Expanded Meeting of State Governors Discusses Financial Arrears, Security, and Development Issues

An expanded meeting of state governors was held on Sunday at the Khartoum State Government Secretariat, chaired by the Minister of Federal Governance and Rural Development, Engineer Mohamed Kurtkila Saleh, and attended by the Governor of Khartoum, Ahmed Osman, and a number of officials. The meeting addressed a range of service, security, and administrative issues of mutual concern.

The meeting discussed the financial entitlements of the states, primarily the outstanding salaries of employees and the education sector, in addition to the new obligations and challenges arising from the ministry’s name change to include “Rural Development,” and the necessary adjustments to the tasks and budgets allocated to rural areas.

Discussions also took place regarding the mining sector, the need to address the bloated civil service and arbitrary appointments, as well as ways to combat the dangers of smuggling and drug trafficking, which plague several states. The attendees acknowledged the importance of expediting arrangements for an urgent meeting with the Prime Minister and the Ministers of Finance and Federal Governance to discuss the issue of funding and allocating a significant percentage of resources to run the affairs of the states, while emphasizing the need to raise the level of communication and coordination between the different levels of government.