Lets work together [Archives:2002/14/Business & Economy]

BY AHMED M.H. AL-AWAH
VICE PRESIDENT COMMUNICATIONS AIESEC CALGARY
CALGARY, CANADA
In the past decade Yemen has witnessed progress in many areas of the economy such as education and health, roads and electrification. According to a recent report by the World Bank these developments have now made Yemen “above the average of lowest-income countries”. However, the report also indicates that there is still a long way to go to improve Yemeni society.
Water shortages -Yemen’s supply of renewable water resources is one of the lowest world wide, rapid population growth, poverty and a wide gender gap are some of the main challenges that will face Yemen in the years to come.
The WB says also that oil production from existing oil fields is expected to decline slowly until it reaches one-third of the 2000 level by 2008 — unless new reserves are found soon.
Unemployment continues to grow as there is no balance between the growth in the labor force and the number of new jobs available. Inefficient management has also caused the government “an inability to arbitrate among the competing demands between urban and rural needs” , according to the 1999 report Yemen: Forging a New Consensus, OED.
Does this mean that Yemens slide is irreversible? It depends on how you look at it.
Yes, if you continue to watch it go down hill and decide that nothing can be done about it. No, if you decide to act in a more responsible manner.
According to the World Bank report Yemen’s main economic challenge is to reverse negative trends caused by the Gulf war, civil war, and the 1997-98 drop in oil prices, and to do it in ways that are sustainable.”
What exactly does it mean to “do it in ways that are sustainable”? Are the changes the government is trying to do sustainable? Shouldn’t the people themselves play an active role in reforming their society? Could there be ways in which the community together with the government could participate in building a better future for all, a future that may not transpire for those building it today but rather for those who will live here tomorrow?
Yemen faces many challenges and unless the government looks for ways in which it can get the people involved in developing a sustainable economic growth, it will continue to work with only a few of its resources, neglecting the most valuable resource any nation has: its citizens.
In his book, The Laws, Plato mentions “Nothing can be more absurd than the practice that prevails in our country of men and women not following the same pursuits with all their strengths and with one mind, for thus, the state instead of being whole is reduced to half.”
So the government should foster social and economic projects that require the participation of all members of the community. The value of volunteer programs that also build the futures of both individuals and their communities also needs to highlighted.
Community members should in turn also be willing to participate in the development of their own lives and the lives of their children by participating and initiating community-based programs.That way everyone works together towards a common goal with one mind for a shared and better future.That I believe is the essence of sustainability.
The best way to express it is through a poem in the above-mentioned OED report.
A tent can be erected only
If there are poles to support it,
And no pole will stand
Unless the pegs are anchored
Only if the pegs work together with the poles
Will the tent serve those living in it.

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