Sudan borrowing limited amounts from central bank

Reuters/Sarah Silbiger

Sudan’s finance minister said on Wednesday said the government was borrowing limited amounts from the central bank, but was still able to control inflation.

Sudan’s economy has been in crisis for years. That crisis has deepened and the economic activity has stagnated since a military takeover in October 2021 derailed a political transition that was meant to lead to democratic elections.

Billions of dollars of external financial support and a debt relief programme overseen by the International Monetary Fund were suspended.

Asked how much money the central bank had printed, Finance Minister Jibril Ibrahim said: “Not much. We have a ceiling and luckily we haven’t reached that ceiling.”

Inflation has been falling in recent months but remained above 100 percent in September, according to official data.

“Whatever we are borrowing is within the limits set by the IMF itself for us,” Ibrahim told Reuters on the sidelines of the Cop27 climate summit in Sharm el-Sheikh. “And it’s not negatively affecting inflation (or) the exchange rate.”

Ibrahim also said Sudan was not receiving support from Gulf states it has previously courted for funding as the economic crisis deepened.

International lenders and Western donors have said the resumption of financial support is contingent on the restoration of a civilian-led government.

After a long stalemate, Sudan’s military recently submitted its views on a draft constitution, as a basis for negotiations for a new political deal under UN mediation.

Ibrahim, a former rebel leader who backed last year’s military takeover and stayed on as finance minister after it happened, said talks so far had been restricted to the army and a coalition of pro-democracy civilian parties that shared power with the army before the coup.

“The procedure itself is wrong. It shouldn’t be partial negotiations,” he said.

“What we are hoping is that will all be broadened, and all the other initiatives will be put on the table and we will have a national dialogue.”