Increase working hours the solution [Archives:2006/986/Opinion]

Mohammed Al-Ghazali
The green leaves of qat have become the main preoccupation of the Yemenis since it was introduced in the third century. Consumption of this tree has created a negative social habit and the expansion of its plantation at the expense of other crops. Daily it leads to the decrease of trade exchange of Yemen. This situation is reflected negatively on the level of the individual income especially the process of development.

Economic analysts believe the reason of the low level of the individual income in the third world is a result of decreased production because of a vicious cycle where the cost for financing the process of production rises and leads to deterioration in the level of the individual income. Yemen suffers from an additional impediment. It's the addition of qat as an endemic habit that must be confronted with resolution and fighting qat has to be the strategic factor for the new government until it manages to put an end to this wicked habit dominating our society.

I think we can overcome this problem by issuing a system increasing the daily working hours to eight hours at an average of 40 hours a week, as other countries do, and to prevent employees at state and private sector institutions from chewing qat during the working hours.

The prevention should be characterized by persistence and stability until qat-related concepts and impressions dwelling in the minds are changed. It should be backed up with a persistent and regular media campaign, including the religious address, as we are considered a religious society. Other measures in this regard have to include levying progressive taxation on the growing and selling of qat, continuously encouraging of sport and cultural clubs and libraries, preventing officials and frequenters of those clubs from chewing qat, continuous encouragement of farmers to plant profitable crops and organization of their marketing, exportation and buying so that it would not reflect negatively on farmers who plant these crops other than qat.

We are all certain the time we stop gatherings or sessions of qat-chewing then the country's backwardness for tens of years and to be replaced by additional working hours, which is a first of priorities, we will take long steps to raise the level of economic growth and by that we may traverse long distances towards development. If otherwise we will not change our present state the coming generations will be living in a state of deadly loss.

Mohammed Al-Ghazali is a Yemeni journalist at the military magazine “Al-Huras” and a sergeant at the army.

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