Least Developed Nations Fail to Implement MDG: Interview with Expert in Political and Social Sciences
13 January, 2015Khartoum (SUDANOW) A United Nations report indicated that most of the world's 148 least developed states, including Sudan, have not implemented the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDG) which the UN member states pledged in 2000 to achieve by 2015.
In an effort to discuss the reality and challenges confronting the Sudan, SUDANOW interviewed Professor Balgees Bedry, a prominent professor in Sudanese universities and expert in politics and sociology, to shed light on the issue.
SUDANOW: Would you cast light on the MDGs and on the extent of their obligatory nature?
Bedry: The eight MDGs are: eradication of poverty and hunger, mandatory primary education, gender equality and women's empowerment, cutting down the rate of child mortality, improvement of reproductive health, fighting HIV-AIDS, guaranteeing environmental sustainability and establishment of a global partnership for development. All UN member states are obliged to implement this agreement. President Omar al-Bashir was present at the New York summit meeting which made this declaration which is not only obligatory for each member state but is also a partnership under which the developed states help the poor one for reaching those Goals. The states are obliged to submit reports every five years on the progress of implementation of the MDGs.
Q: In your capacity as an academic sociologist, what progress do you think the Sudan has achieved in alleviating poverty within the community?
A: It is highly controversial to determine the level of poverty. The difference is how to determine whether a person is above or below the level of poverty. For instance, the state announces that the poverty is 46%, while other reports put it at 64% and yet other reports say it is close to 90%. The reason behind this disparity is that the poverty level can be measured by availability of an income that, for instance, can feed a person but the controversy arises when the expenses of education and health and a measure of entertainment are added.
The Sudan has achieved a high level of progress but could not dramatically cut down the rate of poverty; though there are efforts being made through establishment of development and social insurance funds and the self-generated loans projects which have been introduced in several regions. The state is committed to forming an anti-poverty unit within the Ministry of Finance, while the Zakat (Islamic tax) put in contributions too. In order to cope with the market economy and with removal of subsidies, the Ministry of Finance appropriated amounts of money for keeping this rate and not to aggravate poverty of the poor.
But I think this effort is not sufficient for combating poverty in the presence of three factors- the war which increases the rate of internally displaced persons (IDPs) who are not productive, the small rate of exportation which undoubtedly affects the state's economy and the people's living, something which calls for a political-economic solution, including an end to the conflicts and lifting the economic sanctions to allow for rallying an external backing. If those issues are not addressed appropriately, the situation will remain as it is.
Q: Professor, can we consider the economic sanctions one of the obstacles, while the national dialogue can offer a solution?
A: Yes. We are in need for a political-economic package for finding a way out of those crises. The national dialogue may provide part of the solution, with participation by the armed (rebel) movements and stoppage of the war which is now raging in the major production regions of Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile which the Sudanese economy misses.
All the Sudanese people must close ranks for stopping this war by exerting pressure on both parties-the government and the movements- for reaching an agreement to halt the war because it dramatically affects the living conditions of the ordinary citizen.
As for lifting the economic sanctions, we need a tremendous effort because the political decisions in the United States of America are not taken by the President, but, rather, by the Congress within which there are pressure groups which promote opinions hostile to the Sudan. The situation is therefore complex and at least I hope we will find other friends.
Q; Can the civil society organizations play a role in mitigating the economic pressure within this community?
A: I don't think they have a major role. What is more important than this is to sign a peace agreement by the government and the armed movements. The civil society organizations can contribute by initiating a popular movement and proving support through education, health and social solidarity which could alleviate pressure on a number of families. The private sector companies can contribute by assisting the poor families with means of production. There must be genuine investment to make those groups productive.
Q: With regard to the MDG of empowerment of women and strengthening their role in the community, while UN statistics indicate an employment gap of men over women by 24.8%, what is the status of the Sudanese women in this connection?
