Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07SANAA1528
2007-08-06 10:03:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Sanaa
Cable title:  

YEMEN LAUNCHES NEW ANTI-CORRUPTION BOARD

Tags:  EIND ETRD PGOV EAID ECON EFIN KCRM PINR YM 
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VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHYN #1528/01 2181003
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 061003Z AUG 07
FM AMEMBASSY SANAA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7776
INFO RUEHAD/AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI 0990
C O N F I D E N T I A L SANAA 001528 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR NEA/ARP NATASHA FRANCESCHI,
DEPT FOR NEA/PI KIRBY, SCHULZ AND STAPLES,
DEPT FOR USAID/ANE/MEA JWOOD,
DEPT FOR USAID/DCHA/DG OWILCOX AND EHART,
ABU DHABI FOR MEPI WECHSEL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/06/2017
TAGS: EIND ETRD PGOV EAID ECON EFIN KCRM PINR YM
SUBJECT: YEMEN LAUNCHES NEW ANTI-CORRUPTION BOARD

Classified By: CDA Angie Bryan per reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SANAA 001528

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR NEA/ARP NATASHA FRANCESCHI,
DEPT FOR NEA/PI KIRBY, SCHULZ AND STAPLES,
DEPT FOR USAID/ANE/MEA JWOOD,
DEPT FOR USAID/DCHA/DG OWILCOX AND EHART,
ABU DHABI FOR MEPI WECHSEL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/06/2017
TAGS: EIND ETRD PGOV EAID ECON EFIN KCRM PINR YM
SUBJECT: YEMEN LAUNCHES NEW ANTI-CORRUPTION BOARD

Classified By: CDA Angie Bryan per reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: Yemen's Parliament finally elected eleven
members to the the first Supreme National Anti-Corruption
Commission (SNACC) on June 25. The Commission, which will be
responsible for implementing the new Anti-Corruption Law, has
committed itself to developing a national anti-corruption
strategy involving participants from the government, media
and civil society. Observers remain divided about the impact
SNACC will have, but most remain cautiously optimistic.
USAID has promised immediate technical assistance. END
SUMMARY


2. (U) Anti Corruption Law No. 29 of 2006 established an
11-member Supreme National Anti-Corruption Commission (SNACC)
as an independent body with legal authority to fight
corruption, track down corrupt officials and retrieve funds
obtained through corrupt practices. SNACC is charged with
drafting and executing anti-corruption policies. It also
receives financial disclosure statements from all senior
government officials, as required under the Financial
Disclosure Law. SNACC members are required to file their own
financial disclosure statements at the Parliament's
presidential board. SNACC can interrogate people involved in
financial crimes and crimes of corruption and can refer these
cases to the judiciary for prosecution. It also collects
data and maintains a secret (and not releasable) corruption
database for investigations and asset declarations. SNACC is
required to submit a quarterly report to the President and
Parliament on its activities.

--------------
NEW ANTI-CORRUPTION BOARD SELECTED

--------------


3. (U) Yemen's Parliament elected eleven members to SNACC on
June 25 from a list of thirty nominees presented by the Shura
Council, a consultative body to the President. Nominees were
selected according to Anti-Corruption Law No. 29 of 2006,
which stipulates that each sector of society must be
represented in the SNACC, including civil society, the
private sector and women. Every SNACC member is officially
bestowed the rank of "Minister." The SNACC Chair and Deputy
Chair serve a two-and-a-half-year term and can serve another
two-and-a-half-year term, subject to SNACC consent. Regular
SNACC members can serve only one five-year term.


