A report published by the newspaper on Sunday revealed that about 80% of Sudan’s debt to the United Kingdom is interest. Foreman.
A request for information concluded that of the 861 million pounds ($ 1.18 billion) Khartoum would have to pay to London, 684 million pounds ($ 937.6 million) matched the interest.
The North African country stopped paying its loans in 1984, when Jaafar Muhammad al-Nimeiri was president. Now he is under pressure to impose austerity measures, including cuts in public spending, to cancel his debt.
Sudan, which saw massive protests two years ago that led to the overthrow of veteran dictator Omar al-Bashir, is now led by a transitional government led by the army. Demonstrations continue regularly and government cuts threaten to destabilize the country’s path towards democracy.
Read: Al-Sisi warns of regional instability due to the Renaissance Dam crisis
According to the International Monetary Fund, 46.5% of Sudan’s population lives below the poverty line. The Observer quoted Nick Durden, Director of World Justice Now, as saying: “It is really unthinkable that Britain continues to keep these loans as a form of influence over the government of Sudan, and worse, that [el ministro de Asuntos Exteriores del Reino Unido] Dominic Raab is now providing support to Sudan conditional on the government’s unpopular austerity program, which threatens to exacerbate poverty and undermine the country’s fragile path towards democracy.
“Subtly charming bacon junkie. Infuriatingly humble beer trailblazer. Introvert. Evil reader. Hipster-friendly creator.”