YEMEN Press Agency

Central Bank accuses Hadi’s govt of destroying Yemen’s economy

SANAA, Dec. 25 (YPA) – The Central Bank of Yemen in the capital Sanaa on Wednesday accused Saudi-backed Hadi’s government of destroying the Yemeni economy through printing a trillion and 700 billion riyals within two years.

“The amount of currency printed by Aden’s bank in two years has exceeded what was printed in over 40 years,” the Central Bank said in a statement.

The bank indicated that the cash supply before the Saudi-led coalition aggressive war against Yemen was approximately 850.9 billion riyals, which is the money needed to meet the needs of the Yemeni economy as a whole.

The aggression coalition in 2015 caused all public financial resources to stop, especially exports, and nearly 500 billion riyals were printed during 2015 and 2016 to meet the inevitable expenses of salaries and operating expenses for all provinces of the country.

After the decision of transfer of the Central Bank’s functions to Aden, in violation of the Central Bank Law No. 14 of 2000 and the Constitution, Hadi’s government, represented by Aden’s bank, began printing 400 billion riyals at the beginning of 2017.

Aden’s bank continued printing the new currency, bringing the printed amount to one trillion and 300 billion riyals in the second half of 2017, and in 2018 and 2019 the total amount of printed currency reached to one trillion and 700 billion riyals.

“When calculating the total money supply, it was found that it has reached three trillion riyals, which is a catastrophic figure and has negative impact on economy, national capital, and citizen,” the statement explained.

The Aden bank’s justification for the continuous printing of new currency on the pretext of paying salaries is illogical, as 70 percent of employees have not received their salaries since 2017 until today, the statement added.

According to economists, the monetary policy pursued by the Central Bank’s branch in Aden has contribute to the devolution of the national currency against foreign currencies and does not serve the state’s policy and its directions to manage internal and external public debt and to pay the government obligations.

In this regard, the economists warned of the danger of dealing by the illegal currency, for its devastating effects on the national economy, which in turn would directly reflect on citizens’ living through the rise in prices.

 

YPA