Sudan: Economist Expects Poverty Rates Rise

Sudan Events – Nahid Oshi

The economist Dr. Haitham Mohammed Fathi has expressed fear about imposing more taxes and printing money in such a manner that leads to increased inflation rates and putting more pressure on the deficit, which definitely frustrate the smooth movements of the wheel of development.
He told Sudan Events that continued rise in commodity prices and the worsening Sudanese economic crisis in light of the continuation of the war and the deterioration of exchange rates are major obstacles to the current budget and could result in repercussions that lead to a further increase in the targeted deficit.
He added that the war economy and the decline in resources have been a feature of Sudan’s general budget for a long time due to narrow channels of the formal economy and the expansion of the informal economy, which expanded due to the government’s financial and monetary policies because of inevitability of increasing military and security spending.
He expected that the economy would suffer from high inflation, which affects development spending items and spending on services, particularly health and education. Therefore, it is expected that the already existing poverty rate will rise, coupled with (25,000) people losing their jobs, and the government inability to meet salaries in the public sector.