A: There are two sides for the gap between the man and the woman- the first one is connected with joining the employment `system in which we have no problem, and the other is related to promotion to higher scales in which we have a gap. The woman employees are few in number but at the beginning of the ladder (the lower rank) they may outnumber the men, because the civil service lower rankers earn low wages and therefore, they are not attractive to men. In contrast, the woman has made a leap in the parliamentary representation by getting 25% of the parliament membership and we aspire for more. A search we have made on the number of women holding leading positions in a number of political parties in the Sudan, we found that there is a wide gap. In some of those parties there are no women in the leading positions; in others they constitute 10%-15%, even 30% in other parties, which is the highest rate. I believe the Sudanese woman has scored a fair success but is below ambitions, especially as the Sudan has gained independence a long time ago and so is the history of the feminist movement while the general political atmosphere supports, if not in deed at least in words, participation by the women in the public affairs and voices advocating otherwise are almost non-existent. Moreover, the woman has manifested successes in all fields and can excel the man if equal opportunities are made available to her. It is noticeable that the ratio of the female students admitted to the universities is higher than that of the male students.
It is true that the woman is advancing well and can move at a faster pace. In Rwanda, the women have managed to get 64% of the parliament membership, despite the difficulties their country has confronted. I am of the viewpoint that women should have a share in the executive organ; we cannot accept a status of having a large number of women in the lower positions and be a minority in the higher echelons.
Q: What are the reasons for that situation in your opinion?
A: They include a cultural concept on the part of the man who believes that the executive job requires a physical effort, time and relations the woman cannot afford, although the family commitments, including the breeding of children, do not pose an impediment for assuming the higher positions. The Sudanese family largely depends on the woman as a housewife, a mother and a sister; men appreciate the role being played by the woman and they sometimes depend on her for assistance in running the family economics. A proof that the Sudanese woman can succeed in the executive position can be seen in the accomplishments the women have made in the private sector as distinguished business-women in various aspects and, still, they are successful housewives and mothers.
Q: The Sudanese society has experienced numerous changes, some positive, others negative. How do you evaluate this?
A: I am inclined to emphasize on the positive aspects which include willingness by the youths to take up any job and willingness by the woman to probe new jobs for upgrading production. This is one of the MDGs. Moreover, there is a strong interest in education as is evident in the growing numbers of students in the universities and institutes. There is also the immense immigration phenomenon which may have negative aspects but has tremendous positive aspects, too. Travelling abroad enriches the intellectual capacity and experience of the youth and provides them with opportunities of contact with the outside world. I do not believe in the geographic frontiers as the globe has become a small village, thanks to the modern communications technology which develops each day. I consider immigration a negative practice only by highly experienced persons and university teachers, for example, for whom the state has to provide an attractive environment of high salaries and proper accommodation to encourage them into staying in the country to help prepare the future generations.
But the most negative phenomena are the unemployment for which I do not blame the individuals, the spread of narcotics and harassment or physical violence, topped by rape which has become a grave threat to the Sudanese society and family. The phenomena also include the wars and conflicts from which we have been suffering for years and which compel an individual to live in an IDP camp for years. These phenomena can be controlled by a political will-power for stopping the war and by solidarity of the members of the community.
Q: How can we address the phenomena of addiction and physical violence against women and children who are the community's most harmed groups?
A: This is not an easy job. It requires a tremendous effort by the community security police and a wide campaign of awareness among the families, largely by the media, in addition to urging the families to take care of their children and youths. Such phenomena have damaging psychological impacts on the victims. The civil society organizations also have a significant role to play in fighting those phenomena.
Q: How about the role of the state in enactment of deterrent laws to curb those awesome phenomena?
A: The state has to provide competent teams and units for monitoring the borders to check narcotics entering the country and to control gangs which promote for those narcotics. Moreover, it has to direct the energies of those youths towards the correct path by a proper utilization of their leisure time in cultural and sports clubs in addition to elimination of unemployment by providing additional job opportunities for the youths to distract them from the narcotics which make them unconscious and tend to perpetrate all forms of sin. The laws do exist but the punishment is imposed after the deed occurs. We have to deter the persons behind those practices, instead of leaving them to be deterred only by the law. The severest punishment must be imposed on the trafficker and promoter of the narcotics and then the phenomenon must be eliminated in its source before spreading out, bearing in mind that the phenomenon of child rape has grown along with the spread of the narcotics.
