Economic Policies in Sudan
Im Rahmen einer Ringvorlesung „Afrika - Der zurückgelassene Kontinent“ referierte Professor Karl Wohlmuth über die Chancen der Demokratiebewegung im Sudan und über die Perspektiven der Bürgerbewegung (vgl. die PDF mit der Präsentation von Professor Karl Wohlmuth zur Bürgerbewegung und zur Demokratisierung im Sudan). Professor Wohlmuth ging zunächst auf die aktuelle Lage im Sudan nach dem Sturz des Bashir-Regimes ein und skizzierte dann die Entwicklung und die Struktur der Bürgerbewegung, die den Regimewechsel maßgeblich herbeiführte. Um aber auch einen nachhaltigen Systemwechsel zu ermöglichen, ist es nach Meinung des Bremer Professors notwendig, die Rahmenbedingungen für eine erfolgreiche Bürgerbewegung zügig zu schaffen. Dies setzt voraus, dass die Machtpfeiler des Systems (Militär und Sicherheitsapparat; Parteien und parteiabhängige Organisationen; Regierungen und Bürokratien auf zentraler und lokaler Ebene; islamische Bruderschaften und abhängige islamische Gruppierungen; große Unternehmen und Kapitalgruppen; professionelle Vereinigungen, Gewerkschaften und Arbeitgeberverbände) auf Grund ihrer ökonomischen Vernetzung als „Elemente eines tiefen Staates“ begriffen werden.
Um den „tiefen Staat“, der innerhalb von 30 Jahren (1989 - 2019) im Sudan geschaffen wurde, durch Bürgerbewegungen und demokratische Prozesse zu kontrollieren, müssen die sozialen, organisatorischen und ökonomischen Verflechtungen zwischen diesen Machtpfeilern erkannt und beeinflusst werden. Die vorliegenden Untersuchungen zum „tiefen Staat“ im Sudan kommen von zivilgesellschaftlichen sudanesischen Nichtregierungsorganisationen und von internationalen Organisationen. Die Studien zeigen, dass es nur teilweise gelungen ist, diese Verflechtungen im vergangenen Jahr seit dem Sturz des Bashir-Regimes aufzubrechen. Im Vortrag wurden die Verflechtungen im „tiefen Staat“ an Beispielen dargestellt und die Perspektiven einer „Demokratisierung von unten“ wurden erläutert. Strategische Sektoren, wie die Telekommunikation, die Goldgewinnung und andere Bergbauaktivitäten, die Pharma- und Chemieindustrie, die Bauwirtschaft, und die Rüstungsindustrie, werden nach wie vor von Militärs, Milizen, Geheimdienstoffizieren, Politikern der National Congress Party, und von der Familie von al-Bashir kontrolliert. Kapitalgruppen, die im Rahmen der Privatisierungspolitik des Bashir-Regimes entstanden sind, geben den Mantel für diese Verflechtungen.
Gezeigt wurde im Vortrag auch, dass die Reformen im Sudan nach wie vor durch internationale Sanktionen, durch mangelnde finanzielle und logistische Unterstützung von Seiten westlicher Länder, und durch regionale Krisenfaktoren behindert werden. Interne Faktoren dominieren aber unter all den Hemmnissen für einen Systemwechsel. Ansatzpunkte für Reformen ergeben sich auf vielen Ebenen, doch zeigen die Erfahrungen seit der Unabhängigkeit im Jahre 1956, dass die Demokratiebewegungen im Sudan schwach blieben und demokratisch gewählte Regierungen immer nur von kurzer Dauer waren. Professor Karl Wohlmuth arbeitet derzeit an einer Studie, die externe und interne Krisenfaktoren in ihrem Zusammenwirken bei der Blockierung von Reformen seit der Unabhängigkeit des Sudan analysiert. Grundlage sind die Studien, die seit 1978 in Bremen über den Sudan angefertigt wurden. Besondere Aufmerksamkeit wird dem „tiefen Staat“ im Sudan in der Periode seit 1989 gewidmet werden.
Quelle: Salzburger Nachrichten, 9. April 2020 (Vor allem die Frauen trugen die Revolution im Sudan).
Bild: SN/APA/AFP/AHMED MUSTAFA
Professor Karl Wohlmuth hat in mehreren Arbeiten die Wirtschaftsdoktrinen des Bashir-Regimes untersucht und aufgezeigt, dass praktisch alle Maßnahmen der Bashir-Regierung seit 1989 dem Ziel untergeordnet wurden, die Ressourcen des Landes (Öl, Gold, Wasser, Land) und die öffentlichen, privatisierten und privaten Unternehmen der National Congress Party (NCP) nutzbar zu machen. Diesem Ziel wurden die Privatisierungspolitik, die Handels- und Technologiepolitik, die Industrie- und Wettbewerbspolitik, aber auch die Infrastruktur- und Landwirtschaftspolitik untergeordnet. Auch der vom Regime initiierte gelenkte Föderalismus wurde in den Dienst dieser Politik gestellt. Die Verflechtungen von Militär, Milizen, Sicherheitsapparat und Wirtschaft wurden auf allen Ebenen vertieft, bis hin zur Stärkung der Military Industry Corporation (MIC); die Instrumentalisierung von Konflikten im Sudan und mit Nachbarländern wurde wichtiger Teil dieser Politik. In der Diskussion nach dem Vortrag wurde immer wieder die Frage artikuliert, ob denn im Sudan Potentiale für erfolgreiche Bürger- und Demokratiebewegungen gesehen werden können (vgl. zur Thematik des Vortrages die Studien, die im Rahmen der Sudanforschungsgruppe/Sudan Economy Research Group/SERG angefertigt wurden; die Nummer 38 der SERG Discussion Papers gibt einen Überblick über diese Veröffentlichungen in: „Sudan Studies 1979 - 2011 in Bremen“, January 2011; Zugang mit dem Download: http://www.iwim.uni-bremen.de/sudan_economy_research_group/).
