Opposition slams 2004 budget [Archives:2004/700/Front Page]

Mohammed bin Sallam
Representatives of opposition parties blocs and independent MPs in Yemeni parliament have called last week on the government to reconsider its policy and the state general budget of the year 2004 and all the steps that it intends to take that would lead to weighing down the citizens shoulder.
A statement distributed to the media last week mentioned that while the Yemeni citizen was looking forward to having a budget mitigating his crises, the government budget for 2004 came far from his expectations and disregarding the interest of the citizen. The statement added that the budget represents a stabilization of increasing unemployment, poverty, inflation, corruption and rise in prices. The budget indicates that the government is far from achieving its declared policies for fighting poverty and curbing unemployment and realizing development as well as rationalizing spending.
The statement added that the government has been insisting on following the policy of continued doses and rising prices of goods and services without introducing in return any tangible administrative reform. the statement concluded that what heralds danger and causes anxiety about the future is the increase in volume of foreign debt, retreat of growth rate, shortage in individual income and aggravation of the corruption phenomenon as well as the noticeable retreat in the democratic margin.
The statement added that against all that the opposition parties blocs and the independents at the parliament and out of their keenness on the general interest and responsibility for the citizen confirm their absolute rejection of the state's general budget of 2004 and call the government to reconsider whatever steps it intends to take in the direction of adding burdens on the citizen shoulders.
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