PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 25, 2008

 

Ottawa to fund Phase Two of Forum’s work in Sudan

 

The Government of Canada has agreed to provide the Forum of Federations with about $3.2 million over 21 months to carry out a Phase Two of its development assistance work in Sudan. Titled Federal Governance and Peace in Sudan, the Forum’s project is to assist in the peace process and in the sharing of power and of wealth in Sudan by offering expertise in how a federal framework and solutions can bring about improved governance outcomes in the strife-torn country. Sudan has weathered two civil wars in the last 50 years, the last of which led to what has become a severely frayed Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that was signed in December 2005. A conflict in the western part of Darfur region has spread and has begun destabilizing the region, and has strained UN peacekeeping efforts. The first phase of the project, funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, went from September 2005 to May 2007. The Forum’s work helped forge the links between civil society and government at different levels. Forum experts provided technical advice and input on specific fiscal policy processes and public service reform, with the aim of developing the capacity of the public sector to implement certain key federal aspects of the peace agreement.The second phase of the Forum project, will be implemented over a 21 month period ending March 15, 2010. By then, the expected results of the Forum’s work should be

  • a significant improvement in policies and the sharing of tax revenues among the central government and the states and municipalities of Sudan

  • recognition of the successes of the Fiscal and Financial Allocation and Monitoring Commission and clear suggestions for improvement where necessary

  • an increase in the number of influential Sudanese academics with a strong and critical understanding of federalism and how to implement it.

  • a better-informed body of senior policy makers and members of the international community active in the peace processes who know the federal dimensions of implementing the CPA and the Interim National Constitution

  • a larger number of members of the public and political actors in Sudan who are better informed and actively engaged on the role that federal ideas, institutions and policies should play in the peace process

  • an increase in the number of Sudanese policy makers, academics, civil society, political parties and media who can effectively participate and influence the discourse on the sharing of power and wealth in Sudan within a federal framework.

Sudan has a population of 40 million with a GDP per capita of $2,200. It has experienced a recent surge in its economy from the sale of crude oil, which began flowing in 1999 and which now generates about 70 per cent of the country’s export revenues. The Forum’s Sudan project is headed by Werner Thut, the Forum’s vice president in charge of development assistance programs, and managed by Shawn Houlihan, the Forum’s director for Africa.The Forum of Federations, founded in 1999, is an Ottawa-based international organization that brings together experts from federal countries to improve governance by sharing knowledge and experience. The Forum also works with countries adopting a federal system or elements of federalism.

 

 

For further information, contact Forum staff at 1-613-244-3360:

Roderick Macdonell, Director of Communications, ext. 203 (macdonell@forumfed.org)

Carl Stieren, Program Manager, ext. 207 (stieren@forumfed.org)

Rita Champagne, Administrative Assistant, ext. 215 (champagne@forumfed.org).