In volume 20 of the African Development Perspectives Yearbook with the title “Science, Technology and Innovation Policies for Inclusive Growth in Africa - General Issues and Country Cases” major strategic and policy issues are analysed. The guiding issue is how to make Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Policies relevant for inclusive growth strategies in Africa so that socio-economic transformation strategies will take off. Although STI polices are considered as indispensable for sustainable growth in Africa, the steps towards such policies and strategies are not yet streamlined enough. Therefore, it is necessary to learn from the successful cases of STI development in Africa and in other emerging countries.
African Development Perspectives Yearbook 2018:
On Science, Technology And Innovation Policies For Inclusive Growth In Africa
In this volume a new approach is envisaged. Based on Africa’s deep-routed structural problems, the STI policies are related to Africa’s economic transformation agenda. In a first part of Volume 20 the general issues of introducing effective STI policies are presented, based on visions, strategic plans and the requirements of functioning national innovation systems. In a second part, country case studies highlight the new approach. Specific case studies, such as for Sudan and Nigeria, are presented, as these two countries have a long history of STI development. Strategies and policies for more coherent STI policies are presented (see the Cover of volume 20: PDF 91042-4 Alabi).
Complementary to this volume is Volume 21 with the title “Science, Technology and Innovation Policies for Inclusive Growth in Africa - Human Skills Development and Country Cases”. In the first part of Volume 21 the role of human skills development for capacity building in STI systems is discussed. This is based on examples from Cameroon, Nigeria and Mauritania. In the second part the national innovation systems and STI policies of North African countries (Egypt and Tunisia) are evaluated, to assess how they can be directed towards economic transformation and inclusive growth.
With Volume 21 the African Development Perspectives Yearbook project is approaching 30 years of activity as the first volume was published in 1989 under the title “Human Dimensions of Adjustment”. In these 30 years the African Development Perspectives Yearbook has become the major annual publication in English language on Africa in Germany. Guiding principle is the inclusion of authors and editors from Africa, the publication of essays which are also readable by media people, development actors and policymakers, and the presentation of successful policies, projects and programmes which highlight that Africa can succeed in regard of its ambitions and that it can rise in growth and development.
The Research Group on African Development Perspectives has just released the International Call for Papers for Volume 22 (2020) and invites Abstracts and nominations for the position of Guest Editors (see International Call for Papers Volume 22, for the year 2020).
A new research and strategy paper on “Sudan in the 21st Century: Seeking Pathways Forward” was published as the number 43 in the SUDAN ECONOMY RESEARCH GROUP (SERG) DISCUSSION PAPERS series at the University of Bremen (see the link to the SERG series: http://www.iwim.uni-bremen.de/publikationen/pub-sudan.htm). Author is Dr. Mohamed al Murtada Mustafa, Former Undersecretary of Labour, Ministry of Labour, Sudan and Former Director of ILO Offices in Harare and Cairo. The paper argues that for a successful reconstruction of the Sudanese economy five pillars are needed: education, entrepreneurship, agriculture, industry and management. These five pillars represent the main sectors and functional areas which must interact for inclusive growth to occur. Interaction depends on institutional reform and on a developmental role of the civil service. The separation of South Sudan in 2011 has fundamentally changed the situation of Sudan, and it is no longer possible to pursue uncoordinated, short-term and small-scale policy changes. Much more is needed – long-term structural strategies and deep policy changes must be implemented in Sudan. Fundamental reforms are proposed in the study and policy recommendations are presented for these five pillars.
Source: Dr. Mohamed al Murtada Mustafa, Khartoum, Sudan
The Strategic Pillars for Sudan’s Development
The author emphasizes also the fact that the Sudanese government has seen a great number of advisory and consultancy reports on economic strategies since 1956 when the country became independent. All these proposals and suggestions from donors, think tanks and international organisations were well-minded and valuable but were repetitive in content and never were implemented (neither by democratic governments nor by military regimes). Therefore, a new approach is needed by focussing on a developmental civil service and a new leadership for the country which is based on a broader group of policy actors – coming from all regions of the Sudan, from representative political circles and from significant parts of the civil society. Such an approach is formulated in the new SERG study. Professor Karl Wohlmuth from the University of Bremen has peer-reviewed and re-edited the paper by Dr. Murtada. It will also be circulated in Arabic language by the author.
The new volume of the African Development Perspectives Yearbook – number 20 for the year 2018 – has also a strong strategic focus on Sudan; emphasis is on the strengthening of the National Innovation System (NIS) and the Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Policies of Sudan (issue one), on developing new policies to support innovative industrial enterprises (issue two), on attracting foreign enterprises and stimulating the technology transfer to domestic firms (issue three), and on increasing the yield in agriculture through R&D and appropriate dissemination of research results to the farming sector (issue four). Over the years the African Development Perspectives Yearbook has published regularly on Sudan and South Sudan and so has participated actively to the discussion on new development strategies for these countries (see the link to the Yearbook editions: http://www.iwim.uni-bremen.de/africa/africanyearbook.htm). The research on Sudan by the SERG is summarized in the report on Sudan Studies in Bremen (see the link to number 38 on “Sudan Studies in Bremen 1979-2011”: http://www.iwim.uni-bremen.de/publikationen/pub-sudan.htm). Most of the papers published by the SERG have a focus on strategies and policies to advance structural change in Sudan (and in South Sudan).
