Wanted: quality government [Archives:2002/18/Business & Economy]

BY MAHYOOB AL-KAMALI
YEMEN TIMES STAFF
Poorly qualified civil servants have taken over important government posts, including top posts in leading ministries and other state-owned enterprises, which is hurting the development sector.
Similarly, leading manufacturing states enterprises went bankrupt, principally due to the unqualified top executives running them.
It appears that apart from corruption and favoritism which seems uncontrollable, successive governments have not tried to attract well-qualified personnel, causing many economists to attribute this as the cause of the failure of many state-run enterprises.
Part of the challenge is that Yemens workforce is in serious need of better training for civil servants.
The economic reform package currently implemented by the government should also pay more attention to attracting new highly qualified employees, as well as adopting new mechanisms and standards when hiring government employees.
Our political leaderships seems aware of this, as president Ali Abdulah Saleh stressed in a recent meeting with his top ministers that its time to rebuild the country on a stronger foundation.
Indeed, translating this desire into practice will require clear-cut standards when appointing key governments officials.
Unfortunately, since the creation of modern Yemen, the issue of selecting government officials has not been given much attention, although more attention to this issue would help the countrys economy and other sectors dramatically.

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