Before working hours begin, queues of vehicles in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, have already started their daily crawl toward fuel stations, where drivers spend hours waiting for their turn to obtain a few liters of fuel.
As the clock moves slowly, vehicle owners remain stuck in long lines stretching for considerable distances. Some fear arriving late for work, while others worry about losing an entire day’s income.
For many Sudanese, the fuel crisis is no longer limited to the difficulty of obtaining fuel. It has become a daily burden affecting work, livelihoods, transportation, and household needs, at a time when the cost of living continues to rise and people’s ability to absorb additional expenses is declining.
The price of a gallon of gasoline at fuel stations has reached around 37,000 Sudanese pounds, according to market participants, while the price has risen to approximately 60,000 pounds on the parallel market. A gallon of diesel has reached 45,000 pounds at fuel stations, compared with around 56,000 pounds on the parallel market.
In the official foreign-exchange market, the US dollar has risen to around 5,000 Sudanese pounds, while it has reached approximately 8,000 pounds on the parallel market.
Sudanese employee Moaz Ibrahim said that “hours spent waiting outside fuel stations have become an exhausting part of his daily routine, and arriving late for work has become a new reality in his life. He is forced to wait in long queues at petrol stations, which affects his ability to attend work regularly and adhere to his daily working hours.”
