(FIFA.com)
Reza Ghoochannejhad scored in stoppage time to give Iran a heart-thumping
1-0 win over the United Arab Emirates
in their decisive Asian Cup Group C encounter.
Introduced as a late substitute, Ghoochannejhad netted the match winner with a
perfectly taken header in the ﬁrst second
of stoppage time to ensure Iran ﬁnished
as the Group C winners.
Roared on by their boisterous fans, Iran’s
players celebrated like they had won the
Asian Cup, knowing that the victory had
spared them a treacherous path to the title.
As Group C winners, Team Melli will
play the Group D runner-up, most likely
Iraq, in Canberra on Friday while UAE,
who only needed a draw to top the group
on goal difference, could face the defending champions Japan next.
Although both teams had already booked
their places in the quarter-ﬁnals before
kick-off, the prospect of a better route
to the ﬁnal ensured the match would be
anything but meaningless.
The two Middle Eastern sides attacked
each other from the outset on a hot and
humid night at Brisbane’s Lang Park,
leaving players from both teams exhausted at the end.
The match seemed destined to end in a
draw until the ﬁnal moments when UAE
failed to clear an Iranian corner, knocking the ball out to Andranik Teymourian.
The Iranian midﬁelder tried to shoot
but couldn’t get his foot to the ball in
time, however he got enough to chip it
to Ghoochannejhad and the Charlton
Athletic striker headed it past the outstretched arms of Majed Naser.
UAE dominated possession in the second half and created plenty of opportunities of their own. Khamis Esmaeel
unleashed a ferocious long-range volley
that just went wide in the ﬁfth minute,
while Amer Abdulrahman posed plenty
of problems for the Iranian defence.
UAE’s loss was compounded when key
defender Walid Abbas picked up his second yellow card of the tournament, ruling him out of the quarter-ﬁnal.
With both teams pushing forward and
engaging in some wild goalmouth
scrambles, tensions began to fray and the
referee booked three Iranians – Sardar
Azmoun, Mehrdad Pooladi and captain
Javad Nekounam – although all can play
in the quarters.
Bahrain’s Sayed Ahmed (2nd L) celebrates scoring what proved to be the
winner against Qatar. Photograph: Jason
Reed/REUTERS
Sayed Ahmed scored a stunning goal
nine minutes from time to give Bahrain a
victorious conclusion to their Asian Cup
campaign with a 2-1 win over Qatar in
other Group C match on Monday.
With both teams having lost their ﬁrst
two matches at the tournament, neither
could progress to the knockout stages so
only pride was at stake as they battled it
out in front of a crowd of 4,841 at Sta-
dium Australia.
Sayed Dhiya Shubbar scored 10 minutes
before the break to give Bahrain a 1-0 halftime lead and Ahmed’s strike was a worthy
winner, the midﬁelder curling the ball from
10 metres outside the box on the left into
the top righthand corner of the goal.
Qatar, who equalised through Hasan
Al-Haydos after 68 minutes, will count
themselves unlucky not to have at least
forced a draw given the number of chances they created but the 2022 World Cup
hosts paid the price for their proﬂigacy.
Young Qatari striker Mohammed Muntari crashed the ball against the bar with a
header after 24 minutes and also headed
narrowly over with another free header
in the 74th minute before shooting wide
from close range four minutes later.
Shubbar had also found the woodwork
for Bahrain with a backpost header before he broke the deadlock in the 35th
minute.
Impressive Bahraini winger Faouzi
Aaish skipped past two Qatar defenders to get to the byline before cutting the
ball back for Shubbar to ﬁre it past Qatar
goalkeeper Qasem Burhan.
Boualem Khoukhi should have equalised
for Qatar just before halftime but tried to
ﬂick the ball into the net with his right
foot rather than hit it ﬁrst time with his
left, allowing goalkeeper Hamad Mohamed Aldoseri to save with his face.
The misses kept coming for Qatar after half-time with Ali Asadalla Thaimn
blasting the ball at Aldoseri with the goal
at his mercy after 49 minutes.
Muntari got the ball into the net three
minutes later only to be called back for
offside and it was Al-Haydos who got his
country’s second goal of the tournament
when he ﬁred a free kick under the defensive wall.
