Yemeni economist: Donations of donors will not benefit the central bank and local banks
SANAA, June 4 (YPA) – A Yemeni economist has confirmed Wednesday that amount of money donated by donor countries to Yemen on Tuesday will not benefit the central bank and local banks.
The head of the Center for Economic Studies and Media Mustafa Nasser said donor funds will not enter Yemen, as they will be transformed into in-kind goods and supplies contracted mostly by international organizations.
The economist pointed out that the UN-led humanitarian response plan in Yemen, to which most donor funding will be directed, depends on the relief side and lacks a sustainable development dimension, as Yemen is still located after five years of war within the emergency relief circle.
Nasser called for creating an entity to manage external funds and grants, stressing that this has become an urgent necessity and without it the process of spending donor funds cannot be rationalized.
He continued: “Working under the current randomness would only increase the number of poor people who need help. These numbers would be double digits to constitute alarming data used by organizations for another donors’ conference.”
He said 50 percent of donor funds received by UN relief organizations are allocated as operating expenses.
The management of these grants is conducted in accordance with bureaucratic procedures, which makes it impossible that these amounts cover the rest of the year, pointing out that only a small of those grants will reach the targets, Mustafa Nasser explained.
The donor conference to support Yemen, organized by Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, raised $1.3 billion, half of the funding and grants expected and 80 percent of the minimum projected by the United Nations.
According to Nasser, half of this amount will be disbursed by UN agencies and various international organizations in accordance with the 2020 humanitarian response plan.
He added that Saudi Arabia bears full moral and humanitarian responsibility for Yemen’s case.
The Kingdom now required to grant Yemen another deposit to ensure the stability of the exchange rate and the continued flow of the country’s basic commodities.
The coalition-backed government appeared to be the weakest link in the donor conference, he said, noting that it has emerged as a more analytical party.
According to Nasr, Saudi Arabia’s response to the Hadi government’s request for another deposit to support the central bank is still unclear.
E.M