US embassy cable - 05SANAA2463

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 SANAA 002463 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE -- PASS TO USTDA MERCEDES FITCHETT. 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON, SENV, SOCI, YM, AORCYM, ECON/COM 
SUBJECT: THE CITY OF TAIZ: WILL THE PHOENIX RISE AGAIN? 
 
1.   Summary: DCM visited the city of Taiz, the third largest 
city in Yemen to open bids for the the US Trade and 
Development Agency (USTDA)-funded wastewater system project 
and to meet with civic, NGO, and business leaders on August 
8.  Taiz stand on the shoulders of trained and passionate 
NGO, business, and community leaders; this small but strong 
concentration of leaders struggles and yet succeeds to build 
Taiz's community. 
 
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Women's Rights: Controversy on the Long and Difficult Road 
Ahead for Yemeni Women 
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2.  DCM met with Suad AlQadasi, the Director of Women's Forum 
for Research and Training (WFRT) in Taiz.  Established in 
1999, WFRT has already become one of the leaders in women's 
NGO development in Yemen; five staff members support the 
various outreach, development, and project efforts of 13 
affiliated NGOs.    WFRT stands apart from other women's 
groups with a demonstrated willingness to tackle taboo 
subjects in Yemeni society and challenge the community and 
the government to become more involved with women's rights. 
 
3.  WFRT believes advancements in women's rights will come 
about as a byproduct of democratic reform.  Toward this end, 
WFRT created a committee of influential religious leaders and 
legislators in Yemen, some of whom are dedicated supporters 
of women's rights.  One of the imams wrote and produced a 
publication in support of women's rights which garnered 
strong objections from other leaders and parts of the 
community.  Other members of the community read his writing 
and are slowly trending toward support of these religious 
arguments.  In grass roots actions like these, the women's 
rights movement in Yemen will gain small but growing impact 
in the community. 
 
4.  Along with other women's groups' leaders in Yemen, WFRT 
established the Simple Women Court House in which WFRT 
analyzed the law, investigated government officials, and 
issued symbolic verdicts against the government.  On its web 
site (www.wfrt.net), WFRT published the verdict as well as 
their demands for greater support of women's rights.  The 
WFRT continues its passionate work through two current major 
research projects on violence against women and on children's 
sexual exploitation and trafficking. 
 
5.  Using a variety of communication methods, WFRT reaches 
out and educates the community on issues such as domestic 
violence.  Its website is one of the most thorough and 
current NGO websites in Yemen with English and Arabic 
translations of legislation, research reports, newsletters, 
and other publications.  Due to budget constraints, WFRT does 
not at present distribute publications by mail; WFRT does 
distribute educational and information materials to six 
governorates by contracting taxi drivers to deliver the 
materials for distribution by staff in each governorate. 
 
6.  WFRT is committed to reaching out to the young people and 
to the international community.  WFRT works with the Civic 
Education Center in California as well as other centers in 
Jordan and Tunisia.  In addition, WFRT established "The Ideal 
Village" in Alturba District in Taiz that encouraged men and 
women to form a village council and solve their problems by 
voting democratically.  WFRT also met educational leaders in 
Taiz and discussed ways to uncover mistakes in textbooks and 
to improve upon teaching methods, encouraging the population 
to set and achieve goals in their lives.  Through a local 
school competition, it encourages students to conduct 
research on issues such as the government's recent removal of 
the petroleum subsidy.  The students evaluate the 
government's policy, suggeste alternatives, and design an 
action plan for themselves.  By studying these facets of 
government policy, students learn to identify problems in 
society, investigate all the relevant issues, and find 
solutions.  Public school 
students submitted more than 3000 project ideas; of these, 
the selected winners will go to Amman to demonstrate their 
projects. 
 
7.  The DCM discussed the Embassy's support for women's 
rights.  The Embassy meets with Muslim scholars and Members 
of Parliament to discuss women's and children's issues and 
provides grants for various projects like the Children's 
Parliament.  The DCM invited WFRT to come to Sanaa for 
further discussions and cooperation on some of the issues 
with Embassy staff. 
 