Mexico are the ﬁrst of four
CONCACAF teams to win
through to the FIFA U-20
World Cup New Zealand
2015.
El Tri have topped their group
and collected passage with a
match to spare after winning
their ﬁrst four matches to establish an unassailable lead in
Group B.
Mexico booked their ticket
after winning 3-1 against El Salvador on
Monday.
The goals were scored by Jose Ramirez,
Alejandro Diaz and Hirving Lozano netted
the goals, with the latter taking his tally to
ﬁve to be the tournament’s top scorer.
Tunisia Lodge Complaint
with Caf
SuperSport
The Tunisian Football Federation has sent
a formal complaint to Caf after their 1-1
draw against Cape Verde on Sunday in their
ﬁrst match at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations.
Mohamed Ali Moncer scored ﬁrst for the
Carthage Eagles but they failed to keep
their lead when Heldon Ramos equalised
for Cap Verde from the spot.
The Tunisian federation has now announced
that it sent a formal complaint to Caf against
Gabonese referee Eric Otogo-Castane for
awarding Cape Verde the penalty.
The North Africans also complained about
the state of facilities at their hotel lodgings.
The Carthage Eagles of Tunisia will play
their second match against Zambia at the
Nuevo Estadio de Ebebiy?n on Thursday.
9 SPONSORED PAGE
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Sudan National Report to Habitat III
Sudan has prepared a report that will be presented to
the United Nations’ Third Conference on Housing and
Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III) which
will be convened in 2016. The report was prepared
by the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Urban
Development, National Council for Physical Development and UN Human Settlement Programme (UNHABITAT).
The population of Sudan is projected to reach 39.7 people by 2016,
growing at a 2.8% growth rate per
annum. With this rate of increase
the population could double up in
about 16 years.
The urban population constituted
about 29.8% of the total 2008 population, which indicates that Sudan
is predominantly rural. This high
rate of population increase, and
the tendency towards population
concentration in large urban centers, constitutes one of the biggest
challenges facing Sudan because it
requires heavy investments in infrastructure, housing and social services in urban areas that are beyond
the ability of public authorities, and
popular initiatives, to satisfy. This
inability affects relatively the quality of life in urban and rural areas.
Children and adolescents below
18 years of age constitute 48.5%
of Sedan’s population. This necessitates provision of a range of
essential services for this group,
which constitutes a strong asset for
Sudan if it is well catered for. On
the other hand, youth in the 15-35
years age range constitute about
35% of Sudan’s population. They
are also a strange asset for Sudan’s
future provided that their economic
and socio-cultural needs are satisﬁed. The central government and
state governments have launched
youth and graduates employment
programs, and provided funds for
youth micro-enterprises.
Sudan has taken great strides towards achieving the Habitat Agenda (that resulted from Istanbul 1996
international conference) goal of reducing the number of urban dwellers living in slums substantially.
Similarly, Sudan has made great
progress in achieving the second
goal of the Agenda by increasing
the number of urban dwellers with
sustainable access to a source of
safe drinking water.
A similar progress in the third goal
of increasing the number of urban
dwellers with access to proper sanitation and toilet facilities has been
achieved.
As for as provision of adequate
housing is concerned, hundreds of
thousands of housing plots have
been allocated to urban dwellers in
several Sudanese towns.
This does not necessarily mean that
all those households have adequate
housing. It may mean owning just
a plot of land or a humble house.
Access to adequate housing constitutes a big challenge to individuals,
households and government agencies..
Absence of housing ﬁnance is one
of the biggest obstacles that hamper
provision of adequate housing for
Sudanese households. Consequently, a high percentage of them resort
to sending some of their members
to work in one of the rich countries
and use their remittances in home
construction.
Sudan has also made good progress
in linking urban and rural areas together by building national and local highways and domestic airports.
Similarly, good progress has been
made in sustainable urban planning.
Many state capitals have prepared
long-term master/structure plans.
However, lack of sufﬁcient budgets
and trained cadres impedes full implementation of those plans.
