By Mohammed Amin
KHARTOUM (AA) - Sudan has carried out another currency devaluation, raising the dollar exchange rate to 30 Sudanese pounds to the greenback, Sudan’s central bank announced Monday.
On its website, the central bank explained that the new rate applied to both forex bureaus and commercial banks.
The move is the second of its kind this year after the bank carried out a similar devaluation last month, raising the rate from 6.9 to 18 pounds to the dollar.
The government has also adopted a number of punitive measures -- including stiff jail terms -- against black-market currency traders.
Sudan has seen sporadic protests since the beginning of the year, sparked by a raft of government austerity measures including subsidy reductions on wheat, medicine and electricity.
On Sunday, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir vowed to crack down on corruption, asserting that “conspirators” -- both at home and abroad -- were actively working to destabilize the national economy.