Beja Nazirs accuse Sudan finance minister of ‘corruption and subterfuge’

The High Council of Beja Nazirs* and Independent Chieftains in eastern Sudan accused the Minister of Finance, Jibril Ibrahim, of issuing customs exemptions and waiving wharfage costs at a Red Sea port yesterday.

Abdullah Obshar, the council's spokesperson, said on the council's official page that “exemptions are unacceptable and obstruct the work cycle”.

Obshar called for a halt on ‘tampering’, saying that the purpose of the corruption may be to destabilise the port’s fiscal viability, in order for the construction of the new UAE-backed port on the Red Sea to commence.

The finance minister announced the signing of a ‘memorandum of understanding’ with the UAE last week, regarding a new port and its links to a major agricultural project via a land road.

*A nazir is a state-appointed administrative chief of a tribe or clan, according to the Native Administration system in Sudan.