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Sudan Launches Program to Protect Private Sector Employees from Corruption

A customer receives money from a teller inside the Bank of Khartoum, in Khartoum, Sudan. (Reuters)
A customer receives money from a teller inside the Bank of Khartoum, in Khartoum, Sudan. (Reuters)
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Sudan Launches Program to Protect Private Sector Employees from Corruption

A customer receives money from a teller inside the Bank of Khartoum, in Khartoum, Sudan. (Reuters)
A customer receives money from a teller inside the Bank of Khartoum, in Khartoum, Sudan. (Reuters)

Khartoum announced preparations to launch a counter-corruption program next April, which will vet Sudan’s private sector employees, estimated at about 75,000.

“This program will enable employees to become familiar with the management program used by companies around the world to assess internal fraud, corruption risks and external fraud,” said Sudan’s Al-Oula Center for Accounting Studies Director Adelah Mohammed Al-Tayeb.

The US Chamber of Commerce, during negotiations with Sudan in October, said that the implementation of the anti-corruption program will be the basis for trade between both private sectors and is vital for lifting sanctions.

The Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) oversees the anti-corruption program, as the US aims to ensure that the program is built in every country where it has commercial interests thereby ensuring that its trade partners have the ability to fight and prevent corruption.

Tayeb pointed out that the first phase of the program in Sudan will include the implementation of a technical survey of all employees in Sudanese companies and jobs listed in official state records.

The survey will cover 250 companies.

Sudanese banking sources said that most fraud risks and crimes, especially those which are financial, can be traced back to employees.

The risk of financial fraud is only possible through the falsification of documents, checks, counterfeiting, burglary and systems penetration to obtain the passwords of customer accounts.

“The concept of corruption is not limited to acts such as fraud and embezzlement. But greater efforts must be made to combat other forms of corruption, such as exploitation of status, conflict of interest, or financing private projects from public funds," said the journalist.

Head of the anti-corruption agency in Sudan, Al-Tayeb Mukhtar said that his country is currently preparing to complete the anti-corruption plan, which was approved by the Sudanese parliament several years ago.

One of the first steps in the fight against corruption in Sudan is establishing independent police prosecution.

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Lebanon's Bonds Rally as Parliament Elects 1st President since 2022

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri shakes hands with Lebanon’s army chief Joseph Aoun after he is elected as the country’s president at the parliament building in Beirut, Lebanon, Jan. 9, 2025. Reuters/Mohamed Azakir
Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri shakes hands with Lebanon’s army chief Joseph Aoun after he is elected as the country’s president at the parliament building in Beirut, Lebanon, Jan. 9, 2025. Reuters/Mohamed Azakir
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Lebanon's Bonds Rally as Parliament Elects 1st President since 2022

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri shakes hands with Lebanon’s army chief Joseph Aoun after he is elected as the country’s president at the parliament building in Beirut, Lebanon, Jan. 9, 2025. Reuters/Mohamed Azakir
Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri shakes hands with Lebanon’s army chief Joseph Aoun after he is elected as the country’s president at the parliament building in Beirut, Lebanon, Jan. 9, 2025. Reuters/Mohamed Azakir

Lebanese government bonds extended their three-month-long rally on Thursday as the crisis-ravaged country's parliament voted in a new head of state for the first time since 2022.

Lebanese lawmakers elected army chief Joseph Aoun as president. It came after the failure of 12 previous attempts to pick a president and boosts hopes that Lebanon might finally be able to start addressing its dire economic woes.

The country's battered bonds have almost trebled in value since September, when the regional conflict with Israel weakened Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, long viewed as an obstacle to overcoming its political paralysis.

According to Reuters, most of Lebanon's international bonds, which have been in default since 2020, rallied after Aoun's victory was announced to stand 1.3 to 1.7 cents higher on the day and at just over 16 cents on the dollar.

They have risen almost every day since late December, although they remain some of the lowest-priced government bonds in the world, reflecting the scale of Lebanon's difficulties.

With its economy and financial system still reeling from a collapse in 2019, Lebanon is in dire need of international support to rebuild from the conflict, which the World Bank estimates to have cost the country $8.5 billion.

Hasnain Malik, an analyst at financial research firm Tellimer said Aoun's victory was "the first necessary step on a very long road to recovery".

Malik said Aoun now needs to appoint a prime minister and assemble a cabinet that can retain the support of parliament, resuscitate long-delayed reforms and help Lebanon secure international financial support.

The 61-year old Aoun fell short of the required support in Thursday's first round of parliamentary voting and only succeeded in a second round, reportedly after a meeting with Hezbollah and Amal party MPs.

"That presents significant ongoing risk to any new PM and cabinet, which need to maintain the confidence of a majority of parliament," Malik said.