Workshop on Fiscal Federalism in Sudan

The second Workshop on the Financial Federalism was held at Sharjah Hall, the University of Khartoum, during March 18 – 20, as part of the activities of the Peace Research Institute of the University of Khartoum in cooperation with the International Institution for Democracy and Elections.

A group of experts, scholars and academicians from the University of Khartoum and abroad have participated in the workshop.

A number of scientific papers were presented at the workshop, the most important of which was the paper “Local Governance after April 2019: A New Political Space or a Reflection on the Old?” which was presented by the Professor at the University of Khartoum, Atta Al-Bathani, and a professor at the School of Administrative Sciences, while Professor Ibrahim Ahmed Onur, presented a paper on “The governance of financial resources allocation between levels of government in Sudan: Towards a future vision to address imbalances.”

Professor Al-Fatih Ali Al-Siddiq presented a paper on “The Experience of Federalism in Suda, Lessons Learned”, and Dr. Amina Abbakar Abdul-Rasoul presented a scientific paper on “Fiscal Federalism and the Requirements for Balanced Development in Post-Conflict Situations”.

A paper on ‘Expanding the base for generating local resources as a mechanism for advancing local governance” was presented by Dr. Ibrahim Suleiman, the lecturer at Al-Azhari University, and a paper on “Fiscal Federalism in Sudan: The Case of South Kordofan State.”

The partnership between the Peace Research Center and the International Institute for Democracy and Elections aims to create a platform to facilitate

dialogue between influential Sudanese people with their diverse backgrounds, including academics, the civil society activists, the media professionals, and youth representatives, to discuss the political and governance challenges facing Sudan, given that federalism is the only appropriate means to ensure that Sudan remains united, and in order to achieve the aspirations of citizens towards freedom, justice and peace, the series of workshops is an invitation to think about a model for a scientific solution that will save the country from the current political crisis and restore hope to citizens about the future of their country.

 The workshop achieved several practical recommendations, most notably; taking into account the specificity of post-dispute regions and contexts in the development of resource distribution, along with enhancing reliance on developmental approaches that increase revenue sources for state and local levels, in addition to giving states the right to manage their resources instead of coming to the center and being redistributed, a matter which requires constitutional and institutional reforms based on clear and studied criteria.

The recommendations emphasized that the current standards do not meet the real federal entitlements, which requires a complete review of them, in addition to the urgent need for accurate information systems on which the foundations of good governance shall be based on transparency, accountability and the fair distribution of wealth.