Saleh, who works in the public sector, is suffering from severe cash crunch as she, like hundreds of thousands of state employees, has not received her monthly salary for the second consecutive month due to the fighting that has been going on for more than 6 weeks in Khartoum between the army and the Rapid Support Forces.
And in light of the difficult conditions experienced by residents of Khartoum and other Sudanese cities; Activists have launched a grassroots campaign under the title ‘On the Note’, calling on grocery store and grocery store owners to provide for the daily needs of residents, on the condition that they pay the value later after the shutdown of the war and cash becomes available.
A social activist who identified himself as ‘Abu Hala’ says there is an urgent need to help those stranded inside Khartoum, who don’t have enough money to buy what they need need to feed their families.
Another activist commented on Abu Hala’s appeal saying that the conditions of the current war require everyone to come together, calling on grocers to give people their needs on the ‘note’ so conditions can be eased .
And with the continuing fighting, the extension of violence and looting in residential areas, and the great shortage of cash, the circle of those who suffer from difficulties in procuring foodstuffs, the prices of which for some have doubled more than 4 times, growing day by day.
While a few grocery store and bakery owners are trying to adapt to the current difficult conditions and continue to open their stores, many have preferred to close their stores due to scarcity of goods and fear of looting. and theft, which has become a visible feature. in most areas of the capital.
In light of the great destruction that affected more than 90% of factories producing food and other consumer goods, the supply chains of markets and grocery stores have come to a complete halt.
Taha Othman, who runs a grocery store in northern Khartoum, said he was forced, under pressure from security conditions, to close his store, which had been supplying the population for more than 30 years.
Othman explains to ‘Sky News Arabia’: “It is impossible to continue to open groceries and shops given the current security conditions, the suspension of deliveries of goods and the sharp increase in the prices of a few basic products which can still be obtained, and customers are finding it very difficult to provide the cash to purchase their needs.
Othman underlines the difficulty of the equation, because if the traders feel the suffering of the populations, it is very difficult to continue to support them given the current market conditions.
Indeed, the last few weeks have been marked by a significant rise in the prices of basic necessities, in particular sugar, flour and oils, with the disappearance of a certain number of foodstuffs from the shelves of some stores which were still operating until now despite continued shelling and fighting.
In this context, Othman points out that the prices of certain raw materials have more than tripled, which has increased the burden on the consumer, who is already suffering from a shortage of liquidity due to the delay in the payment of wages, the closure of banks , and the cessation of more than 95% of daily activities, which constitute the main source of income for more than 70% of the heads of households of the population of Khartoum, which numbered approximately 10 million people, before falling to less than 7 million after the outbreak of fighting, which led to the flight of more than 3 million to the interior regions and neighboring countries.
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