Armies of Liberation

Late every year the Yemeni government submits an emergency supplemental to the budget that adds about a third more spending onto the original budget. The supplemental is even more vague than the original. Today we learn that 66 gov’t institutions never submitted their year end statements for 2009 including the YEC which buys and sells hundreds of millions for the state annually. It used to be the Economic Military Corp., but it branched out into a variety of other commodities including wheat, thus the name change. One time Burns said that everyone says to increase humanitarian aid, but no one says how. And its a good question in light of the rampant corruption and the elite’s seizure of donor funds.

al Sahwa- Yemen’s Parliament formed on Saturday a committee to investigate what is alleged about the government’s disregarding of closing accounts for dozens of corporations and funds in budget of the 2009 fiscal year.

MP Akram Atia revealed that over 66 government corporations such as the Yemeni Economic Corporation and the Yemenia Airway have not offered their closing accounts of 2009 fiscal year, affirming that the government’s closing statement contained a significant lack of data for dozens of economic units and their economic calculations. He also said that this omission is annually repeated by the parliament as dozens of government corporations do not end its closing accounts and that is disrgarded in the government’s closing statements.

We’re going to be seeing more of this as the budget crunch hits. There are hundreds of thousands of tribesmen who have military ranks and paychecks but never perform service. These protesters though were state employees in the literal sense. Also the YP confirms two were wounded (not killed) yesterday.

Yemen Post: Tens of the public security personnel closed on Monday the international transport link in Yemen’s Southern Province of Abyan in protest against salary cuts, informed sources said.

Central security forces could not break up the protest and convince them to leave reopen the route because the personnel were armed, the sources said.

Separately, two people were injured in the clashes that erupted when police dispersed rallies organized by the secessionist movement in the cities of Dhale and Lahj.

The rallies coincided with a large-scale strike paralyzing the life in a number of the districts in both cities. Stores were closed down in response to the strike call by the movement.

In 2005, Yemen made several repeated announcements that it was going to cut its bloated diplomatic corps in order to reduce expenses. I think it was around the time they were angling for Millennium Challenge Funds. But of course it was all propaganda and the only embassy closed was in Romania. Ambassadorships are quite lucrative, and often used as rewards or to get outspoken people out of the country. The embassies abroad are frequently centers of corruption and sometimes crime and often have networks that spy on Yemeni expatriate communities.

Republican Decrees appointing ambassadors issued
[25/يوليو/2010] SANA’A, July 25 (Saba) – Six Republic Decrees issued on Sunday appointing Yemeni ambassadors to a number of countries:

1- Decree No. 143 for 2010 appoints Yahya al-Sayaghi as an ambassador of Yemen to Cuba.

2- Decree No. 144 for 2010 appoints Abdul-Qawi al-Eryani as an ambassador of Yemen to Turkey.

3- Decree No. 145 for 2010 appoints Shaiy al-Zandani as an ambassador of Yemen to Jordan.

4- Decree No. 146 for 2010 appoints Jamal Nasir as ambassador of Yemen to Algeria.

5- Decree No. 147 appoints Zaid al-Wareeth as an ambassador of Yemen to Iraq.

6- Decree No. 148 appoints Mustafa Numan as an ambassador of Yemen to Spain.

Yemen Observer – The General Labor Union in Yemen (GLU) called all workers in Yemen to initiate a general strike starting on Saturday, May 15. (Read on …)

Lets see who gets the contracts and if anything ever gets built.

TML: Yemen plans to build six beach resorts over the next five years to change the image of the war-torn country and draw tourists. (Read on …)

Yemen Post: Yemen has said that it needs $ 44 billion to implement its fourth five-year economic and social development plan for 2011-2015 and urged donors to release their pledges made during the 2006 donor conference in London. (Read on …)

A government that operates so far above the law that it doesnt pay its own electric bills is going to have difficulty with reforms. Yemen Observer

YEMEN – The Ministry of Electricity, in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance and Justice, has a plan to reduce its debts, collecting more than YR20 billion from individuals and institutions, said Awad al-Socatri, Minister of Electricity and Power at a press conference in Sana’a Sunday evening. (Read on …)

I lost the link! I think its from the Yemen Times, I have to check it.

Governmental offices’ corruption cases are totaling to more that YR1.5 trillion in illegal transfering, equivalent to the current state’s budget, said a first draft report by Yemen Journalists Against Corruption (Yemen JAC), in collaboration with the Journalists Without Chains Organization.

