Business In Brief [Archives:2006/999/Business & Economy]
– President Saleh chairing delegation to London
President Ali Abdullah Saleh is chairing the official delegation to the Consultative Group meeting in order to assert the government's commitments. The meeting is expected to raise funds to finance Yemen's third five-year developmental strategy to facilitate its accession to the Gulf Cooperative Council, amounting to US $48 billion over five years.
– Yemen to unify trade standards with GCC
The Yemeni authority for standards signed a memorandum of understanding with the Guld Agency for standards in order to unify the standards of products traded between Yemen and the GCC and develop a mechanism to monitor the products traded as well as an exchange of information on the development of trade in the region.
– Power interruption investigated
A 12-hour power failure to almost all parts of the country which started at 8 am on the Nov. 10 is being investigated, sources at the Ministry of Electricity indicated that the nationwide failure was due to simultaneous disconnection of prime power links in Al-Makha which shut the whole system down and took over 10 hours to repair.
– 1,086 cases of corruption on trail
The minister of justice, Ghazi Al-Aghbari, said 1,086 lawsuits involving corruption of government officials and employees and misuse of public funds are being prosecuted. The total amount of lost funds from those cases amounts to YR 1.65 billion and US $900 thousand. The minister however indicated that the verdicts of this type of corruptions are rarely enforced and the Central Authority for Control and Audit rarely follow up the execution of the verdicts.
– Yemen and Eritrea to establish joint fishing company
Sources at the Ministry of Fisheries said Yemen and Eritrea are negotiating to establish a joint fishing company. The feasibility study recommended the company as it will serve the development of both countries, however the terms of the agreement have not been finalized.
– Anti-monopoly government agency formed
The Ministry of Trade and Industry formed a government agency to promote competition and prevent monopolies. They will ensure stability of prices and the availability of commodities in the Yemeni market. The agency will to be chaired by the trade minister in its initial stages and is it will work in coordination with the trade committee in the parliament.
– Natural gas brings more employment
The Middle East executive director of Total said the progress level in the construction of the Yemen Liquefied Natural Gas Project has exceeded 35 percent and there were 4,000 workers this year and the number will double next year in order to start natural gas production in line with the initial plan.
– Women affected more by poverty
An academic study indicated that women are affected more by Yemen's poverty and althoguh their percentage of the population is slighter higher than men they continue to suffer from illiteracy, under-education and they lack of skills to help them find employment and achieve economic activity. The study was undertaken by Prof. Bader Saleh of Aden University and concluded that the current poverty-alleviation strategies do not do enough to help women escape the poverty trap.
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