Sudan’s Bashir dissolves government amid economic crisis ⁰

Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir has dissolved the government and appointed a new prime minister in a move aimed at fixing the country’s ailing economy.

President Bashir on Sunday appointed Moataz Moussa — who had been serving as minister of water resources, irrigation, and electricity — as Sudan’s new prime minister, replacing Bakri Hassan Saleh.

Saleh, who was serving as both prime minister and vice president, had been appointed in 2017. He will retain his vice presidential post.

Moussa’s government is expected to have 21 ministers rather than the 31 ministerial posts of the now-dissolved administration, a move intended to cut spending.

A statement released by the presidency said the latest measures were necessary to solve “the state of distress and frustration faced by the country.”

In recent months, people in Sudan have been suffering from shortages of bread, fuel, and hard currency.

The US dollar exchange rate has recently risen from an official rate of about 30 Sudanese pounds to about 47 Sudanese pounds on the black market.

Sudan’s economy reportedly began deteriorating after South Sudan seceded from it in 2011, taking with it three-quarters of the country’s original oil output and a huge part of foreign currency.

The lifting of a 20-year-old US trade sanction on Sudan last year was expected to improve the economy; however, the economic situation worsened as the black market for the US dollar has in effect replaced the formal banking system.