The report registered 126 corruption cases last year. The oil sector, registering 19 cases, was at the top of the list, with more than YR700 billion in corrupt deals. Aden Oil Refinery Company illegally bought oil products worth YR300 billion alone without announcing bids. “This contradicts the Bid Act by which all companies should abide,” said Nabeel Abdurab, one member of Yemen (JAC). (Read on …)

An in depth profile of Yemen’s ambassador to the US at Time today fails to note that Abdulwahab Abdulla Al-Hajjri is President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s brother-in-law.

Time: The reason his bosses have kept him there so long, he says, is that “they think it’s an investment, because they think you develop experience and an understanding of how the system works.” Yemen’s ambassador to the UN is also a relative of the president.

In Yemen, the concentration of power in the hands of Saleh’s family goes beyond their control of the instruments of force (military and security forces) and extends to the national economy. The NYT noticed recently that many of President Saleh’s relatives are top security commanders.

(Presidential son) Ahmed Saleh is head of the Yemen Republican Guard and the country’s special forces. The president’s nephews — sons of his late brother — include Amar, the deputy director for national security; Yahye, head of the central security forces and the counterterrorism unit; and Tarek, head of the Presidential Guard. The president’s half brother is head of the air force.

As the following listing I compiled in 2006 demonstrates, Saleh’s relatives also control a large segment of the Yemeni economy in addition to their duties as military leaders. They also “own” much of the land. One trigger for instability in Southern Yemen is widespread land theft by the ruling family. The corporations listed below are huge monopolies in various business sectors.

President Saleh’s Relatives’ Economic Interests

Ahmed Ali Abdullah Saleh, Special Forces and Republican Guards Commander, Eldest Son, Al-Haj Company For Heavy Equipments and Cars

Ali Abdullah Saleh, President, Partner of Tawfick Abul-Raheem, Sole Distributor of Gas and Petroleum Products

Ali Mohsen Al-Hamar Military Commander Northern and Western regions, Hawan For Petroleum Services and Alraida Group for Engineering.

Khalid Alarhabi Deputy Chief of The Presidential Palaces, Son in-law ,Yemen Space Company

Mohamed Saleh Al-Hamar, Air Force Commander, Half Brother, Alhashidi Petroleum Company

Yahya Mohamed Abdullah Saleh Commander Of Security Central Forces, Nephew, Al Mas Company For Petroleum Services and Ha Wi Cable Chinese Company
(Read on …)

The Yemeni government traditionally skimmed a lot of oil revenue by under reporting both the volume and price of oil sales, and large amounts of subsidized imported diesel were smuggled abroad. Efforts at economic diversification were hampered by massive corruption, bureaucratic infighting and ineptitude and the lack of political will or perhaps comprehension. Its hard to see how they are going to make the civil service and military payroll going forward. The government payroll is the main reason why people in the north aren’t protesting, like those in the south. Jobs are very scarce in Yemen.

Yemen Post Yemen’s oil revenues sharply fell during the past ten months by 65 percent to $ 1.473 billion compared with $ 4.149 billion in the same period last year, government reports have said. (Read on …)

The problem with the diesel subsidies is the vast majority of the money dedicated to supporting the low oil price actually helps the smugglers not the poor. About a third of the entire government budget is spent on subsidies.

SABA FM: Govt supported oil derivatives with $ 3.5 billion in 2008

SANA’A, Nov. 15 (Saba)- Government supported oil derivatives with $ 3.5 billion last year, Minister of Finance said on Sunday.

In a meeting for the technical committee of ministerial office for priorities, the minister Noman al- Sohibi said that such support made a big burden on the general state budget, adding that the government also supported the sector of electricity with $ 1.1 billion in 2008.

He affirmed importance of decrease the support of the government for oil derivatives in order to insure continuing funds of the state.

This is very close to the model needed for Yemen. Sec State Clinton called for a major crimes tribunal in Afghanistan, and an official described Afghanistan as a “criminal mafia state”™. They should take a closer look at Yemen! Its the same paradigm.

The problem with this concept, a well trained and driven corruption task force, in Yemen is that foreign intervention even in the form of training will create more tension, and none of the actors will agree, but the basic principle is correct. There needs to be a drastic intervention to clean the upper echelon of the Yemeni government of their corrupt practices and networks, a caretaker government perhaps.

