Yemen celebrates president Saleh’s presidency silver jubileeEconomic and development accomplishments, great changes [Archives:2003/651/Business & Economy]

Mahyoub Al-Kamaly
Today Yemen marks the 25th anniversary of President Ali Abdulla Saleh since he assumed power as president of the republic of Yemen on17 July 1978 prior to the unification of the country.
Celebrating the silver jubilee comes after these years in which president Saleh has been devoting his time for building Yemen and establishing a modern country and market economy system and the achievement of great accomplishments in various fields. Specialists in Yemeni affairs say that President Ali Abdulla Saleh has contributed to guide the Yemeni successive governments for upgrading the economic, and development conditions. He has been giving them guidelines and directives for building roads, dams, providing services for the people and establishment of economic partnership with the neighbouring countries as well as European countries and the United States and Japan and China and many others. Directives of the president urged the concerned institutions to work hard and rapidly for unifying financial, taxation, customs and banking laws and regulations and also to develop and modernize them in compatible with variables and also for unifying the national currency. During the period 1990-2002 estimations of the budget revenues increased by 17 times and expenditure by 24 times and the percentage of deficit by 5 per cent. The fiscal years 1990-2002 have realized actual surplus in implementation of the state budget amounted to YR 18 billion in 2000 and YR 41 billion in 2001.
Since his assumption of power in 1978, President Ali Abdulla Saleh has been paying attention to and interest preparation of the development plans for the achievement of goals of the economic, financial and administrative development. During his reign there have been the five-year plans of 1982-1986, 1987-1990, 1996-2000 and the 2001-2005.
In1995 the unity state began the application of financial and administrative decentralization policy by issuing financial and administrative authorizations till the passage of law No. 4 for the local authority.
During the presidency of president Saleh the country of Yemen has been united and its army was unified. The unified state adopted a unified budget and the first financial law of the unity state was issued in August 1990 and the first budget of the unity state was prepared in1991.
The unification state has since 1995 been implementing the policy of financial, administrative and economic reform aimed at developing industrial and agricultural production, controlling the exchange rate of the national currency and curbing unemployment and rise in the rates of inflation.
Observers affirm that what distinguishes the tenure of president Saleh is his great attention towards determining priorities of the state activities and how to develop financial revenues and distribution of spending along with meeting needs of the population and expansion in extending services for them, especially the remote areas. Among the president's directives was his interest in tackling negatives of the economic reform program and the launch of the social safety net for fighting poverty. The president has paid attention to exploration of oil, liquefied gas and mineral wealth till the country became an oil producing state producing 450 thousand barrels of oil per day.
The president managed to hold negotiations with creditor countries and to obtain a decision of exempting Yemen from its debt according to Paris club countries that supported Yemen's economic reforms. Observers also affirm that president Ali Abdulla Saleh has managed, during these 25 years of running the country, by dialogue, consultation and democracy to win his people's opinion and respect.
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