Sudan will begin rolling out an experimental programme of direct cash transfers to its neediest citizens next week as it tries to wean the country off costly subsidies.
Khartoum has been struggling to reorganise its floundering economy. Inflation has been running at nearly 100% and the currency tumbling as the government prints money to subsidise bread, fuel and electricity.
With foreign debts of around $62 billion, Sudan last week began talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on a non-funded programme that could pave the way for international financial support.
Under the new pilot cash payment programme, the government will transfer 500 Sudanese pounds (about $9) per person per month, beginning in Khartoum’s West Soba district, quickly followed by four other areas in the country, the finance ministry said in a statement on Sunday.
“These areas were carefully chosen to assess the appropriateness of the project’s mechanisms, plans and interventions” before being extended to the rest of the country, it said.
The programme is being funded by the Sudanese government and international organisations, the statement said.
Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok promised two weeks ago that the government would not remove subsidies on bread or electricity, but instead would focus on reducing them on petrol and diesel.
