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Khartoum, (Sudanow)- The Sudanese media ‏is nowadays much concerned about the leading figures and the so-called reformists within the leading party , National Congress Party (NCP) in the coalition currently holding the reign of power in the Sudan. Those who call themselves reformists within the NCP have submitted to the President of the Republic and NCP Chairman a memorandum that resulted in the sacking of three of them and suspension of the NCP membership of others. The concern was due to the possible political and economic consequences and the impact of a new political party splitting from the NCP, how it will affect the political arena, its relationship with the NCP and whether the experience of the Popular Congress Party (PCP) will be replayed or something different will pop up.

sudanow.info.sd met a leading figure of the reformist group, retired Brigadier-General Salah Al-Deen Karar, former member of the dissolved Revolution Command Council (1989) and former Energy and Mining Minister to discuss with him the options of the group and their viewpoints on the current political and economic situation in the country.

The interview runs as follows:

sudanow.info.sd: How do you view the current political and economic situation in the Sudan?

Karrar: This situation is undergoing a crisis. Politics and economy are inseparable; and the successful politics in resolving the problems of the country will have a direct impact on the political and economic stability and therefore I don’t believe that the recent economic measures will succeed.

Question: When will they succeed?

Answer: They will succeed in the case of introducing certain political steps that can be summed up in a minimum national consent on the citizenship rights without involving ideologies and narrow-minded affiliations and on resolving the security problems in Darfur, South Kordufan and the Blue Nile states.

Question: The dialogue has been going on since the onset of the Salvation Revolution (1989) of which you were member of the Revolution Command Council, what is it that you are demanding now?

Answer: When it called for the national dialogue conference, the Salvation at that time did not have the presently available political, security and economic powers and was not in a position to offer concessions. Now that after 24 years of a single-party rule, the Salvation is now qualified to make concessions that persuade others to come to agreement with it.

Question: What are the required concessions?

ANSWER: Appointment of a neutral, agreed upon prime minister chosen from national personalities of a recognized competence and selflessness to head an interim government during the remaining 20 months pending the coming elections which may be postponed. The concessions also include reasonable representation of the political forces and guaranteeing wider freedoms of expression so as to let the people believe those measures.

Question: But there was an elected government which you were among the officers who toppled. Do you want to go back to square one?

Answer: No. The Salvation came as a result of objective reasons reflected in the exclusive attitude that was obvious in the wake of the Armed Forces memorandum of February 1988 which called for isolating the National Islamic Front (NIF) from the coalition government. The third democratic experience failed completely when the government of the Umma and Democratic Unionist parties responded to the memorandum of the Army. This was the reason behind the coming of the Salvation or what was referred to as the NIF coup.

Question: Was it true that the officers who made the coup were NIF?

Answer: In response to this question, we can ask whether all members of the Command Council of the coup that was led by General Ibrahim Abboud in 1958 were from the Umma Party and whether those of the Command Council of May coup of Jaafer Nimeri of 1969 were Communists. The reply to these questions applies to the one on whether the members of the Salvation revolution command council were from the NIF.

Question: Some NCP leading figures argue that the reformists become outspoken only when they were unseated from power positions. What is your response to this view?

Answer: This is incorrect. Our voice was high at all positions we held as founders of the Salvation. We had courageous opinions within the Revolution Command Council that led to resignations by Brig. Osman Ahmed Hassan and Major General Faisal Abu Salih, providing a firm proof of our bravery. As for myself, I was dropped from the cabinet lineup in March 1998 due to my intrepid opinions to the extent that the ruling clique accused me of breaking up with Sheikh Hassan Abdullah al-Turabi. I was also sacked from the position of ambassador in Bahrain for my audacious opinions which were published by the newspapers. I could have remained in power like the military and civilians who are still holding government positions.

Question: I beg your pardon, I am asking about the reformists while you are speaking about your own bitter experience.

Answer: We have got together around principles and similar positions and I am entitled to speak about other colleagues. Dr. Ghazi Salah al-Deen Al-Atabani, for instance, when he was leader of the NCP Parliamentary Caucus, opined that it was unconstitutional for President Omar Al-Bashir to run for another presidency term and for this reason, he was sacked from that position. And due to his viewpoints, Atabani was removed from the Chief Negotiator position because he was opposed to Naivasha agreement. Hassan Osman Riziq, who occupied ministerial and gubernatorial positions, was served similar mistreatment and so was Dr. Ihsan al-Ghabshawy who voted against loans involving usury. Members of this group were classified as organizationally undisciplined even when they were part of the executive organ. And by the way, the reformist tendency has been as old as the Salvation.

Question: What is the deadline of the suspension of your NCP membership?

Answer: The decision fixed this to the date of our accountability. We don’t know this date because we have refused to be subjected to accountability by the committee because that committee and its chairman are biased and some of its members have uttered prejudiced prejudgments of the open message (memorandum) to the President and for this reason the committee lost competence for conducting accountability.

Question: Are you planning to form a new party?

Answer: Personally, I, even within the reformist group, am pessimistic and desperate about reforming the NCP, in spite of the presence of a considerable number of optimists about a reform.

