SEMC alarmed at Yemen’s decreased ani-graft efforts

SEMC alarmed at Yemen’s decreased ani-graft efforts The Studies and Economic Media Center (SEMC) is following with deep concern Yemen’s decreased anti-corruption efforts as well as its failure to comply with the United Nations agreement on fighting corruption it ratified in 2005, under which the ani-graft law, the financial disclosure law were passed , and subsequent measures taken. These include the creation of the Supreme Authority for Combating Corruption, the corruption investigation prosecution, and the Right to Information Act. In a statement released on the occasion of the International Anti-corruption Day that falls on December 9, the Center dismissed the attorney general’s decision canceling the anti-corruption prosecution and incorporating same into the public funds prosecution as backtracking on the implementation of the provisions of the anti-corruption law as well as a return to the negative practice of accumlating more graft caseloads while procrastinating on the prosecution thereof. It highlighted that the move adds to several malpractices impinging on the autonomy of anti-corruption institutions. These include the interference by the executive ,and individuals in the functions of those bodies, which scuppered any efforts at fighting corruption in Yemen. While we were demanding the establishment of anti-corruption courts, we were surprised by the revocation of the ani-graft prosecution that only stymies the legislative and administrative reforms designed to fight corruption, it noted. The Center decried the non- enforcement of the Right to information Act passed in 2013, pointing out that Yemen has seen growing crackdowns on freedom of information and freedom of expression. It further indicated that the takeover by the Houthis of state institutions, and the subsequent appointment of outsiders to those bodies, who exercise oversight and executive powers, has been the biggest corruption act in Yemen’s history . It criticized the legitimate government for not being serious about reactivating anti-corruption efforts in the liberated areas as well as the apparatuses overseeing the performances of public institutions nationwide. It affirmed that the war raging on in Yemen has created fertile ground for corruption, as the government has been functioning without clear budget for two years now. Many oversight institutions have given up on their jobs, and even ceased to release oversight reports, it charged. The think-tank warned that the continued disruption of anti-corruption efforts in Yemen would present further economic and developmental challenges to the country, which necessitates that all must work towards boosting anti-corruption efforts in the war-ravaged country.