In an effort to save the war-torn nation’s faltering currency and to address a diminishing economy, the Yemeni government announced executive measures on reforms approved by the national Economic Committee.
The government said it will withhold docking permits for luxury cargo, while reassuring that licenses for fuel shipments and five food commodities - wheat, rice, sugar, milk and edible oil– and medicine will continue being issued.
As head of the legitimate government, President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi had ordered forming a national Economic Committee presided by presidential adviser and economic and financial expert Hafez Moayad.
Barring the entry of non-basic shipments comes in an effort to reduce hard currency depletion lost through the import of luxury goods.
Economic Committee Head Moayad, in an official statement, confirmed that the committee has devised a mechanism for import processes relevant to five main commodities (wheat, rice, sugar, milk and edible oil), as well as means to resolve the problem facing the oil derivatives market-- both with domestic consumption and the export of surplus.
He said that the committee handed a detailed briefing to authorities on Saturday.
In the document, the committee recommended establishing a workshop with traders and concerned parties to discuss mechanisms to be implemented and clarify them to commercial sector parties.
The mechanisms are claimed to be able to stabilize the currency and keep it from collapsing.
Moayad revealed that the Economic Committee, which consists of seven members, including the Minister of Finance and the Governor of the Central Bank, has completed its research functions and will be ready to assume other duties.
He added that it will follow up with bodies responsible for implementation.
In the meantime, the Yemeni Ministry of Transport began implementing procedures prohibiting the import of luxury goods.
According to the ministry, the government decided to restrict imports to basic commodities and oil derivatives by means of appropriations, collections and remittances based on Economic Committee mechanisms.
The mechanisms took effect on Sunday.
The government had decided earlier to raise salaries of government employees by 30 percent and production capacity in oil and gas fields after providing security guarantees for the resumption of export.
Practices of Iran-backed Houthi coup militias in Yemen, such as looting and pillaging of Sanaa Central Bank assets, have played a huge part in the national currency’s collapse.