Prominent Sudanese scientists from universities and research institutions in Sudan and at UNESCO Cairo and Professor Karl Wohlmuth from the University of Bremen are launching a new strategy for a transition of Sudan from an oil-based development path towards an agriculture-based and science-based development model. This is a part (Unit 2) of the forthcoming Volume 20 of the African Development Perspectives Yearbook on “Science, Technology and Innovation Policies for Inclusive Growth in Africa. General Issues and Country Cases”. Professor Dr. Samia Satti Osman Mohamed Nour and Professor Karl Wohlmuth contributed an Introductory Essay to the theme under the title: “Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Policies for Sudan’s Economic Revitalization - An Introduction”. The Unit 2 in Volume 20 of the African Development Perspectives Yearbook with the title: “Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Policies for Sudan’s Economic Revitalization” has four additional essays. Professor Samia Satti Nour presents an analysis of the national innovation system (NIS) of Sudan, by focusing on three subsystems, the education institutions subsystem, the science & technology institutions subsystem, and the ICT institutions subsystem; the weaknesses of the NIS are highlighted and an agenda for action is proposed. She also presents in a second essay an analysis about innovative industrial firms in Sudan, focussing on two internationally active Sudanese conglomerates in the food industry, on two large-sized companies (belonging to the chemical and food industries) and on two medium-sized companies (belonging to the metal and textile industries). The purpose is to assess how innovative these companies really are and how they could improve their innovation performance. It is also measured by a new analytical approach how far away these companies are from the innovation frontier, and it is analysed what the government and the private sector can do to stimulate STI in the Sudanese companies.
Migdam E. Abdelgani, from the National Centre for Research (NCR), Environment, Natural Resources and Desertification Research Institute (ENDRI), and Nazar Mohamed Hassan, from the UNESCO Cairo Office, provide an essay on the impact of agricultural research on the agriculture yields in Sudan. ENDRI has recently launched the Environment and Natural Resources International Journal (ENRIJ), with volume 1 and number 1 published in 2016 (link: http://www.sudanknowledge.org/journals/enrij/); ENDRI is a key research institution in Sudan. This essay is analysing the factors which are impeding yield increases in Sudan, but this essay is also using the example of the national crops campaigns in Egypt (such as for rice production increases) as a model of large-scale testing of agricultural research results in the field.
Finally, the Unit 2 on Sudan in Volume 20 presents an analysis by Mohammed Elhaj Mustafa Ali from the University of Kassala and the Sudan International University (SIU) about knowledge spillovers from foreign investors in Sudan to local companies. Although the oil-based growth in Sudan has attracted mainly investment for the oil sector, foreign investment was also incoming to supply the growing Sudanese consumption market and to invest in agriculture and services sectors of Sudan. The essay on knowledge spillovers from foreign direct investors to domestic firms in Sudan gives also an agenda of how to stimulate technology transfers from foreign firms to domestic firms.
In the Introductory Essay by Professor Samia Satti Nour and by Professor Karl Wohlmuth also an Agenda for Reforms aimed at Economic Revitalization through STI Development is presented. The Strategy proposed has short-term to medium-term to long-term implications for reforming institutions and policies. Professor Samia Satti Nour is a prominent researcher on STI development. She recently has obtained a full professorship at Khartoum University (see the PDFs of the Inaugural Lecture/ICT Development in Sudan and the Inaugural Lecture/Academic Profile of and Awards to Professor Samia Satti Nour, as well as the PDF on the Abstract in English and in Arabic of her Springer Book ICT in Sudan). Professor Wohlmuth was invited to attend the inaugural meeting at the University of Khartoum. Professor Samia Satti Nour is adviser to the African Development Perspectives Yearbook programme for Volume 20 and Co-editor of Volume 20. Recently she has presented a Policy Note on the multiple Digital Divides in Africa for The Nordic Africa Institute (see the PDF: NAI Policy Note).
Dr. Hassan Mohamed Nazar is also Co-editor of the Volume 20 of the African Development Perspectives Yearbook. He is Senior Science and Technology Specialist for the Arab States in UNESCO’s Cairo Office since 2009. He has massively contributed to the Introductory Unit 1 for Volume 20 (together with Professor Karl Wohlmuth), and he has participated as a speaker at the Launch Event for volumes 18 and 19 of the Yearbook in Kigali, Rwanda in October 2016 at the invitation of UNECA. In the Unit 2 on Sudan for Volume 20 he contributed with an essay on the role of agricultural research for increasing agricultural yields in Sudan, an essay which was written in cooperation with Migdam E. Abdelgani. Dr. Hassan Mohamed Nazar has also established the Sudan Knowledge (SK) Platform to make the intellectual capacities of the Sudanese researchers and other experts and policymakers known more widely and to allow for a broader use of these capacities for development. The SK Platform is a strong network of researchers, policy makers, educators, consultants and employers from all parts of the world to exchange knowledge and experience and to discuss current developments and challenges. This Directory of Capacities of the Sudanese can be used to help find, support and collaborate with experts from the SK network. The Sudan Knowledge Network aims also to bring together researchers and experts from the Diaspora (see the various links: http://www.sudanknowledge.org/network/name/nazar-hassan/, and: http://www.sudanknowledge.org/network/locality/Cairo/, and: http://www.sudanknowledge.org/network/country/Egypt/).
