The Legal Regime of Public Finance in the Sudan: The Legacy of Nimeiri

Abstract

The Republic of the Sudan, the largest country in Africa with a population of approximately 22 million people, became an independent state on 1 January 1956. The “May regime” of former President Ga'afar Mohamed Nimeiri ruled the Sudan during sixteen years of Sudan's independent existence, from 25 May 1969 to 6 April, 1985. Since April 1985, the country has been in a “transitional” period leading up to elections in April 1986, after which a newly elected government will determine the future of the state. Although Nimeiri is gone, the issue of the retention of the policies and legal structures of his regime continues to dominate the political and economic scene of this country.The economic development of the Sudan, along with the question of the correct balance of central-regional power within the country, constitute two of the major subjects of governmental attention and current political debate. The legal structures put in place by the Nimeiri government with respect to these matters remain largely intact. In order to undertake effective changes in the financial and structural policies of the government, an essential first step is to understand the framework which has existed in the recent past from which such changes will be made.