In times of great adversity, we must think smart, sharpen our resolve, and pursue effective solutions to pressing dilemmas. This was exemplified in the approach of the transitional government led by former Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok (September 2019 – October 2021) to acquiring strategic commodities following the December Revolution, in the midst of severe economic issues and the absence of any foreign reserves in the national treasury and the Central Bank.
This research offers a technical and objective analysis of the experience of the Strategic Commodities Fund (SCF), which the transitional government established to address severe shortages in foreign currency for importing essential goods such as petroleum derivatives, wheat, medicines, and agricultural inputs. The paper traces the SCF’s formation, examines its operations, assesses its outcomes, and distills key lessons for the information of the domestic public opinion, international policymakers, and Sudanese stakeholders and decision-makers. In particular, we explore features of the fund in the transitional period that suggest both a dimension of conflict of interest in the line-up of capital contributors and safeguards meant to combat corruption in the fund’s operations. These insights aim to inform current efforts by Sudanese authorities to set up a similar mechanism in Port Sudan to overcome the economic challenges that the ongoing war has created, especially in light of the Central Bank of Sudan’s recent announcement to form a new strategic commodities fund modeled on the SCF of the transitional period.
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