Happening Now..!!
By Al-Tahir Satti
When he was president of the Al-Amir Bahrawi football club, I once accompanied my friend Osama Abdel Jalil Al-Saim to a match against Al-Ahli Shendi. I still recall that Al-Ahli had finished the first half leading 3–0, when Osama suddenly decided to fire the coach during halftime. I tried to reason with him, urging patience until the match was over, but he refused, saying: “No, no, he has to go now so we can preserve the result.”
In other words, he wanted to ensure his team would only lose by three goals — and that’s exactly what happened!
It seems that the Sovereign Council could occasionally benefit from Osama Al-Saim’s “theory.”
For instance, today the dollar reached 3,600 Sudanese pounds on the parallel market. So, to “preserve the result” and prevent further deterioration, the Council might as well dismiss the Governor of the Central Bank, Burai Al-Sadiq, immediately — before the number 6 replaces 3 in the exchange rate!
Ironically, just a few days ago, the Governor proudly announced that the Central Bank had “intervened quickly” to contain the fluctuation of the pound, describing it as temporary and limited.
At that time, the dollar rate was lower than it is today — meaning that his swift intervention has only driven the pound further down. God knows what will happen if the governor continues these “quick interventions” — unless he’s removed.
Yesterday, the Sudanese Mineral Resources Company Ltd. revealed that gold production between January and September this year reached 53 tons — yet conveniently omitted the 44 tons that were smuggled. This figure is nothing but self-deception, an attempt to soothe the authorities, while official reports estimate that the volume of smuggling is three times the amount officially exported.
And at the heart of this problem lies the Central Bank’s restrictive policies, which encourage smuggling rather than curb it.
I have said it before: Sudan has already suffered from the failed experiment of gold monopolization by the Central Bank. It is sheer folly to repeat corrupt and unsuccessful policies. The Bank may purchase gold to bolster the national reserve — that’s acceptable — but trading and exporting are the domain of commercial banks and private companies. The Central Bank’s role should be limited to regulation and oversight. It is disgraceful for it to compete with traders in the marketplace.
Nations rise through free economies, fair competition, quality, and pricing — not through monopolies or abuse of power.
We have warned that the Central Bank’s monopoly over gold trade is a gateway to corruption, fueling inflation, shrinking export returns, and driving up both smuggling and the dollar rate.
And that is exactly what’s happening now.
The Sovereign Council knows this — yet does nothing — because the Governor appears stronger than all accountability and oversight authorities combined.
