The Sudanese Congress Party’s Agriculture and Livestock Sector has condemned a memorandum of understanding between the Port Sudan junta-run Sudanese Sugar Company and Saudi Range Company, calling it a “flagrant violation of the national interest” and an example of “squandering the Sudanese people’s resources.”
In a statement, the party said the deal was struck without regulatory or legislative oversight and lacked transparency, including clarity on the Saudi firm’s capacity to manage a strategic, complex industry like sugar.
SCoP rejected any investments signed under “rescue and reconstruction” frameworks that ignore ownership disputes and acquired rights. It said the Al-Junaid, Sennar, Assalaya and New Halfa factories are strategic assets, and any partnership that undermines farmers’ land rights or the existing farmer-partner model is unacceptable.
The party warned domestic and foreign investors that contracts signed with the current government lack constitutional and popular legitimacy and will be reviewed—and potentially annulled—once democratic civilian rule is restored. Funds committed under such agreements could face legal liability, it said.
Backing residents and farmers around the four factories, SCoP urged that any future partnership begin with transparent consultations guaranteeing full rights, including land ownership.
The party also questioned a plan to import 600,000 tons of sugar from Saudi Arabia, saying the procurement appeared nontransparent and in breach of government tender rules. It argued that wartime damage to infrastructure makes storing and transporting such volumes impractical, suggesting the project lacks a realistic basis.
