Security, Political Challenges Await New Governor of Yemen’s Aden

The new governor of Yemen's temporary capital, Ahmed Hamed Lamlas, will face many security and political challenges in addition to problems in services. He previously managed al-Mansoura and Khormaksar districts, before being assigned as Shabwa governor.

The security situation in Aden has seen some stability after the Southern Transitional Council (STC) pledged to implement the Riyadh Agreement, despite intensified clashes in the neighboring governorate of Abyan.

The Council abandoned its declaration of self-rule in southern Yemen and vowed to implement the Agreement with the legitimate government, including the appointment of a new governor and security director for Aden.

Government forces in Abyan were planning to advance towards Aden, but they had some concerns especially since the declaration of self-rule was followed by the decision to transfer all resources to a special account outside the central bank. The vehicles carrying the money were confiscated on their way to the bank, which resulted in the government’s inability to disburse salaries to civil and military employees.

A government employee, Omar Salem, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the growing political conflict between the two parties and its expansion to other southern governorates has raised many concerns. However, the Riyadh Agreement restored people's hopes in achieving stability.

Aden suffers from deterioration in services, with blackouts of up to 18 hours per day. Despite that, people hope that acceptance to accelerate the implementation of the Agreement will improve the level of services in the city.

Aden residents told Asharq Al-Awsat that stability in the capital will reflect positively on other governorates, and would help improve services, particularly in the electricity, water and cleaning sectors.

Mahmoud Abdullah, a resident of Aden, said that the first tasks of the governor should be to improve power and water services and achieve stability in the city. He also indicated that the new governor should prevent the appearance of armed fighters in the city and find a way to treat sewage water, noting that inflation and currency collapse are issues that the government should solve, not the local authority.