Sudan on Thursday decided to reactivate the state of economic emergency and establish joint forces to protect the national economy in a bid to stop deterioration of the Sudanese pound which devalued around 45 percent in 10 days.
“Reactivation of the state of economic emergency includes deterrent procedures and laws to protect the economy and declaration of emergency courts and prosecutions,” Hiba Ahmed Ali, Sudan’s acting minister of finance and economic planning, said at a press conference in capital Khartoum.
“The insane rise in the exchange price of the U.S. dollar was … rather a sabotaging process to the Sudanese economy and suffocation to the government,” she added.
She reiterated that the government would not hesitate to deter the manipulators.
The Sudanese currency continues declining against foreign currencies, mainly the U.S. dollar, as the exchange rate of one U.S. dollar hit 270 Sudanese pounds in the parallel market on Thursday against the official exchange rate set by the central bank at 55 pounds.
The deterioration in the exchange price of the Sudanese pound has led to a significant hike in the prices of basic and essential commodities, which intensified the suffering of the citizens.
Sudan has been undergoing a dire economic crisis since the secession of South Sudan in 2011, due to which Sudan lost 75 percent of its oil revenues.
