Sudan’s soaring fuel prices make getting by harder for workers

Azhari Mohamed drives his minibus and eight passengers seven times a day from the Shagar neighbourhood in the Port of Sudan to the city centre and back again. But despite the long hours – working from 6am to 9pm – fuel shortages in the city have made it difficult for the 60-year-old to make a living. Azhari’s minibus uses three gallons (11 litres) of petrol a day, costing him about 105,000 Sudanese pounds ($11.30 a day, according to Sudan’s parallel-market exchange rate). With fuel increasingly difficult to obtain, he now spends two days on the road and a third day queuing for fuel. He can spend more than five hours waiting in line when he needs to fill the tank of his minibus and often finds petrol has run out before his turn comes.