Weekly Press Columns Digest
13 December, 2020
KHARTOUM (Sudanow) — The most-noted three local issues of the foregoing week that have been reviewed by newspapers’ columnists include certain statements made by the chairperson of Sudan’s transitional sovereign council, Gen. Abdulfattah Alburhan, while addressing some military units, branding his transitional government as a failed government; the general strike declared by deputy specialist physicians all across hospitals; and the ongoing resonant responses to the forming of a council of transitional term partners.
Columnist Yousuf Elsundi, of ‘Eltahrir’ e-newspaper, comments that all national Sudanese governments, ever since independence, have not set citizen service as a priority. Their sole and utmost concern has been to impose and levy taxes and duties from a low-income and poverty-stricken population to cover running expenses. Therefore, common people have always distanced themselves from politics and politician’s malpractices and unrealistic slogans, stated the writer.
Moreover, the writer considers the provision of a realistic and clearly defined public service programme as bottom-line requirement for any political party that seeks to garner popular support, specifically at this turning point of Sudan’s politics. Then the writer questions the transitional government awareness of such bottom-line requirement, particularly with view to the sovereign council chairperson’s statement, as delivered in public recently, declaring total failure of his transitional government’s structures in catering for citizens’ most urgent needs.
Therefore, the writer wondered as to whom the sovereign council chairperson’s message was addressed: To the armed forces personnel who are equally sharing the suffering of Sudanese people, i.e. own households, or rather to the forces of freedom and change as warning notice to replace their nominated executive cabinet members; or maybe this public statement of failure was meant as a departing note by the General directed to the whole transitional government. However, the writer commented that whatever the intentions behind these statements might be, any government official that arrives at such conclusion should immediately resign office leaving his vacancy to a more competent and able person that can positively contribute to the country’s rehabilitation and development process.
In conclusion, the writer states that Alburhan and other members of his transitional government councils are well aware of the people’s daily sufferings. Therefore, it is totally irrational and pathetic for them to multiply people’s suffering by making such unprovoked disappointing statements. It is rather required that they adopt the bringing about of a changed mindset and paradigm, whereupon everybody would embark upon a community service strategy aimed at serving common interest of the people most honestly, transparently and diligently.
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Editor-in-chief of ‘El-Saiha’ newspaper, Mr. Eltahir Satti, commented on the strike launched by deputy specialist doctors stating that the transitional government is falling into step with the defunct regime’s tactics as regards dealing with workers’ strikes. He explained that the defunct regime used to wait until a strike happened and then would move to contain it, instead of working beforehand to address the grass-root cause(s) behind the strike.
The writer also revealed the fact that members of the sovereign council and the cabinet had taken note of the deputy specialists’ demands one year before the strike date. Moreover, he stated that those government officials were well aware that the employment terms and conditions of hospitals’ cleaning staff are far much better than those of the deputy specialists.
Satti also revealed the pitiful fact that a deputy specialist’s motivating bonus is equal to US$ 4 only, or even less than that. Furthermore, deputy specialists have no protections against malpractice. It is very usual that a deputy specialist may be taken to court and condemned for unintended and even unrelated incidents and death, such as a three-year old case of three deputy specialists in western Omdurman, at Umbadda district, who faced charges of intentional homicide under article 130 of the criminal act, when a critical-case patient they operated upon fled the hospital ward after the operation, only to die in the process while being away from hospital.
Apart from the lack of transport and meal allowances, deputy specialists are also deprived of their right to a health insurance cover, despite the fact that they face constant environment-related health hazards throughout the four years of their practitioner term.
In conclusion the writer demanded the executive cabinet to show some concerned respect of the deputy specialists’ demands for a dignified working environment, rather than marking them as inhumane and irresponsible.
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In his column at ‘Elsudani’ newspaper, Dr. Abdel-latif Albooni commented on the forming of the council of transitional term partners under Article 80 of the constitutional document, indicating that this controversial council of transitional term partners was brought about by the inclusion of armed movements’ members into the transitional government structures.
Dr. Albooni sees the intense controversy that followed the forming of this council of transitional term partners as an early warning ahead of the forming of the anticipated legislative council to be nominated by the already-disintegrating forces of freedom and change (FFC). The writer counted many splinters within the FFC’s structure such as the Umma Party freezing its membership, the Communist Party withdrawing from the transitional government and the Professional Association – the transitional government’s midfield player – disintegrating and splintering.
With the strong competition from armed movement players who have joined the transitional government’s quarters upon the signing of the Juba peace deal, it is clear that the legislative council representation quotas will be shared by four components within the transitional government; namely, Alburhan block, Hamdok block, armed movements block and FFC block, in the same way adopted in the forming of this council of transitional term partners. Accordingly, the writer believes that the nomination of the legislative council membership will definitely be more controversial than the forming of this council of transitional term partners.
In conclusion, the writer expressed concern and fear that Sudan may replicate the Libyan experience, when the forming of a post-revolution parliament led to the eruption of civil war. Therefore, he calls for setting aside all talk about the immediate forming of a legislative council, and working to maintain things as they are now, with the sovereign and cabinet councils playing legislative role until the time comes when the Sudanese people would rightfully elect their parliament representatives.
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