Doha: Working groups have set priorities for rebuilding Darfur on three major pillars, namely reconciliation and equality, reconstruction and economic reinvigoration.
Tajeddin Bashir Niam, Darfur’s Minister of Development and Reconstruction, speaking on the sidelines of the International Donor conference for Reconstruction and Development in Darfur , said reconstruction efforts needed $5bn, including $845m for reconciliation and equality, whereas $1.4bn is needed for economic development.
Total cost of the strategy for reconstruction of Darfur is estimated at $7.2bn, he said explaining that the Sudanese government is committed to $2bn while $5.245 is expected to be pledged by the donors at the two-day conference which started yesterday.
The conference, which has faced criticism inside Darfur itself, was agreed under a July 2011 peace deal which Khartoum signed in the Qatari capital with an alliance of rebel splinter groups.
Britain pledged at least £11m ($16.5m) for Darfur annually over the next three years to help communities to grow their own food and to provide skills training to help people find work.
“It is not good enough to simply offer more handouts,” said Britain’s international development minister, Lynne Featherstone.
“This conference is a unique opportunity for Sudan and Darfur to turn the destiny of this conflict-ridden region,” said Jorg Kuhnel, team leader of the UN Development Programme in Sudan.
In his speech, Sudanese Vice President Ali Osman Taha urged “all armed groups to make the historic decision to respect the will of the people of Darfur,” referring to militants who have so far refused to join the 2011 peace agreement.
The head of the Darfur Regional Authority, Tijani Sissi, said the people of Darfur have “high expectations” from the meeting.
“We expect from this conference a political support for the (development) strategy, accompanied by material and technical support, to implement the reconstruction programme,” he said.
The Doha meeting comes 10 years after rebels rose up in the western Sudanese region to seek an end to what they said was the domination of power and wealth among the country’s Arab elites.
“After 10 years of emergency assistance, it is time to start rebuilding communities in Darfur, and allowing them to start taking care of themselves again,” Kuhnel said.
Some 1.4 million people have been displaced by Darfur’s decade-long conflict.
Yesterday, displaced people demonstrated in several camps in Darfur, demanding that security take priority, with some saying they would not return to their villages until peace is restored.
Major insurgent groups rejected the Doha pact, which UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said in January had seen only limited progress in its implementation.
A breakaway faction of the rebel Justice and Equality Movement on Saturday became the second group to join the peace deal. It signed a “final agreement” with the Sudanese government in Doha, official media reported.
The development strategy calls for agricultural upgrades, access to financing and other measures to help Darfuris support themselves under a more effective system of local government.
While the worst of the violence has long passed, rebel-government clashes continue along with inter-Arab battles, kidnappings, carjackings and other crimes.
But the draft development strategy on the table in Doha says there will probably never be an ideal time for recovery, and delays can only make the process more difficult.
“We are aware that it is a difficult international environment to mobilise funds. But we believe that it would be a grave mistake not to seize this opportunity for the international community as a whole,” said Kuhnel.
He said not all funds need to be mobilised immediately. “We need to be able to start and receive sufficient funds to build credibility of the process and the strategy,” he added.
The President of Sudan Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) Mohamed Bishr has expressed thanks and gratitude to the Emir H H Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, government, and people of Qatar for sponsoring peace efforts in Darfur with patience and wisdom for the benefit of the people of Darfur and the region’s stability and security.AFP/QNA
