The Sudanese government returns to Khartoum

Port Sudan- Ahmed Al-Arabi- The Sudanese Prime Minister, Kamel Idris, announced his intention to form a new government consisting of 22 ministerial bags called “the government of hope”, and included the merging of some ministries such as agriculture, irrigation, trade and industry.

This formation comes in an exceptional circumstance the country is going through, as the government is taking great challenges, most notably the re -work from the capital, Khartoum instead of the temporary capital, Port Sudan, located on the eastern coast of the country.

Idris explained that the government will gradually return to Khartoum, after the army announced its full control of the capital. However, this return faces a number of obstacles, foremost of which is the widespread destruction that affected the city center, where most government buildings and ministries are located, which were burned and vandalized during the battles that took place between the army and the Rapid Support Forces.

Khartoum witnessed the fiercest confrontations, as it suffers from a widespread deterioration in the infrastructure, as it was a scene of battles. Most electricity and water networks have gone out of service, and universities and schools stopped working, while residents continue to return gradually amid government efforts to rehabilitate the city.

Khartoum State has already started implementing an emergency plan to restore institutions to work, as the Ministry of Interior and some of its departments returned to work from the heart of Khartoum as part of a plan to secure the capital and reactivate the role of the police.

The new Prime Minister of Sudan, Kamel Idris, said on Saturday that the war between the Sudanese army and the rapid support forces is now on its end.

Al -Tayeb Saad Eddin, a spokesman for the Khartoum State government, said that the authorities resorted to lighting streets and institutions in the city center through solar energy, pending the restoration of the electricity network whose lines were looted and vandalized. Some ministries also started returning to their old headquarters, and started assessing the damages they suffered.

Employees between hope and suffering

Despite the government’s decision, the employees face many difficulties in returning to Khartoum. Essam, a government employee currently working from Port Sudan, told Al -Sharq that his house was destroyed, and is not suitable for living at the present time, which makes the return difficult, especially with the high costs of deportation and transportation in light of the economic crisis.

In the same context, Hassan, an employee working from Khartoum, says that he moved from his affected house in Bahri to a rented house in Omdurman, which was an additional financial burden on him.

He added: “Return is a good step, but the scale of the great destruction makes it a real challenge, especially for the employees who lost their homes.”

The decision to return to Khartoum came after extensive consultations with the security authorities, which confirmed that the situation is largely safe, but that the restoration of civil life in the capital remains hostage to the return of the citizen himself. Without citizens, the government cannot perform its functions, and vice versa.

Major General Mutasim Abdel -Qader, the security expert to Al -Sharq, confirms that “the return of the government to Khartoum is a necessary step to consolidate the sovereignty of the state, but it will not be completed unless a simultaneous return to the citizens, especially the employees and their families, are achieved, as they are the stability of the capital.”

He added that the security institutions, headed by the police, are able to extend control and prevent any faults, which constitutes an auxiliary environment to gradually normalize the situation.

Abdel -Qader believes that the process is reciprocal, and requires a joint effort between the state and society, stressing that the normalization of the situation must start with clear practical steps, starting with security and ending with the restoration of services.

Priorities of the new government

Commenting on the new formation, Mubarak Al -Fadil, head of the Umma Party, said that the tasks of the ministries are stipulated and do not need political advertisements.

He added that the priority should be to stop the war, reduce the suffering of citizens by restarting agriculture and factories, and providing basic services.

He stressed that any government will be meaningless unless preceded by a comprehensive political vision and a road map of peace and reconstruction.

He also stressed that returning employees to the capital requires great funding and prepared conditions, and this will not be achieved without stopping the war, a condition that the international community is expected to achieve to release frozen aid.

Source: Al Sharq