** . .. and Love ur blog btw!

I know its not the most important part of the cable but I picked on that specifically because it’s these small things that reflect a dis-organised, reckless and inconsistent government that doesn’t make it easy for the private sector to work efficiently and effectively in the country.

In response to your comment
“However, my point was, in countries like the UAE similar arbitrary measures that are announced overnight happen.”
That doesnt make it ok! Just because of the rest of the Middle East lives by these standards doesnt mean Sudanese businesses should happily accept.Thereby giving him all the right to complain.

Finally about the cables again. They aren’t a “record” they are a collection of notes written by Fernandez, after the meeting was held and sent off to DC. They therefore are subject to personal and political biases as you said.

The cables are a private record of meetings held by US diplomats, not meant for public consumption. There is very little reason for them to be fictitious. There is, however, reason for us to recognize bias.

You are right that the logistics of changing weekends can be a nightmare to manage with supply chains, etc. However, my point was, in countries like the UAE (which Daoud happily claims to be from), similar arbitrary measures that are announced overnight happen. It doesn’t mean anyone in the business community is thrilled about it. It just isn’t unique to Sudan.

Also, the weekends weren’t announced overnight. People were aware of that coming for awhile.. and in the long-term, it is actually better for business. Either way, that’s not the most important part of the cable.

Take what you read in the cables with a pinch of salt.

That meeting was a private one in which no one took minutes and he was mis-quoted on several occasions.

Also I have nothing against two day weekends, however if I was responnsible for running a business which oversees several thousand employees, I would want to be consulted and given sufficient notice. Consumer goods companies in particular manage large and complex supply chains if everyone takes an extra day off suddenly product supply will be severely impacted.

Amin,

You make a valid point. I’m not sure how I would feel if the president called me to his home and asked me to fund a war, knowing full-well that there is complete disregard for human life. I do, however, know what I would do. I would never knowingly contribute to such an effort but would counter the request with taking leadership of helping the victims.

I don’t think Daoud was being honest in his exchange with Fernandez and I can bet that he twisted a few words to make it look like he was asked to support victims. I don’t buy it.

Don’t get me wrong there are institutions that are really trying to establish themselves as centers of excellence in the country. But many are producing unemployable graduates just like government run institutions. Because they do not care to take the time and fine tune their curriculum in a way that could produce a graduate with an employable skill that is needed to help drive the local economy. I guess culture has something to do with that as well. That’s why we have unusually high numbers of doctors and pharmacists.