Ali Karti Must Be Joking Again by Shrikanth Krishnamoorthy

Ali Karti says Arab countries have misperception of the situation in Sudan, and he thinks that this misperception is the reason that keeps Arab investors away from Sudan. I say they have pretty good idea what is going on, and the grim situation of this country became so well known among the potential investors internationally, that it is the high risk factor what is scaring them away.

Poor infrastructure, poor governance, lack of rule of law, protectionism, and corruption are the main reasons that keep investors away. You may endlessly mock domestically the UN's Human Development Index, Transparency International's annual report on corruption, the assessments of the World Bank and IMF: you may sell to the general Sudanese population that all these international organisations are joining forces as part of some grand zionist-masonist-communist-fascist-whoknowswhatelseist conspiracy against Sudan, but any serious investor who is considering to spend his money in a new place will read the very same reports first. Yes, even the Arab billionaires.

Your Excellency, there is another big problem that prevents the influx of the Arab's greenbacks: abroad you don't have the NISS to silence Saqr Al-Quraish and the other arab investors that got robbed and raped in Sudan with the assistance of the very same "judicial organs" whos prestige you are trying to preserve so vehemently these days. Did anyone seriously believe that in the long term there will be no consequences from Arab investors sharing their horrifying experiences from Sudan in their local business communities as well as internationally? It is not the domestic media, some local newspapers 'crossing the red line' that are scaring away the Arab billions. The horror stories of Saqr Al-Quraish and other Arab businessmen who got plucked and ****ed in Sudan are that form opinion in influential circles.

Your Excellency, let me ask couple of questions. How many foreign non-governmental direct investment projects survived 5 years after becoming operational? How many of them actually generated any profits? What is the ratio between the announced and the established projects? How many announced foreign direct investments were abandoned at the initial stage and what was their planned value? What are the main reasons behind foreign investors abandoning their announced, initiated or established projects? I suggest you urgently conduct an independent survey on these subjects, then talk about misperceptions, if any.

Arabic Forum