World Bank
Ishac Diwan, World Bank Country Director for Sudan and Ethiopia said Khartoum was spending so much on the military and with more resources benefiting the elite at the expense of the majority.

He did not give figures, but counselled: "Move the money away from the military and support for the elite to the poor."

"We need the development of a payment system in the South and the banking infrastructure in the North needs urgent reforms," Diwan told PANA in the Kenyan capital.

Sudan authorities were said to be working to create a dual banking system in the North and the South, with the commercial banks in the South charging interests for transactions while those in the North do not.

"The kind of private sector leadership such as the ones the Southern Sudan is interested in are key elements in the financial controls and reforms," the World Bank official said.

Meanwhile, he praised the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) for promoting private investments to accelerate economic growth in the South.

"Southern Sudan is going to be one of the richest governments in East Africa. It is attracting investments and there is an increase in the number of interested banking institutions, although it is too early to judge the situation or determine whether the prospective investors are willing to put in the money," Diwan noted.

He also said the plan by German investors to build a 2,500-km rail network to Southern Sudan was important for infrastructure development, but stressed that it was still too early to determine the investment climate in South Sudan.