Sudan expects inflation to rise further in 2012

(Reuters) Sudan’s inflation rate, now at 37 percent, will continue to rise until the end ofthe year as the government cuts back fuel subsidies and a difficult economic situation weighs, officials said on Sunday.  An economic crisis aggravated by the secession of oil-producing South Sudan a year ago has fueled sharp increases in food and other prices in Sudan, stoking discontent against the government of veteran President Omar Hassan al-Bashir.  Sudan has so far avoided a mass uprising like Egypt but a tough austerity programme that included scaling back fuel subsidies sparked small-scale protests four weeks ago. Annual inflation hit 37.2 percent in June, double the level in June 2011, as Sudan struggles to pay for imports – much of its needs including many basic food products come from abroad.  In July, inflation will probably rise further as the gradual lifting of fuel subsidies had not yet been fully factored in, said Alim Abdel-Ghani, head of the trade department at the central bureau of statistics.  Adel Abdelaziz, a senior official in the finance ministry of Khartoum state, said the national average inflation target of 25 percent would be hard to reach.
South to lead Africa, two Sudans broker peace
(The Witness) Doctor and diplomat Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma won a vote last night to become the first female head of the African Union Commission, delegates said.   The ex-wife of South African President Jacob Zuma and currently Home Affairs minister, defeated incumbent and rival Jean Ping of Gabon, who had headed the steering body of the 54-member organisation since 2008. This resolves a year-long bruising “ping pong” battle for leadership between candidates from rival English- and French-speaking blocs. Critics of the long-delayed vote said the AU showed itself hesitant and slow-moving in its response to the conflicts last year in Libya and Ivory Coast, allowing Western governments to take lead roles. Meanwhile, the AU yesterday also enabled the two Sudans to agree on settling their oil-based disputes. The presidents of feuding South Sudan and Sudan have expressed a determination to settle their dispute over territory and oil, after meeting for the first time in six months on the sidelines of an African Union summit.  Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and South Sudanese President Salva Kiirr said they are taking “a new strategic approach to finding a comprehensive solution to all outstanding issues between the two countries”, said Pagan Aman, South Sudan’s chief negotiator, in an interview.
African Union renews call for direct talks between Sudan and SPLM-N
(All Africa, Sudan Tribune)  The Africa Union Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) urged the resumption of talks between Sudanese government and the rebel Sudan people’s Liberation Movement – North (SPLM-N) to reach a political settlement for the South Kordofan and Blue Nile conflict.  The Council “reiterates, once again, its firm conviction that there is no military solution to the conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states, and that, therefore, the Parties must return to negotiations on the basis of the 28 June 2011 framework,” says a AUPSC statement.  The “Council welcomes the acceptance by both Parties of the need for the resumption of negotiations, and urges them to commence these negotiations immediately under the facilitation of the AUHIP and the Chair of IGAD;” the security body emphasised.
NUP Says Dialogue With Sudan’s Ruling Party Became ‘Difficult’
 
(All Africa, Sudan Tribune) A leading member of the opposition National Umma Party (NUP) on Saturday expressed despair of finding a peaceful way to change the regime in Sudan, saying that dialogue with the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) has become “difficult.”  Speaking in a media conference in the capital Khartoum, Maryam Al-Sadiq al-Mahdi, NUP’s member and daughter of its leader Al-Sadiq al-Mahdi, criticized the authorities for using teargas and rubber bullets to break up peaceful protests, warning that if peaceful change is not allowed then violent change will come.  Maryam was referring to the violence with which security authorities have been confronting small but growing protests in various parts of the capital Khartoum and few regional towns since the government moved on 16 June to lift fuel subsidies as part of what officials describe as an austerity program needed to make up for a budget deficit of 2.4 billion US dollars created by the loss of three quarters of the country’s oil production due to South Sudan secession.  NUP leader Al-Sadiq al-Mahdi has long advocated dialogue with the NCP to avoid what he often terms chaotic scenarios in the event of a violent change but this stance along with the fact that his own son Abdel Rahman is serving as an adviser to President Omer Al-Bashir led many to speculate that Al-Mahdi may not be supportive of the goal of regime change.