Latest News President Bashir hails Arab financial institutions role in supporting development in Sudan
By [unknown placeholder $article.art_field1$]
Apr 9, 2010 - 6:28:09 AM
Sudan candidate sings another tune
undefined
undefined
undefined undefined
By Pete Muller in Juba, southern Sudan
While the subject of politics dominates much of Mary Boyoi's music, the southern Sudanese singer never dreamt of running for election.
In January, this well-known entertainer was thrust into party politics when she received a nomination to run for parliament in Sudan's upcoming elections on April 11.
The elections are to be the first of their kind since 1986 in this embattled country. While Boyoi is honoured to represent her community, she fears that Sudan's volatile political environment might be more than she may be ready for.
special report
undefined
undefined
undefined undefined"Every minute, every hour, I am changing like a chameleon, like I don't want it [the nomination] any more," the 28-year-old says after a meeting with supporters in the southern capital of Juba.
Boyoi has never been shy about addressing political issues in her music. Her debut album, released in 2007, is entitled Referendum, referring to an independence referendum scheduled to take place in southern Sudan in 2011.
Many of the songs on the album are political in nature. In 2009, Mary released a single called Election Jai, meaning the elections are coming.
"A historic day is coming," Boyoi sings.
"Don't vote for your relative or tribesman, vote for those who will lead us equally."
Difficult politics
The elections are set to occur just five years after southern Sudan emerged from a brutal civil war between the north and south. The war, which ended in 2005, left more than two million people dead and caused around four million people to flee their homes.
While the 22-year war was ostensibly fought between the north and south, there remains considerable disagreement and, in some cases, hostility between various southern factions that now manoeuvre for political control in the South.
"I cannot explain the politics of southern Sudan because it's so difficult," Mary says. "The government of south Sudan is SPLM. Even our flag is SPLM."
The SPLM, or Sudan People's Liberation Movement, is the political wing of the Sudan People's Liberation Army, the rebel group that battled the Sudan Armed Forces during the war.
The agreement that ended the war, known as the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, gave the SPLM overwhelming command of the interim southern government, known as the Government of South Sudan.
The elections come five years after southern Sudan emerged from civil war [Pete Muller]
Emerging voices
The upcoming elections, which are mandated by the peace agreement, provide an opportunity for new and emerging political voices in the south.
But Boyoi fears that political pluralism could cause conflict. "You have to be ready for anything," she says.
"It is more scary in Sudan because we are transforming the soldiers into civilians and ... people have this mentality of killing, killing," she adds.
She enters the political fray with both conviction and reservation, but is no stranger to the violent nature of Sudan's political world. In 1989, her father, a chief among her tribe, the Murle, and a military commander with the SPLA, was killed during the civil war.
Nearly two decades later, in 2006, her brother was killed during minor political wrangling in Juba. The singer fears that venturing into politics could bring the same fate upon her.
"I'm scared. Like someone will try to kill me," she laments. "I think everyone in elections has to be so fierce. I attended the elections in Kenya two years ago and it was very dangerous. And Kenyans are very far ahead of us. If Kenya is like that, what about Sudan? We just got the Comprehensive Peace Agreement the other day."
'Transforming society'
Despite her concerns, she pushes on. She has accepted the nomination to run for southern Sudan�s national-level parliament on behalf of the Southern Sudan Democratic Forum (SSDF), a party outside of the dominant SPLM.
SSDF was formed in London in 2001 by exiled Sudanese. Dr Martin Elia Lomoro, the party chairman, believes that Boyoi can be of great benefit to the SSDF.
"I see her as a huge resource to the party because delivery of messages in musical form is the easiest way of transforming society, of making society absorb those political messages," Lomoro explains inside his corner office.
He also believes that Boyoi will need to brace herself for the harsh reality of southern Sudan's political world. "If you think you are receiving telephone calls already, if you think you're feeling insecure, you better prepare for even more of that," he remarks.
Boyoi's mother, Angelina Liila, wishes that her daughter would stick to music and avoid dabbling in the politics that cost her a husband and son. "The politics here are so dangerous and we've already lost a lot. I wish she would just continue with music. She has been successful," she says.
Despite her concerns, Boyoi believes that her experiences can help inspire others. "Okay, I lost a lot in this war," she explains. "I lost my father and brother, and I was a refugee."
"I should be an example to other people to not give up."
Pete Mulleris a photographer and multimedia reporter based in Juba, Sudan.
Sudan candidate sings another tune
undefined
undefined
undefined undefined
By Pete Muller in Juba, southern Sudan
While the subject of politics dominates much of Mary Boyoi's music, the southern Sudanese singer never dreamt of running for election.
