No direction to lift subsidies on petroleum products: Sudan’s Parliament

Khartoum-SudaneseOnline-Sudan’s Parliament Speaker, Dr. Al-Fatih Ezz El Din, has stressed absence of any increase to taxes in the next budget or to lift subsidies on petroleum products, confirming that there are good indicators concerning economic breakthrough in the coming period, besides stability in the exchange rate and decline of the dollar against Sudanese pound.
Ezz El Din told Khartoum-based Al-Rai Al-A’am newspaper said that the crops export will start following the current agricultural season, pointing out that step would achieve stability and bring hard currency and good returns for farmers.
The Speaker described reports about lifting subsidies on petroleum products as “baseless” , adding that Parliament did not decide to lift subsidies on petroleum products because the budget has not yet put before it, indicating that the budget in its first stages, and stressed that the decision of not lifting subsidies on petroleum products issued by both Parliament and Finance Ministry.
Anti-regime demonstrations spread last year after President Omar al-Bashir announced austerity measures including tax hikes and an end to cheap fuel.
The cost of petrol at the pump roughly doubled at that time when fuel subsidies were partly lifted.
Sudan lost billions of dollars in oil receipts when South Sudan gained independence two years ago, taking with it about 75 percent of the formerly united country’s crude production.
Since then the north has been plagued by inflation, a weakened currency and a severe shortage of dollars to pay for imports.