[04/01/2019 11:33]

Aden – Saba
“The Government has made great efforts to save the economy from total collapse, alleviate the humanitarian crisis, and decrease the people’s suffering.

These efforts have led to a noticeable improvement, but it is not enough in the current economic and humanitarian situation,” said government of Yemen spokesman Rajeh Badi in a statement to Saba, the Yemeni news agency.

“The Government’s efforts, through its directives and constant follow-up from President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, have stopped the collapse of the national currency, bringing it up from 840 Yemeni rials per US dollar in September 2018 to 450 rials in the middle of December 2018. The prices of basic goods all over the country have gone down by an average of 30%.”
Badi added that the government worked to solve the problems with oil products, with the prices of these products going down by an average of 25%, regularly pay the salaries of 242,657 out of the total 472,353 civil servants employed in the public sector, and regularly pay the pensions of retirees all over Yemen.

There were also procedures taken by the government to return 60% of the cash cycle and financial transactions from the black market to the formal banking and commercial sector, in accordance with international standards and requirements to combat terrorism financing and money laundering. The government of Yemen, Badi said, considers these results to be the proof that the decisions it made and steps it took were correct, and these results show the beginning of the end of the deterioration of the economy and the humanitarian situation.

Badi praised, on behalf of the government of Yemen, the efforts of the countries of the Arab Coalition, under the leadership of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the efforts of donor countries, international organizations, and the international community to try to alleviate the catastrophic economic and humanitarian fallout from the coup and war carried out by the Houthi militias against the Yemeni state and its legitimate elected leadership and the Yemeni people.

“The government of Yemen sees, in these efforts, a very noble and humanitarian position, as well as a real opportunity to end the suffering of the Yemeni people and stop the humanitarian crisis,” said Badi. “The government of Yemen has kept up with the various reports and figures that were released by different responsible and respected entities and show the reality of the humanitarian situation in Yemen. These reports reveal, for the first time, the real size of the widespread misinformation from the Houthi militias, which has taken attention away from relief efforts and humanitarian support.”

Badi added that these reports and figures have uncovered the systematic corruption and looting by the Houthi militias against relief efforts and supplies and the disastrous effect that these actions have had on the Yemeni people in need of this aid all over the country, as well as showing how funds and grants from donor countries and international organizations have been used to finance the war and for corrupt personal enrichment.

Badi also said that the government of Yemen has always stressed that the Houthi militias are working on misleading the international community and international organizations by providing false information and inaccurate figures, especially with regards to the humanitarian aspect and the nature of the humanitarian catastrophe that was caused by the coup and the war in Yemen.

This misinformation, Badi added, is not just limited to political issues and positions, and it is hindering relief and efforts by stopping these grants and aid from being used effectively to alleviate the humanitarian effects of the coup and the war.

“The government of Yemen understands the importance of cooperating with other countries and international organizations, and careful planning and coordination that is based on verified figures and appropriate policies, as well as a comprehensive vision, to optimize use of aid and grants to ease people’s suffering and improve their living conditions in light of the coup and the war.”

Badi reiterated that the government is working on improving the economic performance of some vital sectors, improving the service sectors, and activating the control, accountability, and anti-corruption mechanisms.

The government of Yemen believes that partnership with donor countries and international organizations and having a comprehensive vision of humanitarian needs, in light of the continuing coup and war and the Houthis looting state resources in the areas that they have invaded, will efficiently decrease the humanitarian crisis and contribute to decreasing the suffering of all Yemenis.

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