Sudan begins funding Darfur regional authority
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May 9, 2012 (KHARTOUM) – A Sudanese official announced on Wednesday
that the government has started releasing fund to Darfur Regional
Authority (DRA) after its chairman, Tijani el-Sissi, voiced
frustration with Khartoum’s slowness in upholding its financial
commitments.
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FILE PHOTO – Head of Darfur regional Authority, Tijani el-Sissi, (L)
and head of Darfur follow-up office Amin Hassan Omar (R) (REUTERS)
The minister of state at the presidency of the republic, Amin Hassan
Omer, revealed that a meeting chaired by first Vice-President Ali
Osman Mohammed Taha and the finance minister Ali Mahmoud had formed
committees to handle arrangements to secure releasing of fund owed by
the government to the DRA as scheduled.
Meanwhile, el-Sissi confirmed that the ministry of finance had indeed
begun disbursing some of the DRA’s financial entitlements after months
of waiting.
El-Sissi, who was speaking on Wednesday before the council of states,
however said that challenges are still standing with regards to
repatriation of the IDPs, development programs, and creating an
environment conducive for peace.
The DRA was installed under a peace deal signed in mid-July last year
between the Sudanese government and the former rebel Liberation and
Justice Movement (LJM) led by El-Sisis with the aim of putting an end
to nine years of unrest in Sudan’s western region.
The Sudanese government has been struggling to meet its financial
commitment to the DRA due to the economic difficulties it is facing
due to the loss of oil revenues with South Sudan’s secession. Khartoum
has also been devoting available funds to finance its army which is
fighting rebels in South Kordofan and Blue Nile State.
South Sudan’s brief occupation of disputed oil area of Heglig in July
increased Sudan’s spending on military.
Last week, el-Sissi briefed the Sudanese parliament that the finance
ministry failed to secure 200 million dollars the government is
committed to allocate for the implementation of economic projects and
to repatriate IDPs and refugees as well as to hold different
initiatives agreed between the parties.
Also last week, President Al-Bashir formed the High Follow-Up
Committee for Peace in Darfur (HFCPD) to oversee the implementation of
Darfur peace agreement, appointing himself as chairman of the
newly-created body.
Amin Hassan Omer further announced that arrangements are underway to
hold the first meeting of the 20-member HFCPD within two weeks.
Meanwhile, El-Sissi said in an interview with the London-based
AL-Hayat newspaper that Qatar, which hosted the Darfur peace process
and pledged 2 billion US dollars for development in the region, had
decided to start as of next June the implementation of early
repatriation programs at an underestimated cost of 25 million US
dollars.
In a related development, El-Sissi condemned the alleged occupation by
South Sudan’s army known as SPLA of four areas in South Darfur States.
He said the SPLA recently occupied the areas of Al-Amood Al-Akhdar,
Kafan Dabi, Hofrat Al-Nuhas and Safaha areas in South Darfur, accusing
Juba of defying the UN Security Council’s resolution that ordered
Sudan and South Sudan to withdraw troops from border regions.
“We define those areas as part of Darfur and if their occupation
continues, we will have to resist it through all means. This is a
legitimate course of action” he told Al-Hayat.
Sudan accuses South Sudan of supporting the Darfur rebel groups that
rejected the peace agreement, including the Justice and Equality
Movement (JEM) and two factions of the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM)
led by Abdel Wahid Nur and Manni Arkoi Minnawi.
The SLM Minnawi faction seized on Tuesday control of Gerida town which
is 100km south of Nyala, the provincial capital of South Darfur State.
UN reports from Darfur signal the decrease of violence against
civilians and fighting between the government and rebels groups who
moved their troops to South Kordofan where they fight besides the
SPLM-N.
However, the IDPs complain from the lack of humanitarian assistance as
the government encourages international donors to invest in
development projects stressing the displaced should now quit their
camps.
(ST)
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