In January, this well-known entertainer was thrust into party politics when she received a nomination to run for parliament in Sudan's upcoming elections on April 11.
The elections are to be the first of their kind since 1986 in this embattled country. While Boyoi is honoured to represent her community, she fears that Sudan's volatile political environment might be more than she may be ready for.
special report
undefined
undefined
undefined undefined"Every minute, every hour, I am changing like a chameleon, like I don't want it [the nomination] any more," the 28-year-old says after a meeting with supporters in the southern capital of Juba.
Boyoi has never been shy about addressing political issues in her music. Her debut album, released in 2007, is entitled Referendum, referring to an independence referendum scheduled to take place in southern Sudan in 2011.
Many of the songs on the album are political in nature. In 2009, Mary released a single called Election Jai, meaning the elections are coming.
"A historic day is coming," Boyoi sings.
"Don't vote for your relative or tribesman, vote for those who will lead us equally."
Difficult politics
The elections are set to occur just five years after southern Sudan emerged from a brutal civil war between the north and south. The war, which ended in 2005, left more than two million people dead and caused around four million people to flee their homes.
While the 22-year war was ostensibly fought between the north and south, there remains considerable disagreement and, in some cases, hostility between various southern factions that now manoeuvre for political control in the South.
"I cannot explain the politics of southern Sudan because it's so difficult," Mary says. "The government of south Sudan is SPLM. Even our flag is SPLM."
The SPLM, or Sudan People's Liberation Movement, is the political wing of the Sudan People's Liberation Army, the rebel group that battled the Sudan Armed Forces during the war.
The agreement that ended the war, known as the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, gave the SPLM overwhelming command of the interim southern government, known as the Government of South Sudan.
The elections come five years after southern Sudan emerged from civil war [Pete Muller]
Emerging voices
The upcoming elections, which are mandated by the peace agreement, provide an opportunity for new and emerging political voices in the south.
But Boyoi fears that political pluralism could cause conflict. "You have to be ready for anything," she says.
"It is more scary in Sudan because we are transforming the soldiers into civilians and ... people have this mentality of killing, killing," she adds.
She enters the political fray with both conviction and reservation, but is no stranger to the violent nature of Sudan's political world. In 1989, her father, a chief among her tribe, the Murle, and a military commander with the SPLA, was killed during the civil war.
Nearly two decades later, in 2006, her brother was killed during minor political wrangling in Juba. The singer fears that venturing into politics could bring the same fate upon her.
"I'm scared. Like someone will try to kill me," she laments. "I think everyone in elections has to be so fierce. I attended the elections in Kenya two years ago and it was very dangerous. And Kenyans are very far ahead of us. If Kenya is like that, what about Sudan? We just got the Comprehensive Peace Agreement the other day."
'Transforming society'
Despite her concerns, she pushes on. She has accepted the nomination to run for southern Sudan�s national-level parliament on behalf of the Southern Sudan Democratic Forum (SSDF), a party outside of the dominant SPLM.
SSDF was formed in London in 2001 by exiled Sudanese. Dr Martin Elia Lomoro, the party chairman, believes that Boyoi can be of great benefit to the SSDF.
"I see her as a huge resource to the party because delivery of messages in musical form is the easiest way of transforming society, of making society absorb those political messages," Lomoro explains inside his corner office.
He also believes that Boyoi will need to brace herself for the harsh reality of southern Sudan's political world. "If you think you are receiving telephone calls already, if you think you're feeling insecure, you better prepare for even more of that," he remarks.
Boyoi's mother, Angelina Liila, wishes that her daughter would stick to music and avoid dabbling in the politics that cost her a husband and son. "The politics here are so dangerous and we've already lost a lot. I wish she would just continue with music. She has been successful," she says.
Despite her concerns, Boyoi believes that her experiences can help inspire others. "Okay, I lost a lot in this war," she explains. "I lost my father and brother, and I was a refugee."
"I should be an example to other people to not give up."
Pete Mulleris a photographer and multimedia reporter based in Juba, Sudan.
The annual joint meetings of the Arab Financial Authorities, which comprises the Arab Fund for Social and Economic Development, the Arab Monetary Fund, the Arab Establishment for Investment Guarantee and the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa and the Arab Authority for Investment and Cultural Development concluded in Khartoum.
The annual joint meetings, chaired by the Sultanate of Oman, were held in the presence of Sudan President Omar al Bashir, and representatives of the Arab financial institutions.