Many Sudanese towns face the dangers of natural disasters – namely,
droughts, desertiﬁcation and ﬂoods.
As a result of climate change, desertiﬁcation is the major obstacle that
hampers sustainable development
and urbanization in Sudan because
it leads to failure of rain-fed crops
and drying-up of pastures upon
which millions of rural households
depend. This has forced millions of
people to migrate from rural areas
to the fringes of towns and cities
where they live as squatters. Sudanese urban areas require substantial
resources in order to consolidate
their coping mechanisms to address
the ramiﬁcations of climate and its
concomitant natural disasters.
On the other hand, civil strives and
armed struggles that proliferate in
some states in Sudan constitute a
big challenge through the destruction of infrastructure, services and
livelihood means, and the human
displacement resulting from that.
Sudan has made good progress in
resolving those conﬂicts and grievances that bread instability through
negotiations and peaceful resolution of those conﬂicts; however,
it appeals to the international and
regional communities to assist in
funding the resulting reconstruction
and development.
Lastly, the above-mentioned strides
and achievements are often impeded with sanctions and embargoes imposed on Sudan by the international community since 1994.
Those sanctions prohibit importation of new equipment and technologies for water puriﬁcation, sanitation, clean and sustainable energy
sources – such as solar and wind
powers – transportation means,
safety and security means. Unless
those sanctions and embargoes are
lifted, the suffering of Sudanese urban dwellers – especially the urban
poor – will continue unabated.
Managing rapid urbanization
Urbanization implies a change in
the characteristics of certain area
from rural to urban. It usually takes
place at the expense of rural areas,
whereas urban growth connotes an
absolute increase in the number of
urban population even if it was not
T
he objectives of this
Report are to review
Sudan’s progress in implementing the Habitat Agenda, utilizing
guidelines prepared by
UN-Habitat; with a focus on policies, strategies, projects and actual
achievements. The Report
also reviews the challenges that faced Sudan during the past 20 years, and
the challenges expected
during the upcoming 20
years that could be addressed through a “new
urban agenda”.
T
he Report SIX Chapters focused on the
major urban development issues (Urban Demographic Issues, Land
and Urban Planning, Environment and Urbanization, Urban Governance
and Urbanization, Urban
Economy and Housing
and Basic Services); plus
an introduction which
gave a background on the
socio-economic environment of the country.
coupled with a change of boundaries.
The uncontested urban primacy and
agglomeration illustrate the imbalanced urban growth in Sudan, and
the tendency of rural areas and small
towns to lose their population, specially the youth, the educated and
the entrepreneurial to large cities.
Managing the rapid pace of urbanization in Sudan rests on the following six pillars: Negotiating a peaceful resolution of the armed conﬂicts
that force IDPs to leave their homelands and to seek refuge in urban
areas; Establishing new towns and
satellite cities to absorb new migrants and additional urban growth
in large urban centers; planning new
housing areas, as extensions to existing towns and cities, and providing
them with the necessary infrastructure and services to accommodate
new urban growth; iv. Addressing
the negative ramiﬁcations of rapid
urbanization, such as the growth of
squatter settlements, proliferation
of slum areas as a result of overcrowding, through urban upgrading
programs; Maximizing governmental efforts, supported by multi-lateral, Arab and Islamic donors, geared
towards improving housing and life
in rural areas through provision of
water sources, and development of
building materials, that rural areas
become attractive to their residents
and offer them decent living conditions; and Forging a balanced
regional development so that each
state provides its residents with all
the services they need; and reju-
venating rural economies so as to
reduce the attraction of large urban
centers. All long-term strategies
and short-to-medium term economic development plans that were formulated during the past years – at
federal and state levels – have the
objectives of achieving a balanced
regional development in all parts of
Sudan.
A national competition is organized annually in one of the states to
show case outstanding achievement
in sports, cultural and artistic talents
of primary and high school students
selected by their state to compete in
the national competition. Furthermore, the National Youth Strategy
advocates and supports involving
youth in urban (and rural) affairs
through their National Youth Parliament and participation in voluntary
organizations that provide communal services and emergency assistance during natural disasters such
as ﬂoods and heavy rains.