Migdam E. Abdelgani, from the National Centre for Research (NCR), is known for his study (in cooperation with other Sudanese researchers) about “Potential Production and Application of Biofertilizers in Sudan”, published in the Pakistan Journal of Nutrition 9 (9), pp. 926-934, 2010 (link: www.sustech.edu/staff_publications/20100822070957958.pdf). These ideas are relevant for an agricultural transformation strategy which is part of the economic revitalization programme for Sudan.
Dr. Mohamed Elhaj Mustafa Ali, as the author on the essay about knowledge spillovers from foreign investors to domestic firms in Sudan, is lecturer at the University of Kassala and at the Sudan International University (link: http://www.siu-sd.com/). He is expert on foreign direct investment in Sudan and has recently published a Policy Brief on the relevant issues of foreign investment in Sudan in Bremen at the SERG/IWIM platforms (see the PDF: Mustafa Ali -Policy Brief). He has also published a Policy Brief for the Economic Research Forum (ERF) in Cairo on “Measures to Protect Poor Sudanese Households from the Risks of Catastrophic Health Expenditures” (see the PDF: PB28-Mustafa Ali).
There are intentions to continue to cooperate in the future on the most important issues of STI development for Sudan. The Sudan Economy Research Group (SERG) Discussion Paper Series is still open for researchers from Sudan to publish on these most important issues (see the links to the series: https://www.karl-wohlmuth.de/serg_sudan_discussion_papers/, and: http://www.iwim.uni-bremen.de/publikationen/pub-sudan.htm).
The outline of a new development strategy for Sudan was prepared by Dr. Mohamed al Murtada Mustafa. Dr. Murtada was the first permanent Undersecretary for Labour in the Sudan, the Director of the African Regional Labour Administration Centre (ARLAC) for the English-speaking African countries in Harare, Zimbabwe, and then the Director of the International Labour Office in Egypt before retiring to academic and philanthropic endeavours in Khartoum. He was educated at Addis Ababa University, Harvard University, the University of Wisconsin, Northeastern University, and the International Institute for Labour Studies in Geneva. Dr. Murtada was an early collaborator of the Sudan Economy Research Group (SERG) in Bremen. He has supported the research work on Sudan in Bremen tremendously. Now he pays again tribute to his country by presenting to key policymakers the contours of a new development strategy for Sudan which is based on decades of experience as a civil service official and member of the Government of Sudan and as an employee and head of offices of the ILO with working times in Khartoum, Geneva, Harare, and Cairo. Dr. Murtada has published in IWIM publication series, such as in the SERG Discussion Paper Series, but also in the IWIM Book Series (see the link to the IWIM Homepage, Publications: http://www.iwim.uni-bremen.de/publikationen/index.html).
The frame and the basic ideas for a new development strategy for Sudan are summarised below in the words of Dr. Murtada (taken from the Strategy Paper, which will be published as the number 43 in the SERG Discussion Paper Series, with the links: http://www.iwim.uni-bremen.de/publikationen/pub-sudan.htm and https://www.karl-wohlmuth.de/serg_sudan_discussion_papers/):
The earliest studies by the International Labour Office (ILO) in conjunction with the Sudanese Government (Ministry of Labour) and the University of Bremen (SERG) in 1976 up to today repeat almost the same recommendations to enhance and improve the Sudanese economy. The recommendations were, just to mention some key ones: Improve infrastructure; develop industry; link agriculture to manufacturing; increase vocational and technical training; reform taxes to encourage industry and exports; support small industries, the vulnerable people, and remote regions; institute rule of law; ensure contract enforcement and transparency to encourage foreign investment; and provide for sustainable economic policies via effective institutions and a responsible macroeconomic policy formation. Whether from lack of political will, leadership, economic means, or external financial investment, the neglect of all these recommendations along with conflict, civil war and international sanctions has continued to disintegrate the development options in the Sudan. After decades of conflict and civil war, the government of Sudan now faces the burden of reconstructing the country, the society and its economy, of repatriating internally displaced persons (IDPs) and providing training and jobs for them in urban and rural areas, also to replace redundant cattle-herding livelihoods and to initiate agricultural projects for food security in depleted environments. While the discovery of oil brought revenue before the great country of the Sudan split into two republics, the oil money was not properly used to expand and to develop the economy. The agricultural sector, the industrial sector, the civil service, and the education sector deteriorated from the satisfactory state they were left in by the British at independence. Although the country since independence has presented a lot of plans and programmes, implementation was always weak or non-existent.
This strategy paper by Dr. Murtada outlines changes which are necessary to get the economy back on track in five major sectors stemming from and supporting institutional revisions: education, entrepreneurship, agriculture, industry, and management. While the short-term and the long-term solutions are outlined, the Sudanese people themselves need to pull together, to stop competing for power and land, to produce and support fresh leaders, and to begin to consider the long-term conditions of the country for the good of its own people. The Strategy Paper is structured as follows: After the Introduction (section 1) the section 2 is on Building Capacity, Growth, and Employment through Education, with Recommendations for Education. The section 3 is on Combatting Unemployment, Promoting Growth through Entrepreneurship, with Recommendations for Entrepreneurship. Section. Section 4 is on Improving Growth and Employment through Agriculture, with Recommendations for Agriculture. The section 5 is on. Growth and Employment through Industry, with Recommendations for Industry. The section 6 is on Management, by Improving Civil Service, People, Goods, and Resources, with Recommendations for Management. Section 7 is on. Results of Past Efforts and Lessons Learned. The Section 8 is Towards a New Strategy. And the final section 9 is on Conclusions, followed by References on the history of policymaking in Sudan.
