SANA'A: Yemen's government has begun implementing a comprehensive plan to revive its dying economy by stimulating job growth and bolstering social welfare programs in an effort to reduce poverty and unemployment. The plan includes providing non-oil industries and small businesses with greater development incentives and creating labor-intensive projects in the country's poorest regions, which are the most in need. Mutahar al-Abbasi, deputy minister of planning and international co-operation, told the press that reducing poverty and unemployment and achieving food security were among the ministry's top priorities. He added officials were seeking to develop partnerships with Gulf Co-operation Council funding institutions. “This would strengthen joint fraternal interests and open the door to expansion of development funding, trade promotion, and greater investment in Yemen,” he said. Economists confirm that poverty in Yemen is spreading as the economic crisis worsens. The number of panhandlers in the streets has increased and more segments of the population are panhandling as a means of making a living. Thousands of families reached the hunger level, meaning they are unable to meet basic food requirements. The development plan also seeks to provide college graduates who are registered with the Ministry of Civil Service and Insurance with more lucrative employment opportunities. The plan also includes reviewing the private sector's minimum wage regulations and replacing foreign labor with Yemeni workers who received appropriate training. A Yemen support fund would serve as the primary source of funding for development projects, economist Ali al-Wafi said “especially infrastructure projects and those aimed at preparing young people for work in sectors such as tourism, fisheries, quarries, and mineral and manufacturing, which will create many job opportunities and contribute directly to reducing unemployment and poverty.” Jamal al-Hadrami, an economic adviser to the prime minister and member of the government program's technical bureau, said, “The government will strive to attract investment, re-start stalled infrastructure projects especially in remote areas, and create a market for Yemeni labor in the Gulf where workers would be trained based upon employers' requirements, and raise production capacity in the agricultural and fishing sectors.”
