Sudan - Global Development
Sudan’s global development thwarted by tax dysfunction, political instability, and military resource diversion
Sudan faces profound development challenges amid political instability and conflict. The country’s potential remains largely unrealized despite significant natural resources. This article critically examines Sudan’s development trajectory, with particular attention to its dysfunctional tax policies and governance failures that hamper progress on the global stage.
Political Instability and Development Disruption
Sudan’s development path has been repeatedly derailed by political upheaval. The 2019 revolution brought hope for democratic transition. However, subsequent military interventions shattered this progress. Each political reset disrupts development planning and implementation.
Power struggles between military and civilian forces consume national energy. Meanwhile, basic services deteriorate further. Additionally, international development partners hesitate to commit resources amid governance uncertainty.
Militarization of governance undermines development priorities. Security budgets consume disproportionate resources. Furthermore, military-owned enterprises operate with minimal transparency or taxation. This situation diverts resources from critical development needs.
Fragmented Territory and Conflict Zones
Sudan’s geography presents significant development challenges. The secession of South Sudan in 2011 cost the country 75% of oil revenues. Moreover, ongoing conflicts in Darfur, South Kordofan, and Blue Nile regions prevent stable governance across large territories.
Displaced populations struggle to access basic services. Internal displacement camps lack adequate water, sanitation, and healthcare facilities. Furthermore, education interruptions create generational development setbacks in conflict-affected areas.
Regional powers exploit Sudan’s instability for strategic advantage. Foreign military interests often override development considerations. Additionally, cross-border conflicts complicate resource management and trade relationships.
Dysfunctional Tax System and Revenue Collection
Sudan’s tax system suffers from fundamental structural problems. The formal tax base remains extremely narrow. Most economic activity occurs in untaxed informal sectors. Consequently, government revenue depends heavily on customs duties and indirect taxes.
Tax evasion thrives among economic elites with political connections. Corrupt officials facilitate tax avoidance schemes. Moreover, tax administration lacks modern systems and trained personnel for effective collection.
Military and security-related enterprises enjoy extensive tax exemptions. These privileges create unfair competition for private businesses. Additionally, politically connected companies receive preferential tax treatment. This pattern undermines economic efficiency and public revenue.
International sanctions historically limited financial integration. Tax collection mechanisms remained rudimentary as a result. Furthermore, digital payment systems needed for modern taxation developed slowly. These factors combined to create a cash-dominated economy resistant to documentation and taxation.
Natural resource taxation presents particular weaknesses. Mining companies operate with minimal fiscal oversight. Additionally, agricultural exports often bypass formal channels. These leakages represent significant lost development funding.
External Debt Crisis
Sudan’s external debt burden exceeded $60 billion before recent relief efforts. Debt servicing consumed resources needed for development investments. Furthermore, access to new financing remained blocked by arrears to international institutions.
Debt accumulation occurred largely under undemocratic regimes. Loans funded military purchases and prestige projects rather than productive investments. Moreover, corruption diverted significant portions of borrowed funds. Citizens now bear repayment burdens without having received benefits.
International financial institutions imposed harsh adjustment conditions. These requirements exacerbated hardship for vulnerable populations. Additionally, public service cuts undermined human development indicators. The social costs of economic reforms fell disproportionately on the poor.
Agricultural Potential vs. Food Insecurity
Sudan possesses vast agricultural potential with millions of hectares of arable land. However, food insecurity affects more than one-third of the population. This contradiction reveals fundamental policy failures in the agricultural sector.
Large-scale land acquisitions by foreign investors and domestic elites displaced traditional farmers. These deals typically include generous tax exemptions. Furthermore, export orientation diverts production from local food needs. This model increases vulnerability to global price fluctuations.
Agricultural support programs fail to reach smallholder farmers. Extension services deteriorated through years of underfunding. Additionally, climate adaptation receives insufficient attention despite increasing drought frequency. These policy gaps leave the most productive farming segment without necessary supports.
Water management suffers from poor planning and maintenance. Irrigation infrastructure deteriorates from neglect. Moreover, water rights increasingly favor powerful interests over traditional users. This inequitable access compounds rural poverty and food production challenges.
Environmental Degradation and Climate Vulnerability
Sudan faces accelerating environmental challenges that threaten development prospects. Desertification advances southward at alarming rates. Deforestation continues unabated for charcoal production and agricultural expansion. Furthermore, industrial pollution contaminates water sources near urban centers.
Climate change impacts manifest through unpredictable rainfall patterns. Droughts alternate with devastating floods. Nevertheless, climate adaptation measures remain severely underfunded. This neglect magnifies vulnerability for rural communities.
Environmental regulations exist primarily on paper. Enforcement mechanisms lack resources and political backing. Additionally, environmental impact assessments rarely influence development decisions. This regulatory failure enables continued environmental degradation.
Healthcare System Collapse
Sudan’s healthcare system fails to meet basic population needs. Public hospitals lack essential medications and equipment. Furthermore, qualified medical professionals increasingly emigrate due to poor working conditions and political instability.
Rural healthcare access remains particularly problematic. Healthcare facilities concentrate in urban centers. Moreover, transportation infrastructure limitations isolate remote communities from emergency services. These disparities result in preventable deaths and chronic illness.
Maternal and child health indicators reveal systemic failures. Maternal mortality rates remain among the highest globally. Additionally, childhood malnutrition persists despite agricultural potential. These outcomes reflect both resource shortages and poor policy prioritization.
