Khartoum state receives rare federal funding

December 27, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – The Khartoum state government has received federal funding to cover the financial burdens of the increasing domestic migration flows into the Sudanese capital.

Sudan’s finance minister Badr al-Din Mahmoud said they provided 400 million (SDG) to Khartoum state to contribute to the drinking water project, saying the fund would help allow residents to enjoy stable water supply during the summer.

The fund comes against the background of the complaint by the governor of Khartoum about the high cost of federal burden on the capital which suffers from limited revenues.

Mahmoud, who spoke before the parliament during the deliberations on the 2016 budget Sunday, said the finance ministry has also given up 50% of the fees applied to the vehicles licensing for the state of Khartoum.

He expected the move would increase the state’s revenues, pledging to continue to support the free health care programs in public hospitals.

Meanwhile, Mahmoud called upon the states to stop collecting illegal fees, criticizing the blocking of commodity movement in the markets.

He pointed that states have not complied with the several directives issued by the federal government, advising the states to develop their own financial resources.

Mahomud vowed to provide incentives for the states who manage to increase their financial resources, saying those incentives would be offered according to specific measures including the impact on the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), inflation, unemployment and prices.

(ST)