Central Bank: No mortgage for Gezira Assets

Sudan Events – Rehab Abdullah

The Central Bank of Sudan on Saturday turned down a proposal to mortgage the assets of the Gaziera Agricultural scheme in order to be able to finance the current agricultural season.
Informed sources revealed told Sudan Events that the central banks has refused to mortgage the assets of the Gezira Scheme to the Agricultural Bank prompting the later to stop steps it has started for provision of funds to the scheme.
The Governor of the Gezira Scheme, Dr. Omar Marzouk, explained in an interview with (Sudan Events) that the Agricultural Bank’s advisor has sent six preconditions to the Director General of the Agricultural Bank, whereas the central bank had initially sent only one authorization condition.
He said he would go back to the officials of the Bank of Sudan (Sunday) to clarify the matter.
Last week, the Gezira Scheme signed an agreement to mortgage the project’s assets at about 75 billion Sudanese pounds to cultivate 300,000 acres of wheat at a cost of 66 billion in addition to 15 billion for the bank, after the Ministry of Finance agreed to grant authorization to the project Governor to mortgage its assets for the deal with the Agricultural Bank.
The governor pointed out that the values of the Scheme ’s assets amount to more than 100 billion pounds.

The governor of the Al-Jazeera project hinted at canceling the financing contract on their part if they did not agree to distribute it tomorrow (Sunday). He justified this in his interview with (Sudan Events) in terms of the lack of time, “There is no time to wait because the dates for planting wheat have come.” He added.
Pointing out that if the bank insists on what was stated in the advisor’s letter, this means that we need a month, “which is something that we cannot wait for.” He continued.