KHARTOUM(UPDATE 19:00)

(

25 Apr

.) -

The Sudanese security service arrested eight of the Khartoum State Governor's Office staff on Wednesday.

The staff members are arrested against the backdrop of accusations of exploiting power benefits to get land under fake names, and selling them for 420 million Sudanese pounds ($73,253,200), and other amounts, for their own advantage.

A joint security committee of the economic security, the police, and the Ministry of Justice is expected to investigate the issue, after searching the procedures of immunity Governor Abdel Rahman El Khidir is enjoying.

US dollar rises to 9.3

Meanwhile, the Sudanese pound has recorded an unprecedented decline against the US dollar, as the selling price of the dollar in Khartoum's parallel market rose to 9.3 Sudanese pounds on Thursday. Accordingly, prices of consumer goods in the markets of Sudan's capital increased, amid complaints of citizens.

A kilogram of tomatoes has risen to SDG6 ($1.04) in Khartoum, from SDG5 ($0.87) late last week. A kilo of okra rose from SDG10 to 12 ($2.09). Sudanese market traders, dealers, and pharmacists have also predicted a rise in the prices of medicines in Sudan in the coming days by not less than 15 to 20 percent.

One US dollar was selling for SDG8.5 on the parallel, or 'black', market on 24 March, compared to 8.2 at the end of February.

File photo: Khartoum Stateandnbsp;Governor Abdel Rahman El Khidir (Sudan Vision)

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