A joint government committee, comprising officials from the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Yemen, has commenced an audit of government accounts in Marib Governorate, signaling growing concerns over the management of public revenues outside official frameworks. This initiative follows allegations that local authorities have refused to remit revenues to the Central Bank in Aden.
The committee, which includes the Deputy Minister of Finance, Hani Wahab, and senior Central Bank representatives, met with officials at the Central Bank's Marib branch. Discussions focused on mechanisms for closing government accounts previously established outside the centralized system and ensuring their inclusion under financial oversight as part of broader economic reforms and financial governance efforts.
The delegation also addressed the technical requirements for establishing a network link between the Marib branch and the main office in Aden. Such a connection is intended to strengthen oversight of public revenues and standardize monetary policy management.
These actions occur amid reports from informed official sources indicating the continued refusal of Marib's local authorities to transfer central revenues to the Central Bank in Aden, despite binding government directives requiring all institutions and local authorities in liberated governorates to deposit their resources into the Central Bank's official accounts.
Sources suggest that Marib's retention of accounts and revenues outside the centralized system represents a clear violation of government decisions aimed at resolving financial imbalances, enhancing transparency, and combating corruption, particularly as the state grapples with a severe financial crisis and increasing challenges in meeting its fundamental obligations.
Economic observers note that the accumulation of billions of Yemeni Riyals from oil, gas, and other public resources outside the unified financial system has exacerbated the financial division within liberated areas and weakened the government's capacity for efficient and equitable management of public resources. Questions are also mounting regarding the fate of the substantial revenues collected in Marib over the years, given the absence of public financial data and effective oversight mechanisms to disclose their expenditure.
Economic experts have urged the government to implement decisive legal and administrative measures against entities failing to comply with revenue remittance directives to the Central Bank. They emphasize that the success of economic reforms hinges on the uniform application of laws and the prevention of any power centers from managing public funds outside state institutions.
