Under construction: Yemen’s social security system [Archives:2003/09/Business & Economy]

BY MAHYOUB AL-KAMALI
YEMEN TIMES STAFF
Yemen has recently adopted a plan to increase its level of social security.
The number now totals 55,128 persons to the end of Dec. 2002. The establishment wants to increase the number of those beneficiaries by 100 per cent by the end of 2003.
The number and firms registered under the securities system is about 2,485 and this is 334 more compared to the year 2001. The number of firms that are continuing in following the securities system is 1,820.
So far the revenues gained by the establishment for social securities amounted to YR 3.47 billion. The amount covers YR 2.4 billion as security revenues and YR 1.4 billion in investment revenues.
Total number of beneficiaries from social securities during the past year amounted to 2,799 cases.
The volume of the establishment’s investments has exceeded YR 14 billion, distributed on various fields, financial, real estate and companies.
Part of these investments is an amount of over YR 4 billion as treasury bonds and YR 9.27 billion as financial deposits.
The establishment also invests in the Islamic Bank, Yemen and Gulf Bank, the Yemeni-Libyan company and the Red Sea company with a financial contribution of about YR 297 million and 775 thousand.
The securities establishment has also offered around YR 37 million in trade loans in addition to investment in real estate with a sum of money of over YR 285 million.
The establishment’s investment revenues in 2002 amounted to around YR 1 billon, with a drop of 22 percent due to the decision by the Yemeni Central Bank to transfer the money invested in treasury bonds when they are due and restricting completion to the new amounts of money.
Nevertheless, the level of social securities in Yemen are still low.
Therefore the concerned parties are still making legal amendments for developing performance of the services and adding new security branches, insurance against unemployment, security in favor of family benefits as well as expanding securities coverage to include the whole country.

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