A possible cabinet reshuffle in Sudan’s Port Sudan administration has intensified disputes among military chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan’s allies over control of key ministries and economic resources, according to Sudanese sources familiar with the discussions.
The reported disagreements centre on the finance and minerals ministries, with rival factions seeking to protect their positions ahead of potential changes to the government, sources told Erem News.
Prime Minister Kamil Idris is expected to remain in office, while consultations are underway over the redistribution of ministerial portfolios currently held by representatives of armed movements allied with Burhan.
The proposed reshuffle is understood to involve replacing some ministers and transferring others between departments, potentially altering the balance of influence among groups that entered the administration under earlier political agreements.
Sources said Burhan is seeking to contain growing dissatisfaction within his coalition, manage relations with armed movements that signed the Juba Peace Agreement and reduce competition between rival factions.
The changes could also allow him to maintain a civilian-led administrative structure as Sudan faces further diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the war.
However, the discussions appear focused on redistributing existing positions rather than fundamentally changing the participation of armed movements in the government.
Finance ministry emerges as key battleground
Finance Minister Jibril Ibrahim has emerged as a central figure in the dispute, with his potential removal threatening to complicate negotiations over the cabinet’s composition.
Sources told Erem News that Ibrahim’s performance has become increasingly contested within the administration, particularly as Sudan’s economic crisis deepens and efforts to secure external financial support face difficulties.
The Sudanese pound has lost substantial value in recent months, while declining revenues, rising prices and mounting pressure on public finances have compounded economic difficulties in areas controlled by Burhan’s forces.
Ibrahim, who leads the Justice and Equality Movement, is unlikely to relinquish the finance portfolio without negotiations over his movement’s political representation and its position within the administration, according to the sources.
Any attempt to remove him could therefore trigger a broader dispute over the distribution of power and resources among Burhan’s allies.
The minerals ministry has also become a focus of the reported disagreements, reflecting the importance of Sudan’s gold sector and the competition over economic resources.
Erem News previously reported that Burhan had asked Ibrahim to resign amid the economic crisis, but that the finance minister had refused.
Political crisis extends beyond cabinet appointments
Orwa al-Sadiq, assistant president of the National Umma Party, said replacing ministers would do little to address the deeper problems facing Sudan.
Speaking to Erem News, he identified the continuing war, economic collapse, competing armed groups, institutional deterioration and the stalled political transition as the principal challenges.
Al-Sadiq warned against presenting a cabinet reshuffle as a new beginning when the underlying causes of Sudan’s political and economic crisis remain unresolved.
His remarks reflected concerns that changes to ministerial appointments could leave existing power structures intact while offering little prospect of resolving the country’s broader crisis.
Ministries treated as ‘spoils of war’
Political analyst Osman al-Nujaimi described the proposed reshuffle as another attempt to reorganise the Port Sudan administration around the competing interests of armed factions.
He argued that several important ministries, particularly those responsible for economic affairs, had become part of a wider struggle over influence and resources.
Al-Nujaimi characterised the distribution of these portfolios as resembling the allocation of “spoils of war” rather than the administration of government institutions under a unified executive structure.
He said previous attempts to rearrange positions within the ruling coalition had encountered opposition and threats of defection from armed groups seeking to preserve their influence.
According to the analyst, the current consultations may be intended to assess the reactions of the armed movements before any final decisions are made.
The reported discussions come as Burhan faces the challenge of maintaining his military and political alliances while managing Sudan’s deepening economic crisis and international pressure for a negotiated end to the war.
