Protesters returned to the streets of Sudan's capital and other cities on Friday despite government attempts to placate nationwide anger after more than two weeks of demonstrations.
In Khartoum and Omdurman, the capital's sister city on the opposite bank of the Nile, police fired tear gas as protesters took to the streets after midday prayers to chant anti-government slogans.
As with protests last Friday, security forces were deployed across key public areas in both Khartoum and Omdurman. But the latest demonstrations were staged inside local neighbourhoods, including more than 10 in the capital.
Protests that began on December 19 over a drastic increase in the price of bread have now morphed into a mass movement calling for President Omar Al Bashir and his government to step down.
The government responded with a crackdown by security forces in which at least 40 people have been killed and hundreds arrested, according to a tally released by the Sudanese Communist Party on Wednesday. It said 28 of dead were killed in Alghadarif city, while 400 people were arrested in Khartoum North governorate alone.
In recent days however, Mr Al Bashir and his officials have adopted a more conciliatory tone, promising to address complaints about corruption and mismanagement that have left the economy in crisis. In a televised speech on Monday to mark 63 years since Sudan's independence, the president promised more "transparency, effectiveness and justice in all our national institutions".
On Thursday Mr Al Bashir, who seized power in 1989, spoke of reforms in a meeting with members of the ruling National Congress Party Workers' Union and called the protests a conspiracy against the country.
On Friday morning, Prime Minister Muataz Mousa gave a radio interview in which he said the government was working on reforms and economic crisis would pass by February.
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Read more:
Sudanese political parties ramp up calls for Bashir to step down
Sudanese president orders probe of recent protests
Sudanese lose hope for justice for shot and detained protesters
Persistent protests testify to deep-rooted anger in Sudan
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Sudan is facing an acute foreign exchange crisis and soaring inflation despite the United States lifting a two-decade trade embargo in 2017.
Inflation is running at 70 per cent and the Sudanese pound has plunged in value, while shortages of bread and fuel have regularly hit several cities.
Mr Mousa said the government was working to raise the pound value against the dollar promised that the crisis would end by next month.
At the same time, the government is continuing its crackdown to prevent the spread of the protests by arresting opposition leaders, activists and journalists .
On Thursday, security agents arrested the award-winning journalist and columnist Faisal Mohamed Salih from his office in Khartoum, his relatives said.
However, the Sudanese Professionals Association, an umbrella group which includes doctors engineer and teachers, has called for more protests including another attempt to march on the presidential palace in Khartoum on January 6 and a march in Omdurman on January 9 to deliver a memo to the National Assembly demanding the fall of the regime.
Meanwhile, protesters have reacted to government attempts to blame the violence on people from the war-torn Darfur region by raising a new chant: "All the country is Darfur."
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
How to come clean about financial infidelity
- Be honest and transparent: It is always better to own up than be found out. Tell your partner everything they want to know. Show remorse. Inform them of the extent of the situation so they know what they are dealing with.
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- Give it time: Like any breach of trust, it requires time to rebuild. So be consistent, communicate often and be patient with your partner and yourself.
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Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
