I have just spent a couple of days in Kassala and Gadarif. I know that some people think it is strange for Ambassadors to make visits outside the capital. Of course most of my business is with the Government in Khartoum. But I am the ambassador to Sudan, not to Khartoum. It’s important not to neglect the regions outside the capital and the only way really to understand a country is to visit it.
To do that I try to meet as wide a range of people as possible: Governors, local Ministers and officials, business, academics, media, civil society. On this visit I was stopped from meeting local members of national Parties, including the DUP who are of course part of Government.
Perhaps there was a particular incentive to leave Khartoum after recent events there. The day before I drove to Kassala two senior officials from the UK visited Khartoum. In their meetings with Government representatives they made clear the shock which we, and many Sudanese, feel at the use of disproportionate force against protestors. They reiterated the call in the statement by the Minister for Africa for the authorities to stop immediately the use of live ammunition, for basic civic rights of freedom of expression, assembly and protest to be respected and for progress on a genuine national dialogue.
I referred to our statement when I met the Governor of Kassala. In the main we talked with him, and his counterpart in Gadarif about the challenges the local Government faces and the steps it is taking to address them.
The East of Sudan has some of the lowest development indices in the country. Quite why this is is not entirely clear. In discussions with development partners explanations ranged from cultural factors to geography. Natural resources are clearly a factor, particularly access to water. Kassala’s well-known horticulture is suffering from irregular rains. We are helping to address the water issue. We are at the final stages of design and procurement of a £20 million water project to ensure the provision of reliable and safe water services to rural communities.
I raised with the Governor of Kassala some of the difficulties UK and other International NGOs have had in the past working in East Sudan; travel permits, access and the like. One British NGO doing valuable work was forced to withdraw. These are not always local issues. Still the Governor has set up a new coordination committee to try to ease relations between the donor community and the local authorities. That should be helpful.
Another factor is refugees. There are some 90,000 in Kassala, many of whom have been there for decades. They face many challenges in securing livelihoods, and there are concerning reports of some falling prey to human trafficking. The UN and local government are trying to address these issues.
I visited a camp where the local government and UN agencies are clearly working very closely together to give residents of the camps and host communities the skills they need to end dependency and earn their own livelihoods. This includes vocational training and apprenticeships in areas as varied as food processing, mobile phone repairs and vehicle mechanics. In support of this the local government has very sensibly and imaginatively agreed to issue work permits to 30,000 refugees.
There is plenty of local initiative. Both Governors and their officials outlined some of the schemes they have to aid the most disadvantaged, ranging from direct financial support to the provision of micro-finance for small enterprise. I visited the community colleges of the Universities which are doing great work providing training and some basic health and education services to women in remote communities and helping them to generate income throughout the production and sale of artisanal products. I hope that we will be able to support some of this activity. We came away with some lovely gifts.
I spent quite a bit of time with the universities. Both Vice-Chancellors were very generous with their time. They are rightly ambitious for their universities. We discussed the scope for partnerships with UK universities, which we will certainly pursue. They showed me the facilities for English language tuition and I spoke with some very articulate students and faculty members in English. I took the opportunity to encourage applications for Chevening scholarships for postgraduate study in the UK.
I found the meetings with the students and faculty uplifting; a welcome antidote for what had been a quite depressing previous week. I came away more convinced than ever of the value of visits around Sudan. And they’re great fun too!