In spite of their small percentage,
the aged are important and well
respected people in the Sudanese
society whose values are based on
Islam and African values which advocate respecting old people. Consequently, the federal Ministry of
Welfare and Social Security developed in 2009 a national strategy for
the aged aimed at provision of better
social welfare and medical services
to them. Furthermore, the social
security system has been improved
to provide insurance to old people against incapacity, handicaps,
death, etc. This is covered through
the Pensions Fund and the National
Social Insurance Fund. Unfortunately, Sudanese urban areas do not
pay enough attention to the needs
of the aged in public transportation,
in street furniture, zebra crossings,
etc. No sports facilities are dedicated exclusively for them.
Therefore, they generally stay within their neighborhoods, meet with
friends at their door steps, at corner
shops and go to the neighborhood
mosque for daily prayers where
they can also meet their friends.
During the past two decades, and
as a result of research conducted by
scholars, and the efforts of several
international agencies, and global
conferences, such as the 1995 Beijing International Conference on
Women, there have been greater
efforts to reverse that trend and to
bridge the gap between men and
women and to treat women equally
with men. Henceforth, special attention is given to integrate gender
(i.e. women’s issues and concerns)
in public strategies and program –
including urban ones.
Women’s access to housing plots
through the ofﬁcial housing plans
is ensured through a special decree
that gives state ministers of physical planning the authority to consider the cases of single women,
widows or female heads of households separately; thus, giving them
more chances to gain access to plots
irrespective of their low points or
small families. The same special
consideration is given to them in
the allocation of housing units built
by the National Fund for Housing
and Reconstruction.
Sudan has made great strides in ensuring sustainable urban planning
and design. The Comprehensive
National Strategy (1992 - 2002)
dedicated a special section for it
through an Urban Planning and
Housing Strategy that called for the
establishment of human settlements
that provide decent living environments, healthy and suitable housing
for all citizens. Subsequently, the
National Quarter-Century Strategy
(2007-2031) also included a special section for urban development
geared towards achieving balanced
urban, development, provision of
decent housing, reducing housing
cost, and revision of policies and
by-laws that govern human settlements.
In accordance with the QuarterCentury Strategy, the National
Council for Physical Development
(NCPD) which was established in
1996 as the body that coordinates
and oversees physical planning and
development at the national level,
enacted general physical planning
policies that have the following objectives:
To strive to achieve a balanced
physical development between Sudan’s regions and between rural and
urban areas to utilize physical development policies to achieve a desirable population distribution; To
encourage preparation of national
and regional physical development
plans and urban master plans; Provision of adequate, decent housing
and effective funding mechanisms;
To promote adoption of environment-friendly local building materials; To develop legislations and
train technical cadres; To cater for
the physical environment at all levels – i.e., the neighborhood, city,
region, nation and the world;A
project for preparation of structure
plans for state capitals.
.
10 WORLD NEWS
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Why China Has Become So Big In Africa
THE ECONOMIST
Across Africa, radio call-in programmes are
buzzing with tales of Africans, usually men, bemoaning the loss of their spouses and partners to
rich Chinese men. “He looks short and ugly like
a pygmy but I guess he has money,” complained
one lovelorn man on a recent Kenyan show. True
or imagined, such stories say much about the perceived economic power of Chinese businessmen
in Africa, and of the growing backlash agaithem.
China has become by far Africa’s biggest trading
partner, exchanging about $160 billion-worth of
goods a year; more than 1 million Chinese, most
of them labourers and traders, have moved to the
continent in the past decade. The mutual adoration between governments continues, with ever
more African roads and mines built by Chinese
ﬁrms. But the talk of Africa becoming Chinese —
or “China’s second continent”, as the title of one
American book puts it — is overdone.
The African boom, which China helped to stoke
in recent years, is attracting many other investors.
The non-Western ones compete eiercely.
African trade with India is projected to reach
$100 billion this year. It is growing at a faster rate
than Chinese trade, and is likely to overtake trade
with America.
Brazil and Turkey are superseding many European countries. In terms of investment in Africa,
though, China lags behind Britain, America, and
Italy (see charts).
