Sudan parliament says proposed government cuts still under study
July 2, 2012 (KHARTOUM) – The speaker of Sudan’s National Assembly, Ahmad Ibrahim Al-Tahir, on Monday said that the presidency of the republic is still studying proposed cuts in government bureaucracy before referring them to the parliament.
Al-Tahir said that the proposed reductions were still being studied by the presidency of the republic which would then send them to the parliament for approval. He pointed out that the parliament term was supposed to end yesterday but has been extended until tomorrow in order to approve the cuts.
The ruling National Congress Party (NCP) previously said that the eliminated positions would come exclusively out of its share without touching that of other parties participating in the government including the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) of Mohammed Osman Al-Mirghani.
But delays in announcing the new government structure gave rise to speculations of disagreements between the NCP and participating parties.
Local newspapers on Tuesday quoted an unidentified NCP official as saying that there are no disagreements on the new government structure. He revealed that six federal ministries would be eliminated as part of the restructuring.
According to that official, the majority of ministers who will be made redundant are affiliated to the NCP.
The cuts in government size are part of austerity measures that include ending of fuel subsidies in order to make up for what officials say is a budget deficit of 2.4 billion US dollars. Analysts say the announced reduction in government size is an attempt to tell the public that the authorities are also feeling the pinch.
(ST)