Khartoum — On Wednesday, Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok announced the names of the new civilian state governors. Two of them are women.

In a televised press conference at the Council of Ministers in Khartoum on Wednesday evening, Hamdok described the appointment of the new governors as "the real start of change in the states".

The selection process was thorough, he said. It was based on proposals of politicians, and nominations presented by the Forces of Freedom and Change in the states.

The PM regretted the poor representation of women in the governors' seats (of the two northern states). "We will work for a better participation of women," he said.

The new governors are: Ayman Khalid (Khartoum), Abdallah Ohaj (Red Sea state), Saleh Mohamed (Kassala), Suleiman Ali (El Gedaref), El Mahi Suleiman (Sennar), Abdelrahman Noureldayem (Blue Nile state), Hamid El Bashir (South Kordofan), Hamid Abdelrahman (West Kordofan), Khalid Mustafa (North Kordofan), Ismail Warrag (White Nile state), Abdallah Idris (El Gezira), Amna Ahmed (River Nile state), Amal Ezzeldin (Northern State), Mohamed Arabi (North Darfur), Mohamed Eisa (East Darfur), Mousa Mahdi (South Darfur), Adeeb Yousef (Central Darfur), and Mohamed El Doma (West Darfur).

Following the formation of the Council of Ministers in early September, the Sudanese people expected the acting military governors appointed by the regime of ousted President Al Bashir to be replaced by civilian state managers.

Yet, in the peace negotiations between the government and the rebel movements that started the same month, it was agreed that new, civilian governors would only be appointed after the signing of a comprehensive peace agreement.

In April this year, the rebel groups in principle agreed on the appointment of civilian state rulers. In early July, the government and the armed movements agreed on replacing three to four federal ministers and two members of the Sovereign Council in favor of the rebels. The last outstanding issue to be discussed before reaching a final peace agreement concerns the security arrangements.

In response to questions of journalists at the press conference concerning the changes to the country's 2020 General Budget approved on Wednesday, Hamdok said that the cash support program for poor families is now linked with production.

This increases productivity in the country, and will overcome many problems in the import and the trade balances, he explained.

Hamdok described the removal of Sudan from the US list of State Sponsors of Terrorism as "complicated". As a result of "hard work and extensive discussions" Sudan now has to pay $400 million instead of $11 billion. Khartoum is now working "with external parties to provide this amount".

After completion of the matter, Sudan will be able to fully cooperate with the regional and international community, and the doors of the country will be opened wide for investors, he stated.

Other legal amendments "will protect the Sudan from any court case in the future" [such as the 1998 bombings of the American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, and the attack on the USS Cole in Yemen in 2000].

In reply to a question about his staff, Hamdok said that his four-member office is the smallest in the world. He pointed in this regard to Sudan's shift from a presidential system to a parliamentary system, in which the executive apparatus, represented by the prime minister, bears the greatest responsibility.

Concluding the press conference, the prime minister addressed the "youth of the revolution and resistance". He described their "battle to topple the regime of Al Bashir" as "very fierce". He asking them "to focus on the implementation of the revolution program", saying that "the fiercest battle everyone must fight is the battle of rebuilding Sudan".