An advocacy group has warned of the continuing threat to a successful civilian-led transition from the economic and institutional legacy of Omar Al-Bashir-era corruption, as the Paris Conference on Sudan Investment commenced Monday.

The Sentry, in a new briefing report titled “Sudan Struggles to Control Its Parastatals,” details an array of business operations largely controlled by the country’s military as well as security services.

The 9-page report further highlights how private companies in the mining, commercial, and construction sectors incorporated by several commanders of the notorious Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are often contracted by the RSF in breach of conflict-of-interest principles and an absence of government oversight and regulation.

The RSF is an official security force unit with a record of mass atrocities and human rights abuses, originally formed under the Bashir regime from members of the genocidal Janjaweed militia.

Dr. Suliman Baldo, Senior Advisor at The Sentry and report author said the Sudanese Transitional Government continues to make encouraging progress toward fulfilling the promise made to the Sudanese people of a democratic, peaceful, and prosperous Sudan.

“But this progress risks being undone unless it is rooted in a tangible shift away from the opaque and corrupt system operated for decades by the former regime. The transitional government must deal with this legacy with more resolve than it has shown to date,” he said.

The report, among others, recommends that Sudanese authorities must ensure the compliance of all parastatals with Sudanese fiscal transparency requirements by opening their books to the Ministry of Finance and submitting to its control all revenues from services to the public and business transactions.