Speaking on the occasion, Sudanese President Bashir hailed the role played by the Arab financial institutions and authorities in supporting the economic and investment development in Sudan.
He added that such support helped Sudan a great deal to achieve good growth rates. He pointed out that Sudan encourages Arab investments, especially as it has natural resources which can contribute to achieving food security for the Arab world.
Sudanese President lauded the unlimited support from His Majesty Sultan Qaboos for developmental projects in his country including His Majesty�s contribution towards the construction of Merawi dam on the River Nile in northern Sudan.
Merawi dam straddles the River Nile at the 4th Cataract, 350 km north of Khartoum. It�s hydro electric station produces 1,250 megawatt power and has associated transmission lines extending for 1,761 km.
Addressing a ceremony held to mark the entry of all 10 hydro-electric power generation units into the national grid here yesterday, Bashir said: �We deeply respect and appreciate His Majesty�s noble stances with the Sudan and its people and development efforts.�
Speaking at the meeting, Ahmed bin Abdulnabi Macki, Oman National Economy Minister and Deputy Chairman of the Financial Affairs and Energy Resources Council, Chairman of the Governors Board, said: �Despite the hard global financial conditions, the Arab financial institutions managed to achieve satisfactory financial results that enabled them to ensure sustainability and contribution to the socio-economic development while relying on their own resources and preserving their capabilities. They therefore managed to develop their financial and economic structures.�
He added that the financial institutions present a good and successful example for the joint Arab action and that it�s contribution to the socio-economic development in the Arab world, and other developing countries stand as an evidence for the determination and will to lay the foundations for the co-operation among us.
Macki pointed out that in 2009, the implications of the global financial crisis moved from the financial sector to the real sector and the transfer of the negative impacts of the crisis from the developed to developing countries including Arab countries.
He pointed out that the initial estimates point out that the global economic growth declined from 3 per cent in 2008 to 0.8 per cent in 2009. While most of the developed countries recorded a negative growth, the developing countries and the Arab countries recorded positive growth.
He pointed out that performance of the world economy improved during the second half of 2009 due to the measures taken by the developed countries, especially in terms of introducing some policies that boost the economy and curb the negative impact on investment and production.
He added that due to these policies and programmes the world economy is expected to grow by 3.9 per cent this year and that restoring the growth to the positive trend in a relatively reasonable period is a positive thing.
Macki added that the impact of global financial crisis on the Arab countries has been relatively limited as the average economic growth rate declined from 6 per cent in 2008 to 3.3 per cent in 2009, while it was negative in a number of other countries and regions. The impact of the financial crisis on the Arab countries varied from country to country
depending on the conditions at the beginning of the crisis, the extent of its openness to outside world and the measures taken to combat the crisis. Macki also pointed out that the Gulf countries were in a good financial position due to high oil prices during the period before the crisis. They have been affected by the decline in the value of their oil exports due to decline in oil prices compared to the record levels it reached by mid 2008 and the reduction in oil production in 2009.
The average economic growth rates for these countries declined from 7.8 per cent in 2008 to 0.7 per cent in 2009. Some of the financial institutions were also affected by the decline in the value of their assets abroad. This in turn affected the available liquidity and consequently the growth in the local credit and the number of financed projects.
This also had a negative impact on stock and real estate markets� performance. This situation called for the governments in the Gulf region to quickly intervene in the market by taking a number of measures and steps to support the banks and capital markets. The intervention included programmes for the financial stability, procedures to ensure the deposits, pumping capitals and increasing government investments.
He pointed out that the total value of the Arab exports declined from $1,200 billion in 2008 to $900 billion in 2009 and that the current surplus balance for the same period declined from $336 billion to about $43 billion. The Arab government budgets were reversed from about +7.1 per cent average surplus to -0.5 per cent.
The minister added that while the Arab countries have been relatively affected by the crisis, still they are not immune from what is happening around the world. Therefore they should be ready to face external shocks and crisis. The budgets and debts of these governments should remain at acceptable levels to provide greater space for using encouraging policies to alleviate the impact of the crisis when necessary without aggravating the deficits. In this context, there is a need of proper mechanism for swift intervention and automatic stabilisation of the economy or what is known as the reversal policies to the direction of the economic cycle.
This will help in supporting the major sector and the impoverished social categories.
Global Arab Network
President Bashir hails Arab financial institutions role in supporting development in Sudan
- Mohammed Almasri
Friday, 09 April 2010 13:32
The annual joint meetings of the Arab Financial Authorities, which comprises the Arab Fund for Social and Economic Development, the Arab Monetary Fund, the Arab Establishment for Investment Guarantee and the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa and the Arab Authority for Investment and Cultural Development concluded in Khartoum.