A decade ago Africa seemed an uncontested space
and a training ground for foreign investment as
China’s economy took off. But these days China’s ambitions are bigger than winning business,
or seeking access to commodities, on the world’s
poorest continent. The days when Chinese leaders
make long state visits to countries like Tanzania
are numbered. Instead, China’s president, Xi Jinping, has promised to invest $250 billion in Latin
America over the coming decade (see “Bello: The
dragon and the gringo”).
The growth in Chinese demand for commodities
is slowing and prices of many raw materials are
falling. That said, China’s hunger for agricultural
goods, and perhaps for farm land, may grow as
China’s population expands and the middle class
becomes richer.
Yet Africans are increasingly suspicious of Chinese ﬁrms, worrying about unfair deals and environmental damage. Opposition is fuelled by Africa’s thriving civil society, which demands more
transparency and an accounting for humanrights.
This can be an unfamiliar challenge for authoritarian China, whose foreign policy is heavily based
on state-to-state relations, with little appreciation
of the gulf between African rulers and their people. In Senegal residents’ organisations last year
blocked a deal that would have handed a prime
section of property in the centre of the capital,
Dakar, to Chinese developers. In Tanzania labour
unions criticised the government for letting in
Chinese petty traders.Alfred .
Israel Arabs Declare Nationwide Strike after Bedouin Deaths
AFP
Leaders of Israel,s 1.7 million
Arabs declared a general strike
throughout the country on Tuesday
in protest at the recent deaths of
two Bedouin men in confrontations
with police.
Former member of parliament
Taleb al-Sana, chairman of an umbrella organisation of Arab Israeli
groups, said that schools and businesses would close from the Galilee in the north to the Negev desert
in the south.
«The general strike today is to send
a strong message that the entire
Arab community... strongly protests the murders of two citizens of
the state of Israel whose only crime
is being Arab,» Sana, who is himself Bedouin, told Israeradio.
Sami al-Jaar died of a gunshot
wound last week during a police
drug raid on the Negev Bedouin
town of Rahat.
Police have opened an enquiry to
determine if the shot was ﬁred by
ofﬁcers or townspeople.
During Jaar,s funeral on Sunday,
Sami al-Zayadna, 47, died of a
heart attack during clashes in which
police ﬁred tear gas.
Following Zayadna,s burial on
Monday, angry protesters -- some
of them masked -- hurled stones at
the Rahat police station, polsaid.
Police statements said that ﬁve
suspected stone-throwers were detained and that more arrests were
expected.
Rahat residents have been on strike
since Sunday.
Coronation Street,s Anne
‘Deirdre’ Kirkbride Dies
Sky News
Coronation Street actress Anne Kirkbride, who played Deirdre
Barlow in the soap, has died aged 60 after a short illness.
A statement on the soap,s website said the cast and crew were
«heartbroken».
The actress was part of the ITV soap for 42 years after joining in
1972 - and has been part of some major storylines.
William Roache, who played her on-screen husband Ken Barlow,
said: «I feel Anne,s loss so personally having worked closely with
her for over 40 years.
«We had some rows over the years as Ken and Deirdre, and it was
wonderful to play those scenes opposite her.
«Coronation Street has lost one of its iconic characters and Anne
will be greatly missed.»
One of the most memorable plots - the love triangle between Deirdre, Ken and Mike Baldwin - led to her being voted TV Personality
Of The Year in 1983.
When her character chose Ken Barlow over Mike Baldwin in
1983, cheers went up as the «result» ﬂashed up on the Old Trafford scoreboard.
It read: «Ken and Deirdre reunited. Ken 1 - Mike 0.»
In 1993 it was revealed she had throat cancer and she took three
months off the show while undergoing treatment.
Many major storylines led viewers and fans to act as if Deirdre was
a real person.
So much so that in 1998 then-Prime Minister Tony Blair promised to intervene to get Deirdre released from prison after she was
duped into mortgage fraud.
Mr Blair gave his full support to the «Free The Weatherﬁeld One»
campaign.
The show,s executive producer, Kieran Roberts, said the cast felt
«blessed» to have worked with her.
