Mon 02 September 2019:
Sudan’s hard-won transition to civilian rule has fallen further behind schedule.
Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, a seasoned United Nations economist who faces the daunting task of rescuing his country’s moribund economy, was supposed to unveil a cabinet on Wednesday under a post-Bashir plan.
But he is still considering the candidates, causing a knock-on delay to the first meeting between the government and the joint civilian-military ruling body overseeing the transition which was supposed to have been held on Sunday.
Hamdok, who took oath on August 21, received the nominee list from the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) umbrella protest group on Tuesday and has been mulling the candidates since then.
“The FFC was late in submitting the list of nominees to the PM which has ultimately delayed the unveiling of cabinet,” protest leader Amjed Farid told AFP news agency.
Ibrahim al-Amin, another protest leader, said the delay “is entirely the responsibility of the FFC” as there were “differences” within the group over the candidates.
Under the deal, the cabinet should be largely selected by the premier. Only the interior and defence ministers will be chosen by the military members of Sudan’s ruling body.
Amin said the delay in announcing the cabinet would “certainly have a negative impact” by slowing down the transition.
It is not the first hurdle thrown up in Sudan’s path out of decades of authoritarianism.
The line-up of Sudan’s 11-member sovereign council was held up for two days over differences within the opposition camp, before it was finally revealed on August 21.
Hamdok, who built a career in continental and international organisations, most recently as deputy executive secretary of the UN’s Economic Commission for Africa in Addis Ababa, last week confirmed receiving a list of 49 candidates for 14 ministries.
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