4. (U) The eleven members are:

a. Mr. Ahmed al-Anesi - General Representative and SNACC
Chair
b. Dr. Bilquis Abu Osba'a - Women's Sector Representative
and SNACC Deputy Chair
c. Mr. Ezz al-Deen al-Asbahi - Civil Society Organization
Representative
d. Dr. Sa'ad al-Deen Talib - Private Sector Representative
e. Mr. Mohamed Hamoud Hassan al-Mattari - General
Representative
f. Mr. Abdo Rabo Ahmed Abdullah Garada - General
Representative
g. Mr. Yassin Abdu Saeed Noman - General Representative
h. Mr. Ahmed Abdul-Rahman Qarhash - General Representative
i. Mr. Mohamed Ahmed Ali Sanhoub - General Representative
j. Mr. Obeid Awad Salem al-Homor - General Representative
k. Mr. Khaled Mohamed Abdul-Aziz - General Representative

--------------
NEW BOARD LOOKS PROMISING . . .
INCLUDES THREE MEPI GRANTEES
--------------


5. (U) Ahmed al-Anesi previously served as Minister of
Telecommunications from 1981-2001 and is known for his
honesty and uncorrupt personality. Dr. Bilquis Osba'a is
currently an Associate Professor of Political Science at
Sanaa University, is President of the NGO Jazirah Center for
Human Rights Studies and has been active in women's rights
issues. In July 2007, the Middle East Partnership Initiative
(MEPI) awarded a small grant to the Jazirah Center for a
project on "Women's Empowerment in the Political Sphere
Through the Media."


6. (U) Both Ezz al Deen al-Asbahi and Sa'ad al-Deen Talib
have also received MEPI grants. Al-Asbahi is General
Director of the Human Rights Information and Training Center
(HRITC),one of the leading civil society organizations in
Yemen that is actively engaged in organizing workshops on
democracy and human rights. HRITC will be leading the civil
society part of the Forum For the Future to be hosted by
Sanaa in December 2007. His organization received MEPI
grants for "Enhancing Civil Society's Role in Democratic
Reform" and the "Democracy Assistance Dialogue" projects.


7. (U) Dr. Sa'ad al-Deen Talib, a key Embassy contact, was
the Program Director at the National Democratic Institute
(NDI) and former Member of Parliament. He served as Senior
Program Manager for NDI's parliamentary strengthening
program. NDI has received three MEPI grants for
strengthening parliamentary institutions, monitoring the
September 2006 presidential and local council elections, and
strengthening political parties and women's political
participation.


8. (U) The person on the SNACC who has the most questionable
reputation regarding corruption is Yassin Abdu Saeed Noman,
who disguised himself as an opposition contender during the
September 2006 presidential elections, but in fact lobbied on
behalf of President Saleh.

--------------
FIRST STEPS
--------------


9. (U) On July 4, President Saleh signed a Republican Decree
officially establishing SNACC and chaired SNACC's first
meeting. SNACC elected al-Anesi as Chair and Osba'a as
Deputy Chair on July 7. Deputy Chair Osba'a told the media
on July 10 that SNACC's first priorities include: a)
establishing itself administratively and institutionally, and
b) implementing the Anti-Corruption Law. She added that
SNACC will conduct field visits to the Central Organization
of Control and Audit (COCA),which is the ROYG's supreme
auditing institution, the Parliament and other ROYG agencies.
SNACC Chair al-Anesi announced on July 12 that SNACC will
devise by-laws by the end of August 2007 and will set a
timetable for prosecuting public finance/corruption cases and
following up with the courts.


10. (U) During its third meeting on July 16, SNACC divided
itself into three committees dealing with: a) institutional
development and budget; b) implementing the Anti-Corruption
Law and devising a national anti-corruption strategy; and c)
administrative affairs. In a statement to the GPC-controlled
almotamar.net, Deputy Chair Osba'a promised that SNACC will
coordinate closely with civil society organizations in its
anti-corruption campaigns and will try to reshape current
laws to enhance anti-corruption efforts.

