Sudan pays $200 million to Darfur authority, regional minister
January 30, 2013 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudanese government paid the
first instalment of its financial commitment to the Darfur Regional
Authority (DRA), according to Tadjadine Bechir Niam, DRA Minister of
Reconstruction, Development and Infrastructure.
JPEG - 45.3 kb
A file picture taken in Forgo in North Darfur on 30 May 20012 where
some girls welcome a UNAMID delegation and report their need of water
with handwriting banners. (Photo by Albert Gonzalez Farran/ UNAMID)
The Sudanese government and the former rebel Liberation and Justice
Movement (LJM) signed the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD) on
14 July 2011, but the head of the former rebel group and regional
authority Tijani Al-Sissi kept blaming the government for paralysing
DRA activities due to the lack of money.
The Sudanese First Vice President Ali Osman Taha announced on 15
January that the Ministry of Finance and National Economy has issued a
letter of guarantee to the Central Bank of Sudan to allocate SDG800m
($180m) for the DRA to implement the peace agreement.
"I can assure that we have the money at our disposal" said Niam in
statements to Sudan Tribune on Wednesday. Adding "the federal
government paid us all the $200 million that represents the first
instalment for 2012".
The regional body had previously only received small portions of this
instalment.
He said the DRA, which is tasked with the implementation of the DDPA,
will use this money to finance and implement projects related to the
return of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and refugees,
recovery and reconstruction projects.
He further said they will convene very soon a conference, the regional
authority had to adjourn several times in the past, on the voluntary
return of IDPs and refugees to be held in Nyala.
"This important event will be organised before the Donors conference",
he stressed.
Despite its rejection by the three historical rebel groups in Darfur
and the continuation of violence in the troubled western Sudan, the
DDPD is seen by the regional and international community as offering a
good opportunity to end the 10 year conflict.
But donors warned Khartoum they would not participate in the funding
of development projects unless it honours its commitments and
implement the deal particularly to fulfil its financial commitments
and also to achieve justice in Darfur.
In his latest report on Darfur to the UN Security Council discussed
recently, the Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Darfur special
prosecutor, appointed in accordance to the DDPD, commenced his work.
"On 12 December, (the prosecutor) informed UNAMID that it had opened
investigations into 10 cases, among them crimes committed in 2005,
2010, 2011 and 2012", the report said.
Niam said a commission tasked with the preparations of the donors
conference finalised a number of projects to be presented at the
international meeting which will take place in the Qatari capital
Doha.
Regarding the date of the conference, the DRA chief who is currently
touring Asian countries will visit also Doha to determine it with the
Qatari officials. The minister, however, said it should take place in
April.
He also said the DRA will continue to mobilise the international
community and encourage it to participate in the donor meeting,
pointing to a tour of the Gulf states and some Western countries
including Britain, France and the US.
A first conference for international donors was held before the
signing of the DDPD in March 2010, but it missed the $2bn funding
target. The Cairo donor conference for Darfur raised only $850m.
Regarding the return of international nongovernmental groups to
Darfur, the regional minister said an inter-ministerial committee
formed last month will assess the humanitarian needs and will study
how local authorities deal with foreign groups on the ground.
He stressed that the presidential decision of 23 December 2012 on the
formation of a committee to authorise the nongovernmental groups to
work in Darfur is effective since its issuance.
He further stressed that this committee will facilitate the work of
aid groups and monitor their performances.
Sudan foreign minister Ali Karti criticised last December the eviction
of aid groups from Darfur after the first indictment of president Omer
Al-Bashir by the international Criminal Court on 14 July 2008.
Also the DRA the NGOs be allowed back into the country as many donors
will implement their contributions to Darfur recovery and
reconstruction plans though these organisations.
(ST)
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