Professor Karl Wohlmuth from the University of Bremen has given advice to the author during the process of finalizing the Strategy Paper and has peer-reviewed the paper. The research on Sudan and South Sudan is continuing at the University of Bremen (see the links to the websites: http://www.iwim.uni-bremen.de/forschung/forsch-sudan.htm and: http://www.iwim.uni-bremen.de/africa/Sudanforschung.htm).
Two Policy Briefs on the State of the Sudanese Economy
Mohammed Elhaj Mustafa Ali presented two Policy Briefs on the current economic situation of Sudan. Mohammed Elhaj Mustafa Ali is a Lecturer of Economics at the University of Kassala. He is author of an essay for Volume 20 of the African Development Perspectives Yearbook, dealing with knowledge spillovers from multinational corporations’ affiliates in Sudan. He has obtained his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Gezira, Sudan. The two Policy Briefs were accepted by the Sudan Economy Research Group (SERG) as inputs to the current policy debate about new economic policies for Sudan.
Policy Brief One, April 2017: Battling Youth Unemployment: Measures to Secure Jobs for Sudanese Urban Youth
See the short Summary below:
In a nutshell
- According to the available figures, a large proportion of labour force in Sudan is youth with a substantial part residing in urban centres. This reality makes urban youth more vulnerable to unemployment and severely harmed by its negative consequences. However, although urban youth from both genders are greatly exposed to unemployment, reports demonstrate that the exposure of females to this risk is quite higher compared to males.
- These facts raise two important policy questions about: (1) What policymakers should do to provide Sudanese urban youth with more job opportunities? And, (2) What are the workable policy options which need to be implemented to give females a fairer share in job opportunities?
- Various policy actions can be proposed to decrease the number of the unemployed among urban youth, especially the females. These actions include initiating programmes on technical and vocational education, conducting vocational training schemes, and adopting affirmative policy actions in the form of employment quota systems.
The full paper is available as a PDF (see: Ali-Policy Brief-Youth Unemployment)
Policy Brief Two, May 2017: Foreign Direct Investment in Sudan: The Measures to Increase Inflows and Getting Full Benefits
See the short Summary below:
In a nutshell
- Sudan is one of the developing countries that is endowed with abundant resources. However, these resources, i.e. arable land, water, cheap labour, and favourable climatic conditions, cannot work in isolation from other essential factors of production, on the top of them being an adequate amount of capital. This is because the country's domestic savings are far less than necessary to cover the capital needed to put the economy on the track of sustainable economic growth and development.
- The heavy reliance on low-productivity agriculture, the failure to channel domestic savings into domestic financial institutions, in addition to the customs that encourage luxurious consumption among the middle class, have greatly contributed to the widening of the gap between capital needed to initiate a real development process and the savings which are mobilized from domestic sources.
- Therefore, in the light of the unfeasibility of other external sources of capital, such as borrowing, aid and portfolio investments, the only accessible channel to fill capital's gap in Sudan can be achieved by hosting larger amounts of FDI (Foreign Direct Investment). However, the question arises to what extent Sudan can attract this FDI? In other words, what are the key factors in determining the ability of the country to be a favourable destination for FDI?
- The flow of foreign capital in the form of FDI is not an end itself. It is a means to provide the country's economy with an adequate volume of capital that helps in accelerating the process of economic growth, elevating exports, promoting imports, as well as facilitating the reduction of the high unemployment rates.
The full paper is available as a PDF (see: Mustafa Ali-Policy Brief-Foreign Direct Investment)
The Africa Capacity Report 2017 with the title “Building Capacity in Science, Technology and Innovation for Africa’s Transformation”
The Africa Capacity Report 2017 with the title “Building Capacity in Science, Technology and Innovation for Africa’s Transformation” is the major annual publication of the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF). Professor Dr. Samia Satti Nour from the University of Khartoum is a leading international expert on Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) policies. She was invited by the ACBF to be a key consultant for this project. She has drafted major chapters of the Africa Capacity Report 2017 (ACR 2017). The ACR 2017 investigates in various chapters the capacity gaps in Africa and especially so in the STI systems of Africa. In the chapter one of the report the Africa Capacity Index 2016 is presented, mentioning the top performers and the low performers. An Overview section and a Summary and Policy Recommendations chapter give a balanced view of the capacity developments and gaps in Africa and especially in the STI sectors. The ACR 2017 is rounded up by STI Annexes, African Capacity Indicators, and a Compendium of Statistics.
Download of ACR 2017 and of former reports: https://www.acbf-pact.org/what-we-do/how-we-do-it/knowledge-learning/africa-capacity-report
Professor Samia Satti Nour and the Research Group on African Development Perspectives Bremen:
Professor Samia Satti Nour works as an author, editor and project adviser for Volume 20 of the African Development Perspectives Yearbook, co-editing with Professor Karl Wohlmuth the Unit on “STI Policies in Sudan”. She is also main author of a synopsis of the findings of the ACR 2017 for the Unit One of Volume 20 of the African Development Perspectives Yearbook on “Basic Issues of STI Policies in Africa”. The Volume 20 (2018) has the main title: "Science, Technology and Innovation Policies for Inclusive Growth in Africa – Basic Issues and Country Cases Sub-Saharan Africa". The complementary Volume 21 (2019) has the title "Science, Technology and Innovation Policies for Inclusive Growth in Africa – Issues of Human Resources Development and Country Cases North Africa”.