Not a foreign intervention, no I’m not calling for any sort of invasion, but an authentic effort at accountability would significantly reduce tensions nation wide. Not dialog, not war, not symposiums, not arrests, not bombing, and not military aid. And please don’t talk to me about SNACC or COCA, they are way too weak. At the same time, per some insightful discussion, the issue of amnesty is critical if any restructuring is to occur, for obvious reasons. I’m glad at least the US is recognizing the heart of the issue, a criminal mafia state™ and the resulting loss of legitimacy and efficiency, even if it is in a different country.

Guardian: Nato taskforce to form ‘Afghan FBI’ and root out high-level corruption

Clinton calls for ‘major crimes tribunal’ as west loses patience with Karzai government

Western soldiers are to begin investigating high-profile Afghans suspected of involvement in what one American official describes as a “criminal mafia state” in a sign of the growing international exasperation with Hamid Karzai’s failure to crack down on corruption.

A taskforce being established by Nato in Kabul will consist of a small team of anti-corruption officers, as well as a criminal investigator and prosecutor who hope senior generals will be able to stop cases being derailed by opposition from the Afghan government.

Details of the body emerged as the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, said Washington had called on Karzai to create a “major crimes tribunal” and an anti-corruption commission. (Read on …)

The gas, like the oil, is in the south. With the EITI agreement about to fall flat on its face from a lack of transparency about oil sales, prices and volume, one would expect the proceeds from the LNG sales to be stolen at a similar rate. Click here for my 2006 write up of some of the issues associated with the LNG project.

Yemen Times On Oct. 15, Yemen Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) announced the Company started producing from its liquefaction terminal in Balhaf, on the Gulf of Aden.

The Yemen LNG project is the largest and most important investment ever made in Yemen with an investment of around USD 4.5 billion. It consists of supplying gas from Block 18, located in the Marib region in central Yemen, through a 320 kilometre pipeline to the LNG plant located at the port of Balhaf on the Arab Sea, south east of Yemen.

The plant started production with the first train while the construction of the second train is being completed. The total production capacity will reach 6.7 million tons of LNG per year.
Launched in August 2005, the project shareholders are TOTAL (project leader) (39.62 percent), Yemen Gas Company (16.73 percent), Hunt Oil Company (17.22 percent), SK Energy Co., Ltd. (9.55 percent), KOGAS (6 percent), the General Authority for Social Security and Pensions of Yemen (5 percent) and Hyundai Corporation (5.88 percent).

Who owns the ECY? No one is sure. The ECY used to be the EMC, tasked with military procurement, and it expanded into other fields. There’s no oversight on its practices or review of its balance sheets. Yemen Herald

SANAA, 25 Oct — In a stormy session, members of parliament Sunday demanded clarification on the ownership of the Economic Corporation of Yemen (ECY), and called for investigation into claims of corruption committed by the corporation. The members refused to vote for a $21.0 million dollar loan for ECY and Trade Minister, Yahya al-Mutawakil told the assembly “the ECY is not part of my ministry and not subject to our supervision,” adding “we have our own reservations about its management and the parliament has the right to hold violators accountable.” (Read on …)

The Yemen Observer is an English language Yemeni government mouthpiece in disguise, as is obvious from their reporting, ownership and associates, but every now and then the paper gives a factual account when it works to the advantage of the regime. Russia’s Mig upgrades added a lot to the Yemeni debt. The potential Russian use of Yemeni ports has been thrown around as a possible offset.

Yemen’s foreign debt has increased from $8.9 million to $5.9 billion since July 2009, according to the report on banking and currency developments issued by the Yemen Central Bank. (Read on …)

al Sahwa

To read the assessment of the Government’s report on its performance over the past year ..
إقتصادي يمني: الحكومة أضاعت 146 مليار ريال من القروض والمنح Economic Yemen: The government lost 146 billion rials in loans and grants
20/08/2009 الصحوة نت – مصطفى الصبري: 20/08/2009 Sahwa Net – Mustafa Sabri:

انتقد الدكتور/ محمد جبران ـ Criticized Dr. / Mohammed Gibran أستاذ المحاسبة والاقتصاد في جامعة صنعاء ـ تقرير الأداء الحكومي 2008م الصادر عن رئاسة الوزراء والذي قدم لمجلس النواب خلال الشهر الماضي. Professor of Accounting and Economics at the University of Sanaa on the government in 2008 issued by the Prime Minister and submitted to the House of Representatives last month.