The annual joint meetings, chaired by the Sultanate of Oman, were held in the presence of Sudan President Omar al Bashir, and representatives of the Arab financial institutions.
Speaking on the occasion, Sudanese President Bashir hailed the role played by the Arab financial institutions and authorities in supporting the economic and investment development in Sudan.
He added that such support helped Sudan a great deal to achieve good growth rates. He pointed out that Sudan encourages Arab investments, especially as it has natural resources which can contribute to achieving food security for the Arab world.
Sudanese President lauded the unlimited support from His Majesty Sultan Qaboos for developmental projects in his country including His Majesty�s contribution towards the construction of Merawi dam on the River Nile in northern Sudan.
Merawi dam straddles the River Nile at the 4th Cataract, 350 km north of Khartoum. It�s hydro electric station produces 1,250 megawatt power and has associated transmission lines extending for 1,761 km.
Addressing a ceremony held to mark the entry of all 10 hydro-electric power generation units into the national grid here yesterday, Bashir said: �We deeply respect and appreciate His Majesty�s noble stances with the Sudan and its people and development efforts.�
Speaking at the meeting, Ahmed bin Abdulnabi Macki, Oman National Economy Minister and Deputy Chairman of the Financial Affairs and Energy Resources Council, Chairman of the Governors Board, said: �Despite the hard global financial conditions, the Arab financial institutions managed to achieve satisfactory financial results that enabled them to ensure sustainability and contribution to the socio-economic development while relying on their own resources and preserving their capabilities. They therefore managed to develop their financial and economic structures.�
He added that the financial institutions present a good and successful example for the joint Arab action and that it�s contribution to the socio-economic development in the Arab world, and other developing countries stand as an evidence for the determination and will to lay the foundations for the co-operation among us.
Macki pointed out that in 2009, the implications of the global financial crisis moved from the financial sector to the real sector and the transfer of the negative impacts of the crisis from the developed to developing countries including Arab countries.
He pointed out that the initial estimates point out that the global economic growth declined from 3 per cent in 2008 to 0.8 per cent in 2009. While most of the developed countries recorded a negative growth, the developing countries and the Arab countries recorded positive growth.
He pointed out that performance of the world economy improved during the second half of 2009 due to the measures taken by the developed countries, especially in terms of introducing some policies that boost the economy and curb the negative impact on investment and production.
He added that due to these policies and programmes the world economy is expected to grow by 3.9 per cent this year and that restoring the growth to the positive trend in a relatively reasonable period is a positive thing.
Macki added that the impact of global financial crisis on the Arab countries has been relatively limited as the average economic growth rate declined from 6 per cent in 2008 to 3.3 per cent in 2009, while it was negative in a number of other countries and regions. The impact of the financial crisis on the Arab countries varied from country to country
depending on the conditions at the beginning of the crisis, the extent of its openness to outside world and the measures taken to combat the crisis. Macki also pointed out that the Gulf countries were in a good financial position due to high oil prices during the period before the crisis. They have been affected by the decline in the value of their oil exports due to decline in oil prices compared to the record levels it reached by mid 2008 and the reduction in oil production in 2009.
The average economic growth rates for these countries declined from 7.8 per cent in 2008 to 0.7 per cent in 2009. Some of the financial institutions were also affected by the decline in the value of their assets abroad. This in turn affected the available liquidity and consequently the growth in the local credit and the number of financed projects.
This also had a negative impact on stock and real estate markets� performance. This situation called for the governments in the Gulf region to quickly intervene in the market by taking a number of measures and steps to support the banks and capital markets. The intervention included programmes for the financial stability, procedures to ensure the deposits, pumping capitals and increasing government investments.
He pointed out that the total value of the Arab exports declined from $1,200 billion in 2008 to $900 billion in 2009 and that the current surplus balance for the same period declined from $336 billion to about $43 billion. The Arab government budgets were reversed from about +7.1 per cent average surplus to -0.5 per cent.
The minister added that while the Arab countries have been relatively affected by the crisis, still they are not immune from what is happening around the world. Therefore they should be ready to face external shocks and crisis. The budgets and debts of these governments should remain at acceptable levels to provide greater space for using encouraging policies to alleviate the impact of the crisis when necessary without aggravating the deficits. In this context, there is a need of proper mechanism for swift intervention and automatic stabilisation of the economy or what is known as the reversal policies to the direction of the economic cycle.
This will help in supporting the major sector and the impoverished social categories.