See on the Yearbook Series: http://www.iwim.uni-bremen.de/africa/africanyearbook.htm
Sudan Report: Governance and Fiscal Federalism in Sudan, 1989 – 2015
Atta El-Hassan El-Battahani and Hassan Ali Gadkarim are the authors of a study on “Governance and Fiscal Federalism in Sudan, 1989-2015: Exploring Political and Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations in an Unstable Polity”. Both researchers have working relations with the Sudan Economy Research Group (SERG) in Bremen and the Governance Sudan Project (GSP) of IWIM which was funded by the Volkswagen Foundation.
The Sudan Report | March 2017 with the title “Governance and Fiscal Federalism in Sudan, 1989–2015: Exploring Political and Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations in an Unstable Polity” by Atta El-Hassan El-Battahani and Hassan Ali Gadkarim was published in March 2017 in Bergen by the Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI Report no. SWP 2017:1).
Download: https://www.cmi.no/publications/6189-governance-and-fiscal-federalism-in-sudan
From the Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI) about the Report:
This report analyses the implementation and impact of decentralisation in Sudan: To what extent have the efforts to implement decentralisation policies actually devolved power and fiscal resources to sub-national levels, for the benefit of the local populations? The present research confirms what other studies have concluded: that in Sudan the centre remains the ultimate arbiter when it comes to the distribution of economic and political resources between the centre and local states and regions. Economic control and fiscal transfers in Sudan remain relatively centralised. There is no systematic relationship between actual transfers to states and poverty reduction. Government expenditures for states have increased at the same time that state-generated revenues have decreased, and a fair and equitable system of fiscal equalisation and gap-filling is absent. Finally, there exists a mismatch between fiscal decentralisation and the political set-up. The prevailing features of governance in Sudan do therefore not embrace genuine political and fiscal decentralisation.
Professor Karl Wohlmuth was in recent months active as an adviser to research projects, conferences and publications (see some projects below):
Professor Wohlmuth was invited by the President of the UN Economic and Social Council to participate at the Global ECOSOC Conference in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe as a speaker on “Industrialization based on Agricultural Development”. Global Meetings in Dakar, Victoria Falls and New York City emphasize the role of Sustainable Development Goal Nine (SDG 9) on Sustainable Industrialization, Infrastructure Development and Innovation. This will be an ongoing task of ECOSOC. ECOSOC has the lead in implementing the 17 SDGs.
Guest researcher Professor Reuben A. Alabi extends his research stay in Bremen for three more years. The new Research Programme for 2018-2020 was recently presented as a Letter of Intentions and discussed with Professor Wohlmuth. It has three major components, comprising major policy issues of agroindustry development in Nigeria (Crop productivity, Public expenditure for agriculture at state level, and Combatting youth unemployment through agriculture development).
Professor Alabi was appointed in March 2017 as a Full Professor of Agricultural Economics at Ambrose Alli University in Ekpoma, Edo State, Nigeria. The Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Business Studies of the University of Bremen, Professor Jochen Zimmermann, had extended the invitation. Professor Wohlmuth is working as a consultant and senior project adviser in these projects.
Preparations are ongoing for the research visit of Professor Chunji Yun, Faculty of Economics, Seinan Gakuin University, Fukuoka-City, Japan. He will work for a year in Bremen on the research topic of “Production Integration and Labour Market Interdependencies in the European Union.” This is his second research visit at IWIM for a period of one year. The Dean has extended an invitation to him for a year.
Further on, Professor Wohlmuth has advised the research project of Yves Bagna who has constructed a new “Porter Competitiveness Index”, based on Porter’s Diamond Theory. Throughout the research period Professor Wohlmuth was the main adviser to the project. The book is now published by the Research Institute of IWVWW e. V. at Berlin, and further essays on the methodology are forthcoming. Yves Bagna has also compared the new “Porter Competitiveness Index” with the long-established “Global Competitiveness Index” of the Word Economic Forum. Yves Bagna, an engineer and economist from Cameroon, has during his research also visited the Institute of Professor Michael Porter at the Harvard Business School.
Also, Professor Wohlmuth was active to review a chapter for a new UNIDO book about Industrialization in Africa, in his function as the lead author of the chapter. He has also revised and extended a background paper on the issues for UNIDO.
In addition, Professor Wohlmuth has peer-reviewed articles for international and African journals, such as the prestigious journal Comparative Economic Studies. As the number of African refereed journals increases, the demand for evaluations rises. Members of the Research Group on African Development Perspectives Bremen are invited to support such activities.
Work on the volumes 20 and 21 of the African Development Perspectives Yearbook is progressing. On Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Policies in Sudan, a cooperation is under way with Professor Samia Satti Nour from the University of Khartoum, a leading international expert on STI policies. The Cooperation, which is targeting on issues of “Science, Technology and Innovation Policies for Sudan”, is advancing towards a separate Unit (a collection of papers) in Volume 20. A Unit on “STI Frameworks for Africa” is prepared in Cooperation with Patrick N. Osakwe, UNCTAD, Geneva and Nazar Hassan, UNESCO, Cairo. A Unit on STI Policies in Nigeria is done in cooperation with Professor Alabi. Other Units will be prepared on issues of Human Resources Development and STI, on STI Policies in North Africa, and on Publications on STI Policies: Book Reviews and Book Notes.
The Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES) Tunisia has published four language versions (English, French, Arabic, German) of a study on “Elements of an Employment Strategy for Tunisia”. Professor Wohlmuth is one of the three authors, a joint work of three development economists working on Africa since decades.
Various publications were released by Professor Wohlmuth on the middle class in Africa, on deindustrialization and reindustrialization in Tunisia, on transformative regional integration in Africa, and on guidelines for policymakers in Africa to promote global and regional value chains.
A new study edited by Elke Grawert and Zeinab Abul-Magd highlights the role of “Businessmen in Arms” for the MENA region (including countries such as Egypt, Pakistan, Turkey, Iran, Jordan, Sudan, Yemen, Libya, and Syria). The comparative study was published by Rowman & Littlefield (See Contents and Cover). The contribution on Sudan was done by Professor Atta El-Battahani, a long-term co-operator of IWIM during the years of IWIM’s “Governance and Social Action in Sudan” project. The project lasted over five years and was supported by the Volkswagen Foundation; it was directed by Karl Wohlmuth and Elke Grawert. Elke Grawert is now Senior Researcher with BICC/Bonn International Center for Conversion in Bonn and Senior Lecturer at the University of Bonn (Link: https://www.bicc.de/about/staff/staffmember/member/46-grawert/ ). In this book the role of military businesses, the economic interests of retired military officers, and the web of funding of non-state armed groups in these countries are analysed.
In the chapter on Sudan, a broad historical overview of the interactions between military and businesses is presented and the political consequences of the transformation of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) are outlined. The role of the military in the various political regimes and phases of development in Sudan (up to the oil export economy since 1999 and the South Sudan separation in 2011) are presented. See the excerpts from the contribution by Professor Atta El-Battahani in the book (Link) and the related short study “The Sudan Armed Forces and Prospects of Change” which was worked out for CMI/Chr. Michelsen Institute in Bergen (Link: https://www.cmi.no/publications/file/5790-the-sudan-armed-forces-and-prospects-of-change.pdf ). The “CMI Insight” concludes that the current regime has led to ambiguous effects with regard to SAF; it expanded SAF’s role in the economy and in business, while at the same time it weakened it as a professional army. The consequence is that these features make predicting which role the military may take in political affairs of Sudan in the future very difficult.
Dr. Nour from the University of Khartoum is a leading international expert on STI development in Sudan and the Arab world (see her recent publications on Intellectual Property Rights in Sudan (PDF J-AJSTI-IPR), on Technological Change and Skill Development in Sudan, presenting a macro and micro level empirical investigation of skill development and technological change in Sudan with brand new primary data (see the information from Springer Publishers: http://www.springer.com/us/book/9783642328107 ), and on Information and Communication Technology in Sudan, An Economic Analysis of Impact and Use in Universities, comparing the ICT impact on private versus public universities in Sudan (see the information from Springer Publishers: http://www.springer.com/us/book/9783319139982 ). These two books by Dr. Nour on Sudan were reviewed by Professor Karl Wohlmuth in Volume 19 of the African Development Perspectives Yearbook which will appear in August 2016 at LIT Publishers.
Her contributions on STI systems and policies of Arab States (see PDF Palgrave and PDF UNESCO) give a comparative view of the Arab countries’ Science, Technology and Innovation Systems. Her book "Economic Systems of Innovation in the Arab region" was published by Palgrave Macmillan, New York, USA, on 9 March 2016. Professor Karl Wohlmuth has endorsed the book for Palgrave Macmillan (see the PDF Palgrave); he has also reviewed the book in Volume 19 of the African Development Perspectives Yearbook which will appear in August 2016 at LIT Publishers.
See also the Links to the Publisher and to supporting institutions (UNU-MERIT) concerning the details of this important book:
http://www.merit.unu.edu/economic-systems-of-innovation-in-the-arab-region-new-book/
http://www.palgrave.com/page/detail/economic-systems-of-innovation-in-the-arab-region-/?sf1=barcode&st1=9781137462992
http://www.amazon.com/Economic-Systems-Innovation-Arab-Region/dp/113746299X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1455447631&sr=1-1
In the first phase of the cooperation between the two research groups the work on a Unit for Volume 20 of the African Development Perspectives Yearbook on “STI Policies for Sudan’s Economic Transformation” has already started. Professor Dr. Nour is advising the editors of volume 20 and is Co-Editor for the Unit on Sudan.
