2003 budget is hammered out Moving Yemen’s economy into growth [Archives:2002/48/Business & Economy]

BY MOHAMMED AL-MASANI
YEMEN TIMES STAFF
The success of Yemen’s policies towards economic reform for the majority of the people depends entirely upon its capabilities for reviewing a comprehensive plan and strategy.
Helping Yemen continue its reforms, including reducing unemployment, is among the goals discussed by the World Bank and other donors at a recent meeting in Paris.
It is reported that the estimated volume of revenues in the Yemen’s general budget project for the year 2003 is amounting YR 604.4 billion compared to revenues of 2002.
Speaking about reforms and the 2003 budget, Ahmed Obied al-Fadhli, Yemen’s deputy finance minister told the Yemen Times that the 2003 local authority budgets have been prepared.
“In order to make a success of the 2003 budgets, the finance ministry along with the Ministry of the Local Administration, and the Ministry of Planning have to cooperate through forming committees in all governorates,” he said.
Despite of the difficulties faced by the finance ministry, efforts have been exerted to review statistics of the 2003 budget.
The gross net revenues have reached YR 604.4 billion.
The deputy minister made clear that the financial and economic reform program has an advantage over reducing the general budget deficit ranging from 16 percent out of the overall domestic production in 1994 to 2.5 percent in 2001.
In addition to this, the inflation rate has been reduced form 70 percent in 1994 to 11.9 percent in 2002.
The domestic liquidity rates have been reduced along with the banking finance volume for the general budget through putting an end to the inflationary spiral of the deficit and depending on actual resources in finance.
“The economic reform program has achieved positive rate growths in the national economic levels along with achieving a proportional stability of the official exchange rate. Besides, the structure of the general expenses has been reconsidered and reviewed in order to achieve a new monitoring mechanism on exchanges,” Ahmed Obied noted further.
As for improving the non-oil revenues along with reconsidering some of the tax and financial bylaws, the deputy minister pointed out that this would help to increase state’s general revenues, simplifying the collection procedures of the tax revenues. The tax procedures will regulate the tax avoidance and will also lessen the burdens of the state’s general budget represented by the goods assistance.
The deputy minister has called for further support in accordance with what has been stated in the poverty reduction strategy where the donor countries highly hailed the Yemen’s’ adoption for the poverty reduction strategy.
Concerning the financial conditions within the context of the local authority he said: “The time still early to assess the financial process within the framework of the local authority. This is because of that the 2002 is the first year to apply the local authority budge in all governorates,” he added.
The first indications point out that there is a tangible success to apply the financial decentralization and the finance ministry has done so before issuing the local council law.

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