Resuming Work of Agricultural Bank in North Omdurman
Sudan Events_Nahid Oshi
The Sudanese Agricultural Bank, Northern Countryside Branch, has resumed its activities at its headquarters in the Al-Shehinab area.
The Governor of Khartoum, Ahmed Osman Hamza, said that despite the war conditions, it is necessary to continue to complete the return of vital institutions to work to alleviate the suffering of citizens, pointing out that the war did not affect production and did not stop (even in areas where the militia was present), as this was reflected in the availability of agricultural products in the markets. He said, “We were planning to electrify agricultural projects, but the war disrupted all development projects in the state and destroyed power stations. However, our efforts to restore services will not stop.” He directed to give top priority to the electrification of agriculture in the northern countryside, as it is one of the areas currently available for production, and added, “We will seek to provide seeds to catch up with the next season.”
Regarding the farmers’ default at the Agricultural Bank. He said that the treatment will be based on the size of the default, while no opinion has yet been formed regarding war compensation. He said that depends on quantifying the damages. He added, “This does not prevent postponing debts, taking into account the farmers’ circumstances.”
He called for a reconsideration of cold storage sites, directing state agencies to plan storage sites in production areas instead of the markets that were looted and burned and the trend towards agricultural industrialization.
For his part, Deputy Director General of the Agricultural Bank, Ezzeldin Ali Faqir, confirmed that the entire Agricultural Bank stands with the battle of dignity, and that the bank’s senior officials are now fighting the battle in defense of the homeland, despite the severe damage caused to the bank due to the war. He said that the bank was able to keep all its data and customer data in safe locations.
He said that the presence of the Governor of Khartoum encouraged us to resume our activity, and we will work to open bank windows in all safe areas.