A bunch of postponed economic reforms to be implemented [Archives:2004/740/Business & Economy]

The Yemeni cabinet has lately approved to go ahead in carrying out the remaining policies of the economic, administrative and financial reform that are concentrating on banking reforms and establishment of a stock exchange market. The council of ministers has taken that decision following discussion of ideas and opinions presented by delegation of the World Bank that recently visited Yemen. For this reason the cabinet has formed a ministerial committee to follow up implementation of the remaining reform policies.
The council of ministers also urged the concerned parties to be quick in issuing legislation pertaining to the establishment of the long-awaited stock exchange market to offer full services for investors.
The government affirms that the next stage of reforms would not affect those of limited income but rather serves their living conditions as they occur in areas far away from the citizens' woes. The World Bank fixes the blame on Yemen's economic reforms as being slow, particularly in implementing what is termed as the plan of a program for privatization of floundering public installations. But the government says the economic reforms have achieved successes in their four stages that had been carried out from March 1995 to the end of 1999 and had their positive outcomes in developing sectors of production. On the other hand economists are of the opinion that that those reforms have led to price rises of services and fuel and recession in family income.
Opposition parties are severely criticizing the economic reforms as they are being implemented in an unscientific manner and following instructions of the World Bank as a ready-made recipe inharmonious with the Yemeni reality.
On the other hand, the workshop intended for determining cases of the new social security, held in Sana'a lately, called for the significance of selecting the cases that are below poverty line in the process of determination and tackling demands that have been transferred from last year, giving them priorities in implementation for the following years. At the end of the workshop the participants recommended the involvement of social affairs committees in the committee assigned with overseeing the first-time spending processes and engaging departments' general managers in workshops pertaining to local councils.
The process of calculating the cases of social security are aimed at alleviating the negative impact resulting from implementation of the economic reform program in Yemen that caused decline in income levels and reduction of employment opportunities in the public sector.
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