Voice of Truth | Ibrahim Shaglaoui From the Airport Begins the Story
Returning to the sudden visit of Prime Minister Dr. Kamil Idris to Port Sudan Airport, what it revealed was not limited to operational shortcomings at the airport, but exposed a deeper flaw in the executive work mechanisms surrounding his office. His direct engagement in writing down observations himself on paper reflected the absence of the supporting administrative role that should accompany his official movements, a role that is supposed to undertake the monitoring of problems, the preparation of notes, and the follow-up on the implementation of decisions, making executive management an organized act based on planning and follow-up, not on reactive responses.
In such circumstances, the effectiveness of government is not measured by the number of directives, but by the efficiency of the institutions responsible for transforming them from field observations into actionable measures subject to immediate implementation and accountability. It is this missing link that appears to require review just as much as state service facilities require rehabilitation and reform.
The Prime Minister’s visit came at an important time, and perhaps what most distinguished it was its element of surprise, as complaints regarding procedures, services, and the internal environment of the airport had recently escalated noticeably. Airports in countries seeking to entrench their institutions are not merely transit points, but mirrors reflecting administrative efficiency, state prestige, and the gateway through which the world views the country.
Accordingly, the decline in their performance is read as an indicator of a disorder in the system of administration, coordination of responsibilities, definition of roles, and institutional effectiveness.
Therefore, what the visit revealed is not new, but rather the accumulation of years of longstanding issues. Congestion, weak services, deteriorating infrastructure, and delayed baggage are all manifestations of a chronic crisis that has long been tolerated rather than addressed.
If the government raises the slogan of efficiency, governance, and effective administration, airports represent the first practical test of these slogans, as they are the official face of the state and the point of direct contact between it, its citizens, and its visitors. Hence, the importance of the visit lies in its ability to transform the directives that the Prime Minister personally conveyed into sustainable reforms that rebuild the system of work according to standards of efficiency, accountability, and service quality.
The most dangerous aspect of the current situation is not only what the war has left of destruction in infrastructure, but what it has revealed of weakness in the state’s service structure. The war did not produce the crisis, but rather stripped away its layers of beautification and exposed it in its clear form. In this context, the airport becomes not merely a reflection of a single facility, but of the condition of an entire administrative system that has long suffered from imbalances.
It is striking that countries emerging from even more severe conflicts have managed to turn their airports into engines of economic recovery rather than burdens upon it. Rwanda, which rose from one of the worst humanitarian catastrophes, redefined the airport as a national project for integration into the global economy. Ethiopia, despite its internal complexities, transformed its main airport into a regional hub reshaping air traffic routes in the region.
Kenya, on a different trajectory, realized early that developing air gateways is a prerequisite for economic positioning.
In contrast, Sudan has remained trapped in a prolonged cycle of political and partisan delays and lack of vision, where plans advance on paper and retreat on the ground, administrations change while problems remain in place, as if time does not affect them. Even major projects, such as the new Khartoum Airport, have remained hostage to long waiting periods, while existing airports gradually deteriorate under pressure of neglect, weak funding, and absence of a unified vision.
Airports are a measure of the state’s efficiency in planning and management. Any defect within them reflects a defect in the decision-making and implementation system.
Therefore, their reform goes beyond maintenance works to the reconstruction of public administration approaches and the enhancement of state institutional effectiveness.
Thus, when the Prime Minister is compelled to personally descend to follow up on operational details that should fall within the daily mandate of the Airports Company, this reflects a dysfunction in administrative levels and follow-up mechanisms. It reveals the absence of roles that should have preceded him there, foremost among them the role of the responsible minister and his executive apparatus. Institutional efficiency is measured by the ability to detect shortcomings and address them before they require intervention from the top of the executive hierarchy.
And when the Prime Minister himself becomes the one drawing attention to operational and service problems, this places the performance of the concerned ministry under scrutiny and raises questions about the effectiveness of efficiency, follow-up, and oversight within it.
Voice of Truth concludes that the rehabilitation of airports in Sudan represents a gateway to rebuilding trust between the state and its citizens, and between the state and the world. The airport is a direct mirror of service efficiency and quality of administration, where the effectiveness of the state is measured by its ability to ensure organized operations and proper procedures.
In this context, the Prime Minister’s visit reflects a test of how vital files are managed: are we facing a genuine structural reform, or a superficial treatment that reproduces crises in different forms, while “from the airport begins the story” remains the most truthful title for this reality.
May you always be in goodness and well-being.
Wednesday, 3 June 2026
Shglawi55@gmail.