Khabar Khair (Only Good News) – Ruqiyah Danana

Talking about the Yemeni economy and the problems it faces is the talk of the local and international media in its various orientations. The media discourse focuses on the rooting of the Yemeni economy problem, which seems to be worsening day after day. On the other hand, there are international and local efforts to stop this economic decline.

The head of the Studies and Economic Media Center, Mustafa Nasr, says, “There is civil society activity with regard to food security projects and aid distribution, as well as small and medium-sized projects and cash-for-food projects, and there is also a role for the Social Fund for Development in this regard”.

Nasr added, “With regard to covering the needs of the targeted, the gap between the need and what this aid covers is still large”.

Nasr concluded his speech to “Khabar Kheir” by saying, “There is a problem in the process of distributing humanitarian aid in Yemen, in addition to a challenge in controlling the aid provided by the influential parties in some areas of conflict”.

There is a number of local organizations with the donor support that focus on emergency food security projects. Ali Al-Sanea (Food Security and Livelihood Program Director at Nahda Makers) stresses, “the types of food security projects are specific and fixed”.

Al-Sanea talked about the organization’s role, by saying, “We implemented projects for food baskets, cash transfers, distribution of agricultural crops and cash assistance, and we trained the youth in handicraft professions to obtain a source of income, such as: mobile maintenance, hairdressers, sewing, construction, maintenance of boat machines and the manufacture of fiberglass, to ensure livelihoods and improve sources of income. These projects included a number of Yemeni governorates such as Aden, Lahj, Al Dhale’e, Abyan, Taiz, Al Hudaydah, and finally Shabwa”.
Al-Sanea added, “Currently, projects are being implemented in Shabwa, Lahj, Taiz, the western coast of Al-Hudaydah, and Aden, and the number of the beneficiaries of these projects has reached about 160 thousand from 2012 AD to 2020 AD”.

The need to launch programs to save the economic system
The problem of the Yemeni economy affected by the conflict requires, in addition to presenting it in details, to indicate the possible solutions that will contribute to its recovery, from the point of view of the economic expert

Majed Al-Daeri (an economic journalist) said, “It is not possible to save the food security and provide the sufficient food needs in a poor and devastated country suffering from famine unless the economic system is completely saved, and the stability of the local currency exchange is supported by grants and financial deposits and the return of all the country’s oil and gas exports to re-supply its hard currency in the Central Bank of Yemen in Aden as a foreign cash reserve that the bank can pump to the market, and enhance the stability of the value of the collapsed local currency against the rest of the currencies”.

He added, “Besides adopting a comprehensive economic rescue from the international community to revive the Yemeni state and activate all sources of the national income after restructuring the leadership of the Central Bank and its board of directors with experienced, practiced, economic and banking personalities with experience in the reality and malfeasance of the dysfunctional banking market, with a series of urgent and government-integrated economic reforms, it begins with activating the monitoring, accounting and anti-corruption bodies, applying banking laws and regulations to all banks and exchange companies, and holding accountable all those involved in the crimes of criminal speculation in the national currency, laundering, smuggling and money laundering”.

The solutions that were presented in order to contribute to reviving the economy of Yemen neglect to go to permanent projects that contribute to solving the economic problems that the country has been going through for years, as these projects focus on the temporary solutions and urgent relief programs.

Because of the importance of these projects and the necessity of their continuation, the economic media orientation must adopt a detailed presentation of everything related to the Yemeni economy from different angles, such as criticism of the improvised decisions that may be issued by the competent authorities, and putting possible solutions into the focus of a feasibility study, in addition to presenting the successful economic plans in the countries that we able to overcome the economic crises that they went through and thus, in partnership with the economists and economic media professionals.