An der Universität Erfurt fand im Januar 2016 die Fachtagung „Strukturentwicklung im Südsudan“ statt. Experten analysierten aus interdisziplinärer Sicht die akuten Probleme des Landes und Auswege aus der Krise, die durch einen eskalierenden Bürgerkrieg und eine weitere Verarmung der Bevölkerung gekennzeichnet ist. Die kriegerischen Auseinandersetzungen im Südsudan nehmen trotz beachtlicher internationaler und regionaler Vermittlungsbemühungen (von IGAD und AU) weiter zu. Auch Regionen im Südsudan, die bisher als weitgehend friedlich angesehen wurden, werden von den Auseinandersetzungen zunehmend erfasst (so im Westen und im Süden des Landes). Es ist daher sehr verdienstvoll, wenn Afrika-Initiativen an der Universität Erfurt diese Konferenz dazu nutzten, ein in der Presse fast vergessenes Thema aufzugreifen und zur Diskussion zu stellen. Bei der Tagung ging es daher auch um die Probleme, Hindernisse, Perspektiven und Möglichkeiten eines Wiederaufbaus im Südsudan. Es ist dabei insbesondere von Bedeutung, zu analysieren, welche Akteure im Südsudan an einem Wiederaufbau interessiert sind und wie ein solcher Neubeginn strategisch und operational bewältigt werden kann. Entgegen dem Wortlaut des IGAD-Friedensabkommens zwischen der Regierung des Südsudan und der südsudanesischen Rebellenbewegung hat die Regierung einseitig die Zahl der Bundesstaaten von zehn (10) auf achtundzwanzig (28) erhöht und auch schon die Ämter der Gouverneure besetzt. Diese „Divide et Impera“-Politik der Regierung führt zu neuen Verzögerungen bei der Etablierung einer tragfähigen Friedensordnung.
Die bisherige Aufteilung des Südsudan in zehn Bundesstaaten (gemäß Verfassung des Südsudan und IGAD-Abkommen)
Die neue und einseitige Aufteilung des Südsudan in achtundzwanzig Bundesstaaten (ohne Einverständnis der IGAD und ohne Zustimmung der Rebellenbewegung)
Die Fachtagung thematisierte die Strukturentwicklungen im Südsudan seit der Unabhängigkeit des Jahres 2011 (vgl. 2016 A4-Leporello). Im Rückblick zeigt sich, dass die großen Hoffnungen des südsudanesischen Volkes nicht erfüllt wurden. Die Experten bei der Tagung waren sich einig, dass vor allem die Stärkung des Sicherheitsapparates die prägende Strukturentwicklung dieser fünf Jahre war, nicht aber der ökonomische und soziale Aufbau des Landes. Zielsetzung der Veranstaltung war es nach den Intentionen der Veranstalter, eine Bilanz der ersten Jahre der Strukturentwicklungen im Südsudan zu ziehen und einen Ausblick auf Entwicklungsperspektiven zu geben. Die Möglichkeiten und Grenzen der Entwicklungszusammenarbeit mit dem Südsudan sollten dabei mit Wissenschaftlern, Experten von NGOs, politischen Vertretern und der Botschafterin des Südsudans kritisch diskutiert werden. Die Veranstaltung ist Ergebnis einer Kooperation der Hochschulgruppe SOS-Darfur mit der Universität Erfurt und der Stadt Erfurt, der evangelischen Landeskirche, dem Studierendenrat, der Stiftung Nord-Süd-Brücken sowie der Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung und der Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung.
Der Sudanexperte und Entwicklungsökonom Professor Karl Wohlmuth referierte über die ökonomischen Entwicklungen im Südsudan seit 2011 und zeigte auf, was getan werden müsste (im Sinne von strukturverändernden Strategien) und was aktuell angesichts der derzeitigen politischen Lage getan werden kann (wenn auch nur lokal und mit angepassten Ansätzen der Entwicklungszusammenarbeit). Vgl. dazu die Präsentation (PDF: Wohlmuth-Südsudan-Erfurt) und die Synopse (PDF: Wohlmuth-Abstract-Erfurt) zum Vortrag von Professor Wohlmuth. Der Vortrag zeigt auf, dass die großen ökonomischen Chancen und Potentiale des Südsudan seit 2011 nicht genutzt wurden, dass aber dringend Wege gefunden werden müssen, um die Grundbedürfnisse der Bevölkerung zu realisieren, etwa durch lokale Ernährungs- und Beschäftigungsprogramme. Diesbezüglich werden auch konkrete Beispiele aus der Entwicklungszusammenarbeit betrachtet; diese zeigen, dass auf lokaler Ebene durchaus Handlungsmöglichkeiten bestehen.
Vgl. die folgenden Links mit Berichten zu der Tagung (Universität Erfurt, politische Stiftungen und Förderer, Tageszeitungen, etc.) :
https://www.uni-erfurt.de/uni/news/2016/interdisziplinaere-fachtagung-zur-strukturentwicklung-im-suedsudan/
https://www.uni-erfurt.de/fileadmin/public-docs/Hochschulkommunikation/Presse/Veranstaltungen/PDFs/SOS_Darfur_Leporello_web.pdf
http://erfurt.tlz.de/web/lokal/politik/detail/-/specific/Suedsudan-im-Fokus-Erfurter-Studenten-organisieren-Fachtagung-1014828744
https://de.qantara.de/content/tagung-konferenz-strukturentwicklung-im-sudsudan-erfolge-und-schwierigkeiten-der
https://calendar.boell.de/de/event/strukturentwicklung-im-suedsudan-eine-interdisziplinaere-fachtagung
An der Universität Erfurt hat Professor Karl Wohlmuth bereits an drei Sudan/Südsudan-Tagungen mitgewirkt (Vorträge gehalten bzw. auch schriftliche Beiträge zu Tagungen erarbeitet). Vgl. dazu die Einträge in: http://www.iwim.uni-bremen.de/africa/Sudanforschung.htm und
https://www.karl-wohlmuth.de/wirtschaftsreformen_sudan_suedsudan/
Es ist vorgesehen, die Beiträge der diesjährigen Südsudan-Tagung zu veröffentlichen, da sehr wenig Information über die Entwicklungen in diesem Staat und über die Lage der Bevölkerung vorliegt.