External loans misused

SANA'A, July 26 (Saba) - Parliament has returned a loan
agreement worth $ 50 million to the Development, Oil and Social Affairs Committees
to investigate
conflict information from deputies of Planning and International Cooperation
minister about how funds allocated for the Social Fund for Development were used.
Meanwhile, www.almotamar.net cited deputy minister of Planning and International
Cooperation Abdullah al-Shater as saying that the Social Fund for Development and
the Public
Works Projects are of the best government authorities in using external loans.
The fund spends between $ 120-130 million annually and the use of $ 700 million out
of $ 800 million is evidence for this, he added.
However, Chairman of the ruling party bloc in Parliament Sultan al-Barkani said he
was skeptical about al-Shater's remarks, saying the government can only assimilate
$ 170
million a year.
He was inquiring after the credibility of the fund for spending $ 120 million,
saying if there was a government that can deal with funds well, for example $ 5
billion from
the 2006 London Donor Conference, Yemen could avoid many problems.
"The ministry of Planning and International Cooperation and the Yemen Central
Bank must be held accountable for misusing external loans," he said.
The loan, to be reconsidered, comes under an agreement between Yemen and the
Kuwaiti Fund for Arab Economic Development and as part of a total cost of $ 940
million to finance
the third phase of the Social Welfare Fund until the end of 2010.
The project is designated to help the Yemeni people access better economic, health,
educational, water, road and environmental services.
FR