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Concern of the Governorate of Taiz: Water, Local Councils, 
and Unemployment 
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8.  DCM met with Mohamed Ahmed Al-Haj, the Deputy Governor 
and the General Secretary of Taiz to discuss the issues of 
chronic water shortage, the local council's cooperation with 
the central government, and the rate of unemployment.  AlHaj 
thanked the DCM for paying considerable time and effort on 
the water problem in Taiz and the subsequent USTDA-funded 
wastewater management and recycling project.  He believes 
that Taiz has potential as a tourist destination and yet 
concern over water shortages stymie discussions with 
international companies looking to construct tourist 
developments in Taiz.  For example, the Hayel Saeed Group, 
the largest business conglomerate in Yemen, considered moving 
their base of operations from Taiz to the Lahj Province due 
to the ongoing water shortages.  However, they recently 
renewed their commitment to stay in Taiz and to that end, 
will bring water from sea by building a desalination water 
station in the port city of Mokha, more than 150 kilometers 
away from and 3000 feet down to 
sea level from the mountainous area of Taiz. 
 
9.  AlHaj believes the upcoming Local Council elections will 
be more competitive than in years past, drawing upon a more 
educated and skilled pool of candidates for the elections. 
As the General Secretary of the Local Council, he finds the 
Local Council is a positive link to the tribal ways of 
governance and encourages cooperation with the central 
government.  In its healthy relationship with the central 
government, the Local Council feels the pulse of the 
populace, estimates the needs of the community, negotiates 
municipal budgets with the central government, and monitors 
the progress of subsequent projects. 
 
10.  In regards to the Local Council elections, DCM urged the 
journalists present as well as the leadership to support 
transparency in media coverage of the upcoming elections and 
to hold debates among candidates so that each candidate and 
party announces their agenda and projects to the general 
public. 
 
11.  Despite being in the capable hands of Taiz's business 
and political leaders, Taiz labors under decreasing 
commercial prospects coupled with the high population rate 
common in Yemen.  Only fifteen years ago, as the capital of 
former North Yemen, it was once a strong center of commerce 
where one of the largest business conglomerates in the Gulf 
was founded.  Today, it struggles to regain the attention and 
aid once showered by international donors and companies in 
its commercial, economic development, and community 
development sectors.  (NOTE: The population of Taiz city 
reaches 700, 000 people while the population of the greater 
governorate hovers around 3 million people.  End note.)  A 
high level of unemployment in the city and the greater 
governorate causes many inhabitants to migrate to other 
governorates.  The growth rate of the city is significantly 
lower than in the other major cities in Yemen: Mukulla, 
Sanaa, Aden, Hodeidah. 
 
12.  DCM explained that the Embassy's interests in Taiz's 
economic development; he envisions it as a center of 
business, potential tourist sites, and education achievement 
and hopes that the wastewater management project would 
support further progress on this front. 
 
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US Grants Half-Million USD of Support for Wastewater 
Management in Taiz 
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13.  Taiz suffers from chronic water issues and in past 
visits by the Ambassador, DCM, and Econ/Commoff, Taiz's 
leaders repeatedly requested assistance to alleviate this 
dire situation.  For that purpose, USTDA agreed to fund a 
half-million dollar feasibility study in cooperation with the 
World Bank (WB).  Currently farmers are "stealing" untreated 
storm water and wastewater that runs off into local earthen 
pits for their irrigation needs.  To provide treated water 
and to alleviate further pollution of the brackish water 
table, this US-WB project will outline a plan to treat and 
recycle the wastewater for other uses like agriculture. 
 
14.  DCM presented the bids to Deputy Governor AlHaj and 
Thabet AlHoot, the General Manager of Taiz Water Authority. 
In the presence of press and the public, the proposals were 
opened, the names announced aloud, and processed for the 
selection committee.  DCM hopes this tender is just the 
beginning of more transparent tenders in Yemen.  AlHoot noted 
that the current project is the talk of the town and that the 
people Taiz feel optimistic about the Americans' support of 
their city and the transparency of the tender. 
 
15.  DCM highlighted the fact that as the World Bank would 
finance the resulting construction, this is a rare but 
welcome partnership between an international agency and a 
foreign donor in Yemen.  He expressed his hope that more 
development of this nature would be financed by private 
investors as the business community takes a greater role in 
the community.   He encouraged a new, innovative vision for 
development in Taiz with a partnership between private and 
government sectors to help reducing unemployment and 
gradually improve Taiz's economic situation. 
 