--------------
UNCERTAIN FUTURE FOR SNACC
--------------


11. (C) Observers remain ambivalent about what impact SNACC
will have on fighting corruption. SNACC member Sa'ad al-Deen
Talib informed FSN Economic Specialist on June 27 that
al-Anesi was reluctant to join the commission and that
al-Anesi's "half-heartedness from the beginning will be a
huge impediment to having him in the position of SNACC
Chair." In a July 16 interview with the independent
newspaper Yemen Observer, SNACC member Ezz al-Deen al-Asbahi
opined that "SNACC cannot fight corruption if there is no
comprehensive system involving all of the people in
government and associated units on this issue." He
threatened to resign if the ROYG is not fully committed to
fighting corruption, adding that SNACC "should examine many
procedures and tasks if it is determined to weed out
corruption." Member of Parliament and President of Yemen
Parliamentarians Against Corruption (Yemen PAC) Sakhr
Al-Wajeh described initial challenges SNACC would face to
Econoff on July 30, including starting up its operations,
achieving cohesiveness since SNACC members are "not of the
same mentality," and added that large forces of corruption
would exert pressure on SNACC itself. Al-Wajeh said that it
is too early for Yemen PAC to make an assessment of SNACC and
that the real test will be the implementation of the
Anti-Corruption Law.


12. (C) Others are more optimistic about SNACC. In reaction
to Sa'ad al-Deen Talib's selection to SNACC, NDI Country
Director Peter Dimitroff remarked in a June 25 e-mail that
"there are far more reform-minded MPs within the ruling GPC
party than previously thought." Al-Anesi told the
ROYG-controlled September 26 newspaper that "SNACC has the
right intentions and will use all sources including the press
to gather information to fulfill its mandate." In a July 23
meeting with the USAID Director, Al-Anesi said that the
Anti-Corruption Law is very strong and that "President Saleh
was clear that he will stand with SNACC in its
Anti-Corruption efforts and support it without limit."
(Comment: The Embassy expects full ROYG commitment to the
new SNACC because all of Yemen's activities under the
Millennium Challenge Corporation's Threshold Program rely on
having a fully constituted SNACC in operation before the end
of 2007. Millions of dollars in economic assistance for
Yemen are at stake. End comment).

--------------
USG PROMISES ASSISTANCE
--------------


13. (C) Experts on the ground have expressed guarded
optimism, noting that while it is good that SNACC has been
formed, it still requires a significant amount of material
and technical assistance in order to carry out its mandate
effectively. In a July 23 meeting with nine members of the
SNACC, the USAID Director promised USG support through
USAID's USD 1.7 million Anti-Corruption Grant with the
Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation (MOPIC)
and another USD 1 million from the MCC's Threshold Program,
if it gets approved. The USAID Director told the SNACC that
a coordination meeting between core donors and SNACC should
take place by mid-August 2007. In the meantime, he agreed to
distribute copies of USAID's September 2006 Yemen Corruption
Assessment to SNACC members.

--------------
SNACC IN ITS INFANCY
--------------


14. (C) Chairman al-Anesi praised USAID's offer, indicating
that the USG was the first donor to offer assistance to
SNACC. He added that SNACC will need help during the initial
stages, describing SNACC as an infant dependent on "an
umbilical cord attached to external assistance." Al-Anesi
stated that SNACC needs a larger office, computers and a
large and specialized staff to carry out its
responsibilities. Deputy Chair Osba'a added that SNACC
requires training on international best practices in the
field of anti-corruption. SNACC member Sa'ad al-Deen Talib
noted that a needs assessment should be conducted.


--------------
COMMENT
--------------


15. (C) The nascent SNACC has a lot of potential to assist
the ROYG as it fights corruption. Most board members have a
technical or legal background and an excellent reputation for
honesty. SNAC will need immediate financial and technical
assstance, however, in order to grow into a fully
idependent and effective body. SNACC will first ned to
move from its current location inside the Pesidential Office
Building in order to maintain is independence. The real
test of the Anti-Corrution Law will be its implementation.
A lot will epend on SNACC's relations with other ROYG
bodie, including COCA. Observers are waiting to see ifthe
ROYG has the political will to enforce this lw and if SNACC
will be an effective mechanism fo doing so. END COMMENT

BRYAN