Question: Why are you pessimist?

Answer: Like other long-serving regimes, the Salvation has become lacking in spirit of consultancy and institutional methods and the opinion has become confined to a group that is isolated from the public.

Question: If we may hold a resemblance, the revolution of Khomeini in Iran has remained coherent and successful ever since its birth in 1978. How about that?

Answer: The Iranian revolution was against the dictatorial rule of the Shah and was based on undisputed principles and this made it different from the Salvation experience of the Sudan. Furthermore, what makes me pessimistic is the corruption of the leaders and the opportunists around them. Even the party (NCP) itself is accused of corruption and of hoarding huge sums of money and resources which they use for dividing the opposition political forces and recruiting supporters.

Question: Is your group distant from corruption?

Answer: Yes. We have always announced we are ready for effecting the law of where-from have you got this, on condition that this rule applies to all of them and to their families. We are surprised each day by a new piece of information on this because the Party (NCP) has become sort of closed security circuits and sometimes the President is taken by surprise like us on some situations.

Question: Counting on your economic background, to what extent do you think President Bashir’s visit to Juba, declaration of opening border-crossing posts and permission of passage of the South Sudanese oil for exportation through the Sudanese territories and sea ports would contribute to backing the Sudanese economy?

Answer: A Sudanese proverb says: “May God make good ominous tidings”, ever since the secession of the South no agreement or protocol between the two countries has lasted long.

Question: President Salva Kiir Mayardit has sacked the persons who are belived to obstruct implementation of such agreements.

Answer: But on the other side (in the Sudan) the “lick-the-elbow” people (the hard-liners) still exist. However, in spite of all this, I wish what has been agreed upon will be implemented this time in support of the economies of the two countries.

Question: How do you view the international community dealing with the government?

Answer: The dealing by the international community, even by some of the neighbouring countries, cannot be isolated from hindering the relations with the South and cannot be isolated from the unwise policies adopted by our government, like supporting HAMAS, Khartoum relationship with Iran and making several nations scared of the Islamic experience in the Sudan. I, along a number of members of Revolution Command Council, have been, since the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, advocated a policy of isolationism and engaging in matters of immediate interest of the Sudanese people and pursuing a policy of non-alignment on all issues and maintaining equal distances with all differing regional and international parties.

Question: But HAMAS is an Islamic movement of the same ideology that you uphold while there are strategic issues that link you with Iran?

Answer: But we need a Sudanese model for transition from a call (Da’wah) movement to a state movement and the priority will be for the success of this model which must be firm and effective if it is designed for export. But under the present circumstances, this model is weak, both internally and externally. Our position towards the developments in Egypt is a good example of this weak model.

Question: Let’s go back to the economic problem. Would you analyze and pinpoint suitable solutions to this problem under the critical circumstances the country is passing through?

Answer: Mismanagement is the problem of the Sudanese economy. It’s not enough to make sound plans and lay down relevant annual budgets if the management is a failure because the economy is actually based on flexibility and requires substitutes which can only be found through wise, successful and rational management of the Sudanese economy.

Question: But the economy has witnessed a remarkable improvement during 1999 and 2009.

Answer: That was a period of abundance which does not need as much effective management as it does for properly arranged priorities by granting financing priorities to the productive sectors over the consumption sectors. This was not the case during that period in which the Gross National Product grew from 10 billion to 53 billion dollars squandered in extravagant government spending.

Question: But how about the bridges, roads, dams, universities and other unmistakable projects?

Answer: True. But those infrastructure projects were financed by Arab and other foreign funds, something which added to the economic burden on the Sudan; and this was what I meant by the economic mismanagement.

Question: But until now you haven’t indicated the needed solutions.

Answer: Coming at the top of the solutions is a proper economic management and the mandate by the Ministry of Finance over the public funds – both the federal and the state money. Another important solution lies in cessation of the practice by some influential federal ministries of holding proceeds back for spending on projects of those ministries away from the general budget, a matter which increases the demand for foreign currencies and consequently raising the rate of foreign exchange and inflation. For instance, the rate of exchange during the period of abundance was 2.9 Sudanese pounds a dollar and has now reached 7.5 pounds a US dollar.

Question: Can you give reasons for the gap between the official and black market rate of exchange?

Answer: The main reason was the market economy (decontrolled) policy which required the floating of the Sudan pound against the dollar. When the rate of exchange in the black market or out of the banks reaches 7 pounds a US dollar, the official rate reaches 6 pounds a dollars and the inflation goes up due to the deficit between the revenues and expenditure.

Question: What is the impact of cutting down the government spending and shrinking the administrative system on recovery of the national economy?

Answer: There is a misunderstanding of the government spending when it is taken as spending on ministries and officials of the state. The spending required to be cut down and addressed is the holding back of funds by the sovereignty ministries which submit unreal budgetary proposals, relying on their immunity and protection against the official auditing. The meant spending also includes a protracted administrative system of the federal body whose most proceeds are spent away from the mandate of the Ministry of Finance over the public funds. This sort of spending must be addressed if a genuine economic reform is intended.
END
Mas/MO

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