Important statement by Economic Committee of Southern Self-Administration regarding reservation of printed banknotes
The Supreme Economic Committee of the Southern Self-Administration issued an important statement on the reservation of printed banknotes today, Saturday, indicating in its statement that to protect the interests of the society and to prevent the repercussions of the collapse of the local currency, a number of containers containing printed banknotes without financial cover were seized and prevented from entering the Central Bank.
The statement of the Economic Committee indicated that the reservation of these funds aims to correct the path of the bank and to stop the rise in the foreign exchange rate to restore financial balance to levels commensurate with the economic cost of the local currency, and dry up the sources of corruption and to avoid using public money to support terrorism and harm our people’s interests by some leaders of the Yemeni government who are rebellious to the Riyadh Agreement.
The statement pointed out that the central bank, since its transfer to Aden in September 2016, has violently printed about two trillion riyals of the Yemeni currency, without foreign exchange financial cover, creating a situation of price inflation and causing the local currency to deteriorate against foreign exchange, and despite its possession of this amount; the government did not fulfill its duties towards society in the capital Aden, and the rest of the southern governorates, such as providing the necessary services by buying spare parts and fuel for electricity power stations, nor did it pay the salaries of the southern armed and security forces regularly, in which it failed to pay the dues of six months in 2017 and four months in the year 2020.
The statement expressed surprise at the bank’s receipt of these amounts, while neglecting the development of local resources such as taxes, customs, telecommunications revenues, air passage fees for aviation, and revenues from oil and gas sales and the port of Al-Wadia, indicating that it is not justified that the central bank continues to transfer financial funds to the banks of Marib, Sayioun, and Hodeidah while these governorates refuse to transfer their revenues to the Central Bank of Aden.
The statement stressed that the government’s operations of printing currency banknotes and getting it into the market, which has been happening for years, has led and will lead to inflation and further deterioration of the local currency value, causing increasing with high prices for goods and services, and decline in the income of community members as a result of the deteriorating purchasing power of the local currency.
The statement pointed out that the central bank’s procedures and its pumping of more printed currency banknotes without cover led to the collapse of the exchange rate of the local currency against the foreign currency, which reached 750 Yemeni riyals for a dollar, and about 197 Yemeni riyals for one Saudi riyal, with the bank performance in not fulfilling its duties in financial policy to limit the process of deteriorating the Yemeni riyal.
The Economic Committee of the Self-Administration concluded its statement by stressing that, in light of these exceptional circumstances that our people are going through, it has been necessary for the self-administration to intervene to stop this absurdity, calling for the Arab coalition to contribute to the stability of the financial market and the balance of the exchange rate through renewing a financial deposit to cover the import of basic commodities from abroad, with a joint oversight work between the Self-Administration and the Central Bank and under the supervision of the funding entity.
