{"id":53431,"date":"2025-08-27T02:13:05","date_gmt":"2025-08-26T23:13:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/?p=53431"},"modified":"2025-08-27T02:13:05","modified_gmt":"2025-08-26T23:13:05","slug":"will-sudans-new-government-succeed-in-halting-the-pounds-decline-and-curbing-gold-smuggling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/27\/will-sudans-new-government-succeed-in-halting-the-pounds-decline-and-curbing-gold-smuggling\/","title":{"rendered":"Will Sudan\u2019s New Government Succeed in Halting the Pound\u2019s Decline and Curbing Gold Smuggling?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sudan Events \u2013 Agencies<\/strong><\/p>\n

The emergency economic measures announced by Sudanese Prime Minister Kamal Idris to stem the decline of the national currency and curb gold smuggling have been met with conditional approval across various sectors. While economic experts stress the need for a strong enforcement mechanism with broad powers, a former senior official dismissed the measures as \u201cdisastrous\u201d\u2014particularly the state\u2019s monopoly over gold exports\u2014and doubted they would produce any results.<\/p>\n

Prime Minister\u2019s Decisions<\/strong><\/p>\n

The new decisions include:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Establishing an Economic Emergency Committee chaired by the Prime Minister.<\/p>\n

Banning imports unless they fully comply with banking and commercial regulations, and prohibiting entry of goods that fail to meet approved standards and specifications.<\/p>\n

Strengthening anti-smuggling forces and equipping them with the necessary tools to perform effectively.<\/p>\n

Enforcing anti-smuggling laws, making the possession or storage of undocumented gold a crime regardless of location.<\/p>\n

Monitoring domestically produced gold closely until export to ensure it does not leave through illicit channels.<\/p>\n

Restricting the purchase and marketing of gold to a single government body, which will also provide importers with the necessary foreign currency.<\/p>\n

Creating a national digital platform to track imports and exports from ports of departure to Sudanese entry points.<\/p>\n

Reviewing Cabinet Decision No. 154 on car imports and cracking down on unregulated entry (\u201cvia pallets\u201d) at ports and crossings.<\/p>\n

Re-examining state-level emergency orders that impose unlawful fees in violation of federal governance laws, to ease citizens\u2019 burdens.<\/p>\n

Revisiting export policies to remove obstacles and ensure the smooth flow of goods.<\/p>\n

Conditional Support<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Khartoum State Gold Traders\u2019 Chamber welcomed the Prime Minister\u2019s measures\u2014particularly the state monopoly on gold exports. Chamber head Khalid al-Khanjar Tibidi told Al Jazeera Net the move was \u201ca crucial step for the state to control gold, now the sole major resource after the war.\u201d He stressed, however, that success depends on allowing traders access to official purchase outlets, and on buying gold at both the highest market rate and the global price to shut down smuggling completely.<\/p>\n

In contrast, Abdulmonem al-Siddiq, head of the Gold Exporters\u2019 Division, called the monopoly decision \u201ccatastrophic\u201d and warned it would \u201cdestroy what remains of Sudan\u2019s fragile economy, repeating the failed policies of the former regime with predictable consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t understand the insistence on repeating failed experiments,\u201d he said, adding that monopolizing gold exports for a select group would only fuel corruption. \u201cOur previous experiences with such policies led only to resource waste through smuggling and rampant corruption.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mohamed Taher Omar, Director-General of the Sudanese Mineral Resources Company, admitted in a previous statement to Al Jazeera Net that only 52% of gold exports go through official channels, while 48% bypass state control\u2014highlighting the scale of the smuggling challenge.<\/p>\n

Implementation Challenges<\/strong><\/p>\n

Professor Kamal Ahmed Yousif, Dean of Postgraduate Studies at Nilein University, described the decisions as positive but stressed the need for an empowered mechanism to enforce them amid ongoing \u201cinstitutional rivalries\u201d in the new government.<\/p>\n

He argued that stricter banking procedures in trade could help stabilize foreign currency flows, while anti-smuggling efforts would remain only partially effective. He also noted that gold revenues require a broader approach\u2014from regulated extraction with international partners to halting artisanal mining and tightening export controls through state-run mining companies.<\/p>\n

According to the Ministry of Minerals, traditional gold mining is spread across 14 of Sudan\u2019s 18 states, employing over two million people and producing about 80% of the country\u2019s output, compared to 20% from licensed companies.<\/p>\n

Revenue and Export Concerns<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yousif emphasized the importance of monitoring all imports\u2014not just cars\u2014as well as tightening oversight of export revenues. He added that reversing the pound\u2019s decline requires immediate investment in agriculture, factory rehabilitation, lowering taxes, encouraging local investors, enacting investment-friendly laws, and reducing customs dollar rates.<\/p>\n

\u201cDisastrous\u201d Measures<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mubarak Ardol, former head of the Sudanese Mineral Resources Company, criticized the Prime Minister\u2019s decisions as \u201cdisastrous,\u201d particularly the state monopoly on gold exports, which he said would stifle \u201cfree and fair competition\u201d and weaken the private sector.<\/p>\n

He argued that the government had previously tested\u2014and failed with\u2014such policies, just as it failed with its attempt to fix the exchange rate. \u201cThe state should not intervene in trade under any circumstances,\u201d Ardol insisted.<\/p>\n

Instead, he suggested public-private partnerships where both sides could benefit. He pointed out that in 2020, when a private company was given exclusive rights to gold exports, problems mounted until the government shifted to full economic liberalization\u2014an approach that allowed the Central Bank to generate foreign currency surpluses and hold multiple auctions.<\/p>\n

Ardol warned that gold production belongs to private producers, and the state cannot simply compel them to sell at its dictated price. He predicted the new decisions would actually reduce official revenue streams.<\/p>\n

He also criticized the exclusion of the private sector from the Economic Emergency Committee, arguing that the pound\u2019s decline and gold smuggling stem largely from flawed legislation that urgently needs review.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sudan Events \u2013 Agencies The emergency economic measures announced by Sudanese Prime Minister Kamal Idris to stem the decline of the national currency and curb gold smuggling have been met with conditional approval across various sectors. While economic experts stress the need for a strong enforcement mechanism with broad powers, a former senior official dismissed …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":53432,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-53431","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53431","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53431"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53431\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53433,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53431\/revisions\/53433"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53432"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53431"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53431"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53431"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}