«There are no words to describe the sense of grief we feel at Anne,s
passing,» he said.
ITV,s director of television, Peter Fincham, said Kirkbride had created a «unique and unforgettable character».
In September, Kirkbride was granted an extended break from the
soap by producers. She was expected to be absent from the show
for three months.
Kirkbride is survived by her husband David and her brother John.
Zambians Vote in Tight Presidential Election
Al Jazeera
India’s President Speaks out against
Partisan Politics
Reuters
NEW DELHI - India,s president
has rapped political parties for obstructing parliament after the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi resorted to a ﬂurry of
executive decrees to push through
economic reforms held opposition.
In a rare rebuke from country,s
largely ceremonial president,
Pranab Mukherjee said the government and the opposition should
put their heads together and ﬁnd a
workable solution to avoid frequent
issuance of ordinances.
He was referring to the promulgation of 10 ordinances, including
those for raising the Foreign Direct
Investment (FDI) limit in the in-
surance sector, auctioning of coal
mines and easing land acquisitions
by Modi,s gment.
«There is a growing tendency to resort to disruption as a means of parliamentary intervention. Dissent is a
recognized democratic expression,
but disruption leads to loss of time
and resources, and paralyses policy
formulation,» Mukherjee said in a
speech on Monday.
«Under no circumstances should
there be disruption of the proceedings. A noisy minority cannot be allowed to gag a patient majority.»
Mukherjee,s speech and comments
that decrees were an «extraordinary
legislative power» were widely
commented on in IndianTuesday.
Modi,s right-wing Bharatiya Janata
Party won the biggest mandate in
30 years in May last year, raising
hopes it would have the numbers
to control parliament and ensure
the smooth passage of legislation.
But the BJP lacks a majority in the
upper house, where Congress and
regional lawmakers had combined
to protest over forced religious
conversions started by hardline
Hindu organizations having ties
withBJP.
The purpose of ordinances is to
allow government to take immediate legislative action at a time
when parliament is not in session.
Ordinances have immediate effect
but have to be approved by lawmakers six weeks after parliament
convenes.
Polling has opened in Zambia,s
tightly contested presidential vote
amid accusations of intimidation
from the main opposition candidate Hakainde Hichilema.
The two frontrunners are the ruling
Patriotic Front,s Edgar Lungu, and
Hichilema, candidate of the United
Party for National Development.
A close contest is expected, with
the Patriotic Front having experienced inﬁghting after the death of
President Michael Satathree years
into his ﬁve-year term.
Zambia has had ﬁve presidents
since its independence from Britain
in 1964. Two have died in ofﬁce.
The winner of the election will
serve the remaining 19 months of
Sata,s term.
Al Jazeera,s Haru Mutasa, reporting from a polling station in the
capital, Lusaka, said voting appeared to be going well.
«Lines are getting longer and longer,» she said. «People are saying
they want someone younger, someone who won,t die in ofﬁce. They
also want someone who will deal
with unemployment, education and
infastructure issues.
«But most of all they hope whoever loses the election accepts the
result.»
Opposition candidate Hichilema
has promised change and investor-
friendly policies that he says will
create jobs.
The Ruling Patriotic Front is promising continuity, to improve roads
and facilities, education and cjobs.
Both parties say they want to improve the lives of poor Zambians
in Africa,s second biggest copper
producer.
However, they disagree over the tax
on mining companies introduced
by the ruling party in January.
The Patriotic Front says that the
mining companies make too much
money and can expect more taxes.
The United Party for National
Development says that such a tax
is unpractical, and could prompt
more mines to close - and as a re-
sult, more people could lose their
jobs.
Intimidation claims
Hichilema has accused the ruling
party of intimidating voters.
«There is a lot of violence perpetuated by the ruling party. They are
moving around with pangas, dangerous weapons and attacking people», he told Al Jazeera.
Lungu denied the accusations.
«My message to him [Hichilema]
and to those who support him, is
please let,s have peace. I don,t want
to be president over a destroyed nation on account of people,s ambition. Not a drop of blood should be
list on account of one wanting to be
leader,» he said.
11 ADVERTISEMENT
Wednesday, January 21, 2015