For any country to develop, it is paramount that there is peace and security to protect people and their property.
According to Dr. Fred Muhumuza, a senior economist at Makerere University, peace is a per-requisite for any economic development as a whole because it creates an enabling environment for the fundamentals of society’s progress, including human capital formation, infrastructure development, and markets subject to the rule of law, among others.
In the absence of peace, education and health structures break down, systems to provide infrastructure disintegrate, and legal commerce is crippled, according to Dr. Muhumuza.
Therefore, peace also frees up resources, both financial and human, that would otherwise be diverted to controlling (or creating) violence.
According to the World Bank, in 2010, Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, had a gross domestic product (GDP) per capita of 74.15 billion US dollars with a promising and progressing developing economy, but this is no more, courtesy of unrealistic wars.
Following the political stability coupled with civil unrest and wars that ravaged the country, Sudan’s economy has since slid from a 71.15 billion USD GDP to a paltry 34.3 billion USD in 2021, dropping by over 40 billion USD in just 10 years.
Recently, President Museveni emphasized the need for stability, saying it is the reason Uganda’s GDP has continued to rise despite certain economic challenges.
In 2010, Uganda had a GDP of 26.67 billion US dollars, and as of 2023, it stands at 42.68 billion US dollars, almost doubling in a period of 13 years, as quoted by the IMF World Economic Outlook.
The peace and security in the country have enabled businesses to thrive, encouraged investments, secured existing businesses, and above all, given assurance to businessmen to invest in big, long-term projects.
The Sudan conflict between Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, head of the armed forces, and Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, the leader of a paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces that grew out of Darfur’s notorious Janjaweed militias, is each seeking to seize control of Sudan.
The infighting has left businesses closed and the capital, Khartoum, abandoned amidst gunfire between the two groups.
The war is not only affecting the Khartoum government but also, to a greater extent, all the countries in the region that do trade with Sudan and neighboring countries.