Q: The social circumstances of the urban woman differ from those of the rural woman. Is this for or against the interest of women in the Sudan, particularly with regard to education and living standard?
A: The Sudanese woman in the rural regions needs a substantial and integrated support in three spheres: First, provision of water for drinking, irrigation and other uses, second, provision of the means of production to improve her economic status and, third, provision of proper education and health services. All this is part of the MDGs as the women suffer a high rate of mortality during birth-giving due to the lack of health services. All this leads to a growing rate of immigration from the rural regions to the urban centers, cutting down the rate of productivity and the society turns into a consumer rather than a producer. We have to direct the greater volume of services towards the rural regions as all statistics indicate that the rural population is bigger in number than the urban one. One problem is that most of the non-governmental organizations operate only in urban centers, possibly due to the lack of resources needed for work in the rural regions or because they are engaged only in awareness or small-scale education while the countryside needs development projects and means of production.
The international non-governmental organizations operating in the field of development have decreased in number while the UN agencies have shrunk their activities in the Sudan and a number of countries have declined to offer aid and assistance due to the economic sanctions. All this has added to the difficulties facing the rural woman and, judging from these difficult economic circumstances, the countryside will be subject to a state of suffocation.
I believe it is important now to concentrate on directing the services to the countryside and I call for shedding light on the conditions in the rural regions and on the suffering by the woman there. The effort being exerted by the women's union in the regions is not enough; we are in need for some sort of communal partnership between the private sector companies and the states in which such a company provides support to the production through three parties: the company, an NGO in the state and a government council to organize and activate this partnership. There must be a close follow-up of this activity and its success must be gauged.
Q: Has the role of the international community towards the situation in the Sudan receded as a result of the political circumstances?
A: It has certainly receded to a great extent and I think the state is largely responsible for this due to the "mentality of suspicion and mistrust" in which it deals with the INGOs and the belief that those INGOs have clandestine agenda behind their negative reports on the Sudan. The state hastily expels those INGOs which are international and major ones with many branches all over the globe and with powerful budgets backed by many rich cities, implying that we are missing a tremendous support.
Q: What is the solution in your opinion?
A: What torments me at present is that the society is divided into two parts, one with the government and the other is against it, although the country is for all of us. We have to place more trust in the INGOs and in the international community which is no longer one of a government but is a community of organizations and big international companies which control the world through what has come to be known as "globalization". Therefore, we have to improve our relations with the INGOs and rally them for the interest of the Sudan. We have to establish a "twin" relationship between these INGOs and two NGO partners- one loyal to the government and another opposed to it besides a fourth partner which can be a national company which guarantees sustainability of the project in case of withdrawal by the alien. Some of the projects and services must be made in the conflict regions and others away from those regions. We are short of adequate information and statistics on the INGOs and our knowledge is limited to a few of them and therefore we have to establish new relations with non-European INGOs. For instance, we have to create twin relationships between our states and the rich countries of the world, but the big problem is that those countries tend to demand rather than offer. We have to remember that the last Goal of the MDGs is creation of "a development partnership" between the rich and poor countries but, in order to offer generously, the former want to guarantee the right course of the support through proper governance and transparency and we have to meet these conditions for the success of this support.
Q: What do you think are the methods for improvement of the performance by the Sudan for meeting the development pre-requisites over coming years?
A: First of all, there must be a good system of the governance and transparency. Secondly, the war must be stopped so as to direct the resources squandered in the war to the development. The war is now between the people of one country and, therefore, it must not persist. Thirdly, a political relaxation must be reached; otherwise, we will remain incapable of fulfilling the MDGs by 2020, the deadline given for the countries which could not achieve the eight MDGs. My message to the media is to focus on those important tripartite aspects of politics, economy and social development to contribute to mitigation of the suffering of the society.
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