Sudan’s al-Burhan announces limited cabinet reshuffle

November 1, 2023 (PORT SUDAN) – Sudanese Sovereign Council Chairman Abdel Fattah al-Burhan on Thursday reshuffled the cabinet, relieving five ministers, including a relative of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The changes come in light of growing discontent with the caretaker government’s performance, particularly its failure to deliver services during the ongoing conflict.

Al-Burhan dismissed incumbent Livestock Minister Abdel Hafiz Abdel Nabi, a relative of Rapid Support Forces (RSF) leader Mohamed Hamdan Hemetti, who has been fighting the army since April 15.

Abdel Nabi is also the Vice-Chairman of the Sudanese Alliance, a gathering of several groups led by the slain governor of West Darfur State, Khamis Abdallah Abkar. He is also the brother of the RSF Financial Affairs Officer and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the RSF-owned Al-Sayha newspaper, Mustafa Abdel Nabi.

Al-Burhan also dismissed the Minister of Energy and Oil, Mohamed Abdallah Mahmoud; the Minister of Transport, Hisham Ahmed Ali Abu Zaid; the Minister of Labor and Administrative Reform, Souad Al-Tayeb; and the Minister of Trade and Supply, Amal Saleh Saad.

To replace them, al-Burhan appointed Mohieddin Naeem as Minister of Energy and Mining, Al-Fateh Abdallah Youssif as Minister of Trade and Supply, Abubakr Abu Al-Qasim as Minister of Transport, and Ahmed Ali Abdel Rahman as Minister of Labor and Administrative Reform.

All the ministers appointed are technocrats, such as Mohieddin Naeem, who served as Director of Administrative Affairs at the Ministry of Energy and Mining and Director of the Ministry’s Petroleum Training Center.

Following the coup d’état of October 25, 2021, the military leaders appointed technocrat ministers to replace those nominated by the Forces for Freedom and Change, while the armed groups signatories of the Juba peace agreement kept their positions.

(ST)