Disease outbreaks occur regularly due to weak surveillance and response systems. Waterborne illnesses spread through inadequate sanitation infrastructure. Furthermore, vector control programs suffer from funding instability. These preventable disease burdens further strain limited healthcare resources.
Educational System Deficiencies
Sudan’s educational system struggles with both access and quality challenges. School infrastructure deteriorated through decades of underinvestment. Many students study outdoors or in dangerous structures. Additionally, educational materials remain scarce across all levels.
Teacher training and compensation fail to attract qualified professionals. Educators work with minimal support or supervision. Furthermore, curriculum development lags behind contemporary needs. These factors combine to produce poor learning outcomes.
Girls face particular educational barriers. Early marriage and household responsibilities limit female educational attainment. Moreover, inadequate sanitation facilities in schools create attendance obstacles. These gender disparities represent significant lost human capital potential.
Higher education institutions suffer from political interference and resource shortages. Research capacity has declined precipitously. Additionally, graduates face poor employment prospects due to skills mismatches. This dysfunction undermines innovation potential essential for development.
Looking Forward
Sudan requires fundamental reforms to overcome its development challenges. First, comprehensive tax reform must expand the revenue base while ensuring fairness. Digital systems could formalize more economic activity for taxation. Additionally, natural resource governance needs transparency mechanisms and equitable revenue sharing frameworks.
Political stability through genuine democratic transition represents a prerequisite for sustained development. Civilian oversight of economic institutions would improve resource allocation. Furthermore, military budgets require rightsizing to free resources for development priorities.
Agricultural transformation should focus on smallholder support and climate resilience. Land rights protections would secure traditional farming communities. Moreover, irrigation investments could stabilize production despite rainfall variability. These measures would address food insecurity while building export capacity.
Healthcare system reconstruction demands significant resource reallocation. Training and retention programs for medical professionals deserve priority. Additionally, rural service delivery models need innovation and investment. These improvements would address the most acute human development needs.
Educational reform requires both infrastructure investment and quality improvements. Teacher development programs could address learning outcome deficiencies. Furthermore, gender-specific interventions would reduce educational disparities. These human capital investments would yield long-term development returns.
Environmental sustainability must integrate with all development planning. Climate adaptation requires dedicated funding and local implementation. Additionally, reforestation and anti-desertification efforts need scaling up. These environmental investments would protect development gains from climate threats.
International partnerships should emphasize knowledge transfer and capacity building. Debt relief must continue with development-oriented conditions. Furthermore, regional cooperation could address shared challenges like water management and conflict prevention.
Sudan possesses substantial human and natural resources for development success. However, realizing this potential requires overcoming entrenched political obstacles and reforming dysfunctional systems. The coming decade offers a critical window to redirect Sudan’s development trajectory toward sustainability and inclusion.
Sudan
Republic of the Sudan
جمهورية السودان (Arabic)
Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān
Population
49,197,555 (2023 est.)
46,751,152 (2021)
Capital: Khartoum
Internet country code: .sd
Government
Official website: sudan.gov.sd
UN
OCHA Sudan: unocha.org/sudan
UNESCO Sudan: unicef.org/sudan
Background
Long referred to as Nubia, modern-day Sudan was the site of the Kingdom of Kerma (ca. 2500-1500 B.C.) until it was absorbed into the New Kingdom of Egypt. By the 11th century B.C., the Kingdom of Kush gained independence from Egypt; it lasted in various forms until the middle of the 4th century A.D. After the fall of Kush, the Nubians formed three Christian kingdoms of Nobatia, Makuria, and Alodia, with the latter two enduring until around 1500. Between the 14th and 15th centuries, Arab nomads settled much of Sudan, leading to extensive Islamization between the 16th and 19th centuries. Following Egyptian occupation early in the 19th century, an agreement in 1899 set up a joint British-Egyptian government in Sudan, but it was effectively a British colony.
Military regimes favoring Islamic-oriented governments have dominated national politics since Sudan gained independence from Anglo-Egyptian co-rule in 1956. During most of the second half of the 20th century, Sudan was embroiled in two prolonged civil wars rooted in northern domination of the largely non-Muslim, non-Arab southern portion of the country. The first civil war ended in 1972, but another broke out in 1983. Peace talks gained momentum in 2002-04, and the final North/South Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005 granted the southern rebels autonomy for six years, followed by a referendum on independence for Southern Sudan. South Sudan became independent in 2011, but Sudan and South Sudan have yet to fully implement security and economic agreements to normalize relations between the two countries. Sudan has also faced conflict in Darfur, Southern Kordofan, and Blue Nile starting in 2003.
In 2019, after months of nationwide protests, the 30-year reign of President Omar Hassan Ahmad al-BASHIR ended when the military forced him out. Economist and former international civil servant Abdalla HAMDOUK al-Kinani was selected to serve as the prime minister of a transitional government as the country prepared for elections in 2022. In late 2021, however, the Sudanese military ousted HAMDOUK and his government and replaced civilian members of the Sovereign Council (Sudan’s collective Head of State) with individuals selected by the military. HAMDOUK was briefly reinstated but resigned in January 2022. General Abd-al-Fatah al-BURHAN Abd-al-Rahman, the Chair of Sudan’s Sovereign Council and Commander-in-Chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces, currently serves as de facto head of state and government. He presides over a Sovereign Council consisting of military leaders, former armed opposition group representatives, and military-appointed civilians. A cabinet of acting ministers handles day-to-day administration.