AFP, Aden :
Yemen’s cash-strapped government on Sunday 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.
Bin Dagher did not offer details on revenue sources for the budget but it comes on the heels of a massive bailout by Saudi Arabia, the main backer of the internationally recognised government.
Yemen’s cash-strapped government on Sunday 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.
Bin Dagher did not offer details on revenue sources for the budget but it comes on the heels of a massive bailout by Saudi Arabia, the main backer of the internationally recognised government.