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Business Leaders at the Taiz Chamber of Commerce 
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16.  DCM met with the Taiz Chamber of Commerce and Industry 
and Deputy Chairman Showki Hayel Saeed, a scion of the Hayel 
Saeed family and its business conglomerate.  He noted that 
during his last meeting with the Chamber in March, they 
discussed the dire water situation in Taiz.  He was glad to 
report the successful start of the USTDA-funded wastewater 
management project earlier in the day.  He reiterated his 
hope that new proposals and projects would be financed by 
private investors like the leaders of the Chamber.  Such 
projects in Taiz city would help reduce unemployment and 
gradually improve the economic situation. 
 
17.  He also introduced new concepts for Yemen, specifically, 
recycling solid garbage/waste as a for-profit venture. 
Recalling his work in Morocco, DCM reported that a USTDA 
grant provided an opportunity for businesses to invest their 
money in a project to recycle solid garbage for power 
generation and electricity.  Part of the project also 
provided for the separation and recyling of plastic and glass 
components.  Another concept he promoted was water 
desalination stations for this water-dry region; he offered 
the possibility of US government assistance with feasibility 
studies and technical assistance. 
 
18.  DCM implored the business leaders not to give up, saying 
that businessmen in Morocco sold vegetables and fish to the 
US.  Shipping and marketing problems could be overcome via 
studies, reverse trade missions, and joint ventures with US 
companies. 
 
19.  Deputy Chairman Showki Hayel Saeed noted that Taiz 
population is migrating to other governorates. He said, "the 
Governor's Office and the Chamber were fortunate to have the 
World Bank's efforts on the serious problems of water 
shortage, electricity, and sewage in Taiz.  Nonetheless, we 
are losing about 40 to 45 percent of the total water volume 
for human consumption on daily basis.  Today's water proposal 
is useful but a temporary solution.  Next September, the 
Government will provide some financial support for the 
September 26 National Day celebration and we will take 
advantage of the money to make new important projects for the 
city." 
 
20.  He continued, "I urge and encourage private investors to 
invest on Solid Waste as the DCM said, because if we invest 
well, the process would result in generating power and it 
could result in gold (high profit).  Due to the high volume 
of waste garbage, we can establish a successful project like 
in Cairo or Morocco, and such projects would reduce 
unemployment and poverty. 
 
21.  "I suggest to Yemeni businessmen to conduct marketing 
segmentation and identification of customers.  US goods and 
products have strong durability and I have US machines in my 
factories, which were bought in 1974 and are still working 
fine. I encourage all of you to do business partnership with 
US companies." 
 
22.  Mufid Abdo Said, the GM of Taiz Chamber of Commerce, 
stated that the Chamber needs to reestablish the strong 
relationship with USAID which they enjoyed from the 1980s 
until 1991 when USAID pulled out of Yemen due to Gulf War 
security concerns.   He highlighted the need for technical 
assistance on conducting feasibility studies.  Noting that 
feasibility studies could cost as much as 10 percent of a 
project, many small and medium businesses in Yemen do not 
invest their money on a brand new project due to the high 
cost of conducting a feasibility study.  He would like to 
train Chamber of Commerce teams to conduct feasibility 
studies.  In the 1980s, USAID provided technical assistance 
on the subject by putting instructions and guidelines on more 
than 8000 cassettes.  He requested help with similar 
approaches to benefit the small and medium-size businesses. 
 
23.  He mentioned that the US-Egyptian Chamber of Commerce 
receives 20 percent of the US government aid annually and 
gives it to medium-size businesses as soft loans.  He 
suggested that this might be a good practice for Yemen as 
well. 
 
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Human Rights Center and the Broader Middle East and North 
Africa (BMENA) Initiative 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
24.  DCM discussed the work of human rights training and 
networking with Ezzaldeen Alasbahi, the Director of The Human 
Rights Information and Training Center (HRITC) in Taiz, a 
center first established in 1996.  AlAsbahi tries to link 
between civil and tribal societies and with this effort, 
HRITC trained police officers, journalists, and teachers to 
resolve conflicts peacefully through a seminar called "Stop 
the Circulation and Misuse of Small Arms."  He also worked 
with the Ministry of Planning and Media to fight terrorism by 
stopping corruption, noting that the spread of arms is a 
result of the spread of bribery and corruption. 
 
25.  HRITC has activities in other parts of the Middle East 
and works in close partnership with BMENA and NID.  On 
September 19 and 20, HRITC will conduct a conference in Sanaa 
with the Democracy Assistance Dialogue (DAD); many regional 
representatives from countries of the Middle East and North 
Africa will be present.  The goal is to present a unified 
stand for the human rights organizations in the Middle East 
and provide a common message and position to government 
officials in any Middle Eastern country. 
Krajeski