The Governor of Taiz, Dr. Amin Ahmed Mahmoud, called on the General People’s Congress, the Yemeni Congregation for Reform (Islah) and all the Yemeni parties, to unite under the banner of the republic in order to defeat the Houthi scheme in Taiz and across the country.
In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, Mahmoud said: “It is time to line up the General People’s Congress, the Yemeni Congregation for Reform and all the parties under one front to resist the Imami project; we will only defeat this plan if we stand together.”
Asked about progress in Taiz since his appointment as governor by President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi in December 2017, he underlined the “important achievement” represented by the return of legitimacy and the rule of the state to his governorate.
“We have rebuilt [state] institutions from scratch; we have fully revived the work of the local authority offices, and we have been able to pay salaries to the employees. All Taiz employees will receive their salaries as of January,” he stated.
Mahmoud went on to say that Taiz authorities were able to rebuild the security services and provide necessary equipment, including vehicles and armament for the police through the support of Hadi, the government and the Saudi-led Arab Coalition.
He explained that since taking office a year ago, he launched projects to rehabilitate many of the main streets and repair the sewage and water networks, in addition to introducing a general hygiene plan.
The official, however, noted that the revenues of the local governorate were very scarce and did not exceed 50-60 million riyals per month.
He pointed out that most of Taiz’ revenues were generated from the industrial sector, which is mainly located in the area of Hoban, east of the city, and in the area of Al-Barh, which are both under the control of the Houthi militias.
With regards to security chaos, repeated assassinations and shootings in the liberated areas of Taiz, Mahmoud said: “Taiz must be seen in its current context. The province has been subjected to a full invasion by the Houthi militias, the demolishing of institutions and the loss of state control. This has created a fertile environment for illegal groups, thieves and bandits.”
The governor said he believed that since his appointment to his the post, especially since the beginning of this year, operations at all of the executive offices have been revived, in parallel with ending armed conflict between some factions affiliated with the legitimacy within the city of Taiz. He admitted, however, that this issue has so far not been entirely resolved.
Mahmoud emphasized that the government forces, so far, have been able to liberate 80 percent of the governorate, saying a number of reasons have delayed the full liberation.
He also said that everyone must “understand that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are leading this battle in support of the legitimacy; therefore, there should be no confusion in this regard.”
The governor noted that he had written several memoranda to the United Nations envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths, demanding that Taiz be given full attention.
“The province has suffered from blockade and the greatest amount of destruction, which the United Nations has not yet heeded,” he said.
