US embassy cable - 03SANAA1091

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SANAA 001091 
 
SIPDIS 
 
PLEASE PASS TO EB/IFD/OIA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: AMGT, EAID, ECON, EFIN, EINV, ETRD, YM, EPTED, ECON/COM 
SUBJECT: PL-108-7 TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY REPORT 
-YEMEN 
 
REF: SECSTATE 100294 
 
1. (U) Below is Post's response to the information requested 
in ref A. 
 
A. Does host government publish national budget in a timely 
manner? 
Answer: Yes, with minimum delay. 
 
B. Where Subnational levels of government are significant, 
are their combined fiscal position published. 
Answer: No, not relevant. 
 
C. In what form is the National Budget published? 
Answer: In newspaper and private media. 
 
D. Please rate the quality and comprehensiveness of fiscal 
data published. 
Answer: 2. Limited System of budget reporting, monitoring 
with limited classification system. Some payments arrears and 
deviations between actual expenditures and amounts budgeted. 
 
E. List up to 5 key laws and/or regulations governing public 
disclosure of revenues and expenditures in the national 
budget. 
Answer: The Financial Law No. (8) of 1990 and amendments 
Central Statistics Organization No (28) of 1995 
Law No. 3 of 1997 regarding Government Tendering, Auctions 
and Purchases. 
Central Bank of Yemen Law No. (14) of 2000 
Note: Each Fiscal year budget is issued by a law, and each 
development plan is issued by a law. 
 
F. Assess adequacy of those laws and regulations establishing 
fiscal transparency and accountability requirements. 
Answer: 3. Detailed Comprehensive. 
 
G. Assess extent to which laws and regulations on fiscal 
transparency and accountability are implemented or enforced. 
Answer: 2. Sporadically/unevenly enforced. 
 
H. How would distribution of tax powers and expenditure 
responsibilities of central government be described? 
Answer: 2. Currently being clarified. 
 
I. Does a national audit body or equivalent organization 
independent of the executive provide reports for the 
legislature and the public on the financial integrity of 
government accounts? 
Answer: No. 
 
J. How would the link between nonfinancial public/state owned 
(e.g. extractive industries) enterprises and general 
government be described? 
Answer: 2. Limited independence of spending/procuremement 
 
K. Are privatization processes transparent and published? 
Answer: 2. Moderately transparent. 
 
L. How would the reliability of budget revenue and 
expenditure estimates best be described? Answer: 2. 
Moderately reliable. 
 
M. Short description of host government committment to fiscal 
transparency and accountability. 
 
Answer: The Central Bank and Ministry of Finance are 
committed to fiscal transparency and publish their statistics 
on the internet, in bulletins and in local media.  Local NGOs 
have been active in anti-corruption issues, and the World 
Bank began a program in 2001 working on judicial reform and 
corruption issues. 
 
While Yemen has fundamentally sound investment laws, labor 
laws, customs tariff regulations and tax laws, transparency 
of implementation and enforcement is elusive.  The next steps 
required in Yemen's civil service and administrative reform 
process are to clarify procedures, create implementing 
regulations and build a mechanism to enforce these standards. 
 The formal judicial system is widely regarded as inefficient 
and corrupt.  Parliament has not passed a pending financial 
disclosure law, and Central Bank oversight of government 
accounting practices is considered weak.  End Answer. 
 
 
N.  Please list U.S. goernments-sponsored programs and 
activities that promote accurate disclosure of revenue and 
expenditure in the national budgests of your host country. 
 
While post has no specific programs that promote accurate 
disclosure of revenues and expenditures in the national 
budget, post works to promote transparency and accountability 
of budgets and expenditures in all the assistance programs 
provided by the USG. 
HULL