Daily Times

KHARTOUM: Sudan must undertake swift structural reforms to revive its steadily declining economy, including devaluing the Sudanese pound against the dollar, the World Bank said on Sunday.

Rising inflation and the loss of nearly 75 per cent of oil earnings following the north-south split in 2011 led to a steady decline in Sudan’s economic growth.

The decline comes over an economy already damaged by US trade sanctions imposed since 1997, making international banking transactions cumbersome when it comes to doing business with Sudan.

“It is essential that Sudan undertakes a combination of institutional, macro-economic and sectorial reforms to reach a stable growth,” said a World Bank report on the country’s economy released.

“While the authorities have succeeded in reducing inflation and slightly recovering from the negative growth rates of 2011 and 2012, more must be done to ensure a more stable economy,” said the report’s lead author, Michael Geiger.

Sudan’s average gross domestic product growth, between 1998 and 2008, was above six per cent, after which it steadily declined to three per cent in recent years.

Previous efforts to reform the economy were proven controversial. An attempt in September 2013 by Sudan to cut fuel grants had led to bloody confrontations between anti-austerity protesters and security forces that left dozens dead in Khartoum.