Weekly Press Columns Digest
14 March, 2021
KHARTOUM (Sudanow) - The press commentaries last week focused the visit to Sudan by Egypt’s President, General Sisi, the sensitive development when the Governor of the Bank of Sudan (the Central Bank) annulled a decision by the high-level commission assigned to address the administrative and economic follies of the defunct regime and the raising by the Ministry of Higher Education of the new intake aggregates in the government universities and the increase of intakes of students who study at their own expense (private cost) in the universities natural sciences faculties.
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Commenting on Egyptian President Sisi’s visit to Khartoum, Editor- in - Chief of the daily Altayyar newspaper Osman Mirghani wrote:
During the press conference held by presidents Burhan and Sisi, it became obvious that the focus of common concern was the water dossier, in particular the talks about the Ethiopian Grand Renaissance Dam on the River Blue Nile.
Although Ethiopia is eying with suspicion what goes on between the two sides of the River Nile, in particular in the light of its border military tension with the Sudan, the reality of the situation is that the level of the Sudanese-Egyptian relations needs more bilateral effort, to remedy the situation. The issue of the Renaissance Dam, so important as it is, is temporary and will end in a tripartite agreement and the Dam will be complete and reach the operation phase.
The bilateral relations between the two Nile states should move into a strategic domain that bypasses temporary positions.
And this will not happen until when the common interests are upgraded and beefed up at the popular and official levels.
During the last thirty years, and with the escalating tempo of civil war in Sudan, from the South to Darfur, Egypt stood aloof from the Sudanese scene for fear it could be considered in alignment with one party. It used to open its doors for all, government and opposition, in order to maintain a balance.
But the situation has changed now. The war has exited a door we hope would be closed for ever and the Sudan has become more capable for opening towards the world community, Egypt in particular.
Under such conditions, time is ripe for a qualitative change in the progress of the two countries relations.
What is needed is a solid foundation, immune from shakings and quakes which (the foundation) starts with a daring dialogue that tackles all sensitive issues and removes historical problems.
This serious dialogue is needed today, before tomorrow, at the levels of the social elite of both countries.
The creation of a common strategy begins outside the government frameworks, where looking forward for direct interests is stronger and durable.
It is my hope that this dialogue takes off now, at the level of the two countries established institutions: The Khartoum and Cairo universities.
When the Former U.S President Barak Obama wanted to address the Islamic World, he did not find a place better than the Cairo University, the cradle of knowledge and civilization.
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About the recent dispute between the governor of the central bank and the high-level commission looking into and correcting of the administrative and economic violations committed by the defunct regime, Mr. Osman Mohammad Hassan has criticized the Bank of Sudan’s Governor’s decision annulling the commission’s decision sacking 226 of the bank employees.
The commission had sacked these employees because it said it found that they were employed unlawfully. In a meeting with the bank governor, Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and bankers’ trade unionists obliged the Governor to overturn his decision reinstating the employees dismissed by the commission
Wrote Mr. Hassan in the electronic publication ‘Sudanile”:
I don’t know the Bank of Sudan governor’s motivations behind his cancellation of the high commission decision about those employees.
The Bank Governor’s decision was a defiance of the high-level commission decisions. Those employees were found to be obstructing the government’s economic and fiscal decisions.
The conduct of those employees also negatively reflects on the performance of the commercial banks.
But I am sure the governor was not acting on his own, without support from a body that sees itself more authoritative than the high-level commission.
What is really amazing is that the Governor of the Bank of Sudan was not alone in seeking support from other circles in the face of the high-level commission decisions: The Minister of Animal Resources has defied the commission and returned nine employees sacked by the commission.
May be the Governor and the Minister are qualified for their jobs. But their conduct tells that they are not qualified to represent the revolution in any position now that they have challenged the commission’s resolutions.
The commission is a true representative of the revolution and is a guarantor that the revolution is moving towards achieving its goals.
These two officials’ ignorance about the force of this commission and that it is backed by the revolutionaries, is a proof they are unworthy of the offices they hold.
These two men and the others should know that the commission is leaning against a solid wall. An indication of this is the decision by the bankers’ association to escalate their plea for the dismissal of the Bank of Sudan Governor.
Other revolutionary voices have called for the sacking of the governor. No much time has passed until when the Prime Minister would intervene and order the governor to carry out the commission’s decision.
In a similar development, the steering committee of the Ministry of Animal Resources’ trade union has condemned the Minister’s decision annulling the commission’s decision sacking nine of the Ministry’s employees. The steering committee has warned of escalation if the Minister would not back from his decision.
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Writing in the Aljareeda (Newspaper), Mr. Haytham Alfadl has criticized the decision by the higher education ministry raising the intake aggregates for the natural scientific studies colleges in government universities. He considered this a ploy to give room for financially capable students to take positions of qualified students who cannot afford to pay:
The alterations made in the universities intake rates was beyond imagination and has dashed the hopes of many students and their families, in particular shining students who scored above 90 percent rates and above.
It is illogical for a student to get a 93.3 percent score and not to find a chance to study medicine, dental medicine or pharmacology in the universities of the Capital Khartoum.
It is illogical for the Ministry to endorse ‘the private intake program‘ for all the universities at the same intake capacity of the previous years and at huge sums amounting to billions of pounds in some faculties, foremost the Faculty of Medicine, University of Khartoum. This signifies that the Ministry and the universities are looking for money without any controls and conditions and without any shame and at the expense of our shining students.
If it is proved that the Ministry has deliberately set shining students out of outstanding faculties through the raising of the intake rate this year, simply in order to collect more money through private intakes, this could sure be a blow to the principle of quality education. For how can the Ministry allow students with less grades to get what they could not get through their performance in the secondary school certificate examination?
The Ministry of Higher Education has, for two years now, been telling us about the (congestion and big crowds) many natural sciences faculties suffer from.
We have expected the intake rate to be guardedly raised in order to tackle the congestions. But the matter has gone beyond limits. Instead of shrinking the number of enrolled students, the shining students were officially and indirectly deprived from what they deserved through their discretion
The wide opening of doors for ‘private-cost’ intakes, as used to be done in the past and without any ceilings, is an indication that the Ministry is not targeting quality education as much as targeting the raising of opportunities for paid private-cost intakes..
The Ministry of Higher Education that opened, through its lack of transparency, the door for doubt which can also develop into a feeling of conspiracy, should call a press conference to answer the questions of those who are (puzzled) and those who accuse it of (greed)!
END
YH
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