Khartoum state tourism minister defends lack of revenues in his ministry

September 11, 2013 (KHARTOUM) – Khartoum state’s minister of Human Development, Antiquities, and Tourism Yahiya Saleh Mukwar, has attributed the limited revenues collected by his ministry to the conflicting roles between federal and state ministries and fees imposed on tourism by local authorities.

Mukwar, who presented his ministry’s semi-annual report before Khartoum state legislative council on Tuesday, strongly denied that this situation was due to poor performance on their part.

The state minister also demanded that Nile cruises and Islamic tourism should be given priority in funding.

MPs on their part agreed with Mukwar that ministry revenues approached zero due to conflicting roles and pointed that 100% of the revenues are deposited at the finance ministry. They called for allowing the ministry to keep 50% of the revenues instead.

Last March, Sudan’s national tourism minister, Mohamed Abdul-Karim Al-Had, disclosed that tourism revenues in 2012 were estimated at $600 million and said he expects that the number of tourists entering the country this year to top 5 million. The minister stated that Sudan has an advantage of security which attracts tourists.

(ST)