وقال جبران: إن التقرير يفتقر إلى المنهجية العلمية والمهنية كما تفتقر الأرقام التي احتواها إلى أي مصدر Gibran said: The report lacks the scientific methodology and professional and lack the numbers to the issues contained in any source
رسمي كبيانات الحساب الختامي، وتقارير الجهاز المركزي للرقابة والمحاسبة، وتقرير البنك المركزي السنوي، وكتاب الإحصاء السنوي. Official data of the final account, and reports of the central control and accounting, and the annual report of the Central Bank, the Statistical Yearbook. (Read on …)

SANAA, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Yemen, beset by internal strife and tumbling oil income, expects economic growth of 5 percent in 2009, with delays to gas exports putting an earlier 7 percent target beyond reach, a central bank official said on Thursday.

Ibrahim al-Nahari, sub-governor for foreign banking operations, told Reuters in an interview that gross domestic product (GDP) had expanded 4.66 percent last year…

Hisham Sharaf, vice minister for planning and international cooperation, told Reuters the unspent funds (ed-from the 2006 donors conference) total $3.2 billion, aside from aid from bilateral donors with existing programmes…

Oil revenue dropped 75 percent to $665 million in the first six months from the same period last year due to the combined impact of lower prices and declining production, Nahari said. (Read on …)

Half of Yemeni children are stunted from malnutrition. That’s a stat from 2006, things are much worse now. A third of Yemenis are malnourished, and children suffer the most. However corruption, economic monopolies, wars and the diversion (and sale) of aid are among the most detrimental factors impacting Yemenis.

World Food Programme appeals for $23 million to help Yemenis women and children 9. July 2009

The World Food Programme (WFP) issued an urgent appeal on Tuesday for $23 million in “financial support from international donors for food aid to Yemen specifically targeted at women and children,” AFP/Google.com reports. (Read on …)

Must adhere to the party line or else… The French maintain the plane was banned; Yemeni authorities insist it never happened. The military aircraft have similar problems with upkeep on their fleet. The maintenance budget(s) are subject to embezzlement, there’s no oversight and the press is barred from reporting on the military. A journalist who did was kidnapped a few years ago.

al Motamar
Aviation Committee is to sue media instruments that offended Yemeni Airways reputation
Thursday, 02-July-2009
Almotamar.net – The Yemeni Higher Committee for follow-up Aviation Incidents has on Thursday on all different media instruments to the necessity of observing the facts about the crashed Yemeni Airbus plane A 310 that crashed offshore Comoros last Tuesday.

The Yemeni Transport Minister called, in a press conference he held at Sana’a International Airport a short while ago, on the media hat published wrong information to correct them , affirming their keeping the right to sue those media instruments that endeavour to target and offend the reputation of the Yemenia Airways Company via publishing wrong information.

The Minister also pointed out that the Committee has established an information centre at Sana’a International Airport for providing in formation and developments on the crashed plane and operations of rescue that would be reported by an official spokesman in the name of the Committee via continuous news conferences.

The Yemeni Transport Minister also confirmed that the crew of the Yemeni plane was of high skill and efficiency and that the Company would remain adhering to safety criteria.

What is that? One office for every newspaper that they want to drive out of business?

Yemen Post

As Ministry of Information has recently been transformed to a new site, President Ali Abdullah Saleh paid a short visit to the new ministry building earlier this week. News about the visit has two different sides.

The state-run news agency “Saba” reported that the President congratulated the ministry employees for the new building, and urged members of various media organs, audio, visual and print media, to improve and upgrade the information content and provide a meaningful messages that help the country towards progress and advancement adding that he inspected the various facilities of the ministry, the ongoing work as well as the work plan of the various institutions and organs of the ministry, however informed sources said that the President’s visit had a completely different aim.

Sources at the Ministry of Information said that during his visit to the ministry building, the President directed the ministry leadership to vacate the new building of the Ministry.
“Due to the huge size of the building compared with the small staff number of the ministry, President directed that the ministry should be moved again to the previous building giving no more details about any other body that might receive the building instead ” the source said.
The new six-store building of the Ministry of Information was inaugurated in March 19 2009 at a total cost of YR1, 899,984,000.

The building contains 142 offices; set In 264.43 square meters .It includes a kindergarten for the employees’ children, a hall for events, activities and workshops, in addition to two gardens, inside and outside car parks for more than 300 cars.