Yemen govt announces budget after 3-year hiatus

AFP, ADEN: Yemen’s cash-strapped government yesterday released its first official budget since the Huthi rebels overran the capital Sanaa in 2014 and following a bailout from ally Saudi Arabia.

Prime Minister Ahmed bin Dagher said spending in the 2018 budget is projected at 1.5 trillion Yemeni riyals ($3.9 billion), with revenues estimated at 978 billion riyals ($2.6 billion).

The Aden-based government projected a deficit of $1.3 billion, based on the official exchange rate of 380 riyals to the dollar—higher than the market rate of about 450 riyals to the dollar.

In a post on Facebook, the prime minister painted a devastating picture of the country’s economy, saying that oil and gas production—the main source of revenue before the war—had ground to a halt and that $5 billion in foreign reserves and stocks of the local currency had been “looted” by rebels who maintain a separate central bank in Sanaa.

 

Yemen govt announces budget after 3-year hiatus

AFP, ADEN: Yemens cash-strapped government yesterday released its first official budget since the Huthi rebels overran the capital Sanaa in 2014 and following a bailout from ally Saudi Arabia. Prime Minister Ahmed bin Dagher said spending in the 2018 budget is projected at 1.5 trillion Yemeni riyals ($3.9 billion), with revenues estimated at 978 billion riyals ($2.6 billion). The Aden-based government projected a deficit of $1.3 billion, based on the official exchange rate of 380 riyals to the dollarhigher than the market rate of about 450 riyals to the dollar. In a post on Facebook, the prime minister painted a devastating picture of the countrys economy, saying that oil and gas productionthe main source of revenue before the warhad ground to a halt and that $5 billion in foreign reserves and stocks of the local currency had been looted by rebels who maintain a separate central bank in Sanaa.