Internet outage in Sudan exacerbates trade crisis

KHARTOUM, Sudan

The interruption of internet service in Sudan since last month’s military takeover has adversely affected economic and commercial activity in the country.

On Oct. 25, the head of Sudan’s ruling military council, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, declared a state of emergency and dissolved the transitional Sovereign Council and government amid rival protests and accusations between the military and politicians in the country.

Efforts by civilians and voluntary associations to restore internet service have proved futile. A Sudanese court ruled last week in favor of a lawsuit filed by the Sudanese Society for Consumer Protection demanding the restoration of internet service, but the verdict was not implemented.

There are around 13 million internet subscribers in Sudan, mainly provided by Zain, MTN, the Sudanese Telecom Company, and Kanar telecommunications companies.

Traders have complained of heavy losses incurred as a result of the continued interruption of internet service.

Nasr El-Din Babiker, an importer of foodstuffs, said import operations had completely stopped before the service was interrupted, due to the closure of Port Sudan and the main road connecting the city to Khartoum by the eastern Beja tribes since September in protest at a 2020 peace deal between the government and rebel groups.

And although the Beja tribal council announced the re-opening of the port and the main road, the internet outage has made the crisis of importing and exporting persist.

"We rely on the internet to communicate with foreign companies that we deal with in importing foodstuffs, especially in confirming orders and sending documents," Babiker told Anadolu Agency.

"Our losses are estimated at billions of (Sudanese) pounds as a result of this long pause (in business), and if the situation continues in this way, we will be unable to cater to our needs,” he warned.

For Salima Ibrahim, a trader in women’s clothes, social media sites such as Facebook and WhatsApp have been her main platforms for marketing her goods, especially since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. Thousands of other merchants and vendors share Ibrahim’s plight. The disruption of internet services is detrimental to their business.

Sudanese authorities have excluded some banking applications that receive and send money from the internet outage to facilitate the daily circulation of money.

Before the military takeover, Sudan was administered by a sovereign council of military and civilian officials which was overseeing the transition period until elections are held in 2023 as part of a precarious power-sharing pact between the military and the Forces for Freedom and Change coalition.

*Writing by Ibrahim Mukhtar