Preventing manipulation and overlapping of tasks.. The Hadramout authority is tasked with arranging the Al-Wadiah border crossing
English - Sunday 07 May 2023 الساعة 09:54 am
Hadramout, NewsYemen, exclusive:
Over the past years, accusations have escalated about tampering with the revenues of Al-Wadiah port in Al-Abr district in Hadramawt governorate, due to the interference of the security services that oversee this border crossing with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
With the outbreak of the absurd war led by the Houthi militia, Iran's arm in Yemen, in 2015, the Al-Wadiah port, which before the war was only designated for transporting commercial goods between Yemen and Saudi Arabia, turned into a major port for the movement of citizens and travelers and a vital transit point for goods and commodities.
Many statements were made by many activists and local and governmental leaders about the reality of what is happening at the port in terms of revenue manipulation and the interference of the security and military agencies that are struggling to take over the tasks of securing the port and controlling the money that is collected from citizens and commercial freight vehicles passing through the port.
Huge revenues... and hidden corruption
According to official reports and statements of the port administration, customs revenues at the Al-Wadiah land port in Hadramout for the year 2014 amounted to about six billion five hundred million Yemeni riyals, that is, before the war that the Houthi militias ignited in the country in 2015. After one year of the war, the port revenues increased in a record way, reaching about 30 billion in 2016.
The announced revenue figures are not accurate, especially since there are human rights reports that have monitored collections and looting of travelers and merchants who pass through this port over the past years. This reveals a state of great corruption in the land port, which has become the only artery between Yemen and Saudi Arabia.
Activists and journalists revealed collections and royalties that travelers, expatriates, and cargo truck drivers are forced to pay in order to pass without these amounts having any official or legal bonds. Some of these royalties go to field commanders who run security and military agencies stationed at the port or the Al-Abr Borders Directorate in Hadramout Governorate.
The report, which was published by Yemeni media professionals and human rights activists earlier, confirmed that those in charge of customs, permits and transit licenses at the Al-Wadiah port charged sums of money from all passers-by to and from Saudi Arabia without official bonds and outside the legal fees, in addition to what is imposed by the military and security points deployed along the Al-Wadiah-Al-Abr line. , especially on trucks loaded with goods and commodities.
New move
In early May 2023, the Governor of Hadramout, Mabkhout bin Madi, reiterated that there are significant overlaps in the tasks of the security and military agencies operating at the Al-Wadiah border crossing, in addition to that there are revenues from the crossing that are not supplied to the state's accounts.
The governor of Hadramout began serious moves, with the support of the leadership of the Coalition to Support Legitimacy, led by Saudi Arabia, in order to correct the status of the port, and end the great interference that exists between the security and military agencies stationed at the port, in addition to supplying the huge revenues that are collected from the port of Al-Wadiah to the state’s container.
The governor of Hadramout held an expanded meeting that included officials of the port and the operating security authorities, as well as officials of the local authority and the security department in Wadi Hadramout, and the leadership of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Hadramout in the coast and the valley.
The meeting was attended by the Chief of the General Staff of the National Army, Lieutenant General Sagheer Hammoud bin Aziz, the Commander of the Support and Support Forces of the Arab Coalition in Yemen, Major General Sultan bin Abdullah Al-Baqami, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior, Major General Muhammad bin Abboud Al-Sharif, and the Undersecretary of Hadramout Governorate for Valley and Desert Affairs Amer Saeed. Al Amri.
Port mode arrangement
The Governor of Hadramout, Mabkhout bin Madi, confirmed that this inspection visit to the port of Al-Wadiah land port comes in the context of the interest of the leaderships of our country and the sisterly Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, led by His Excellency President Dr. Rashad Muhammad Al-Alimi, Chairman of the Presidential Leadership Council and Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz. And in light of the follow-up to the leadership of the local authority in Hadramout Governorate to arrange and organize work at the port.
The governor of Hadhramout said: "We came to the Al-Wadiah port and with us were the brothers in the support and support leadership in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which was and still is the main supporter of our country in all circumstances and turns, in order to see the port and address the difficulties that prevent facilitating citizens' transactions, as it is the only lung of the Republic of Yemen to the world and the lifeline And the main crossing for citizens, and a mechanism will be approved for work and discipline, standardization of security tasks, and facilitating citizens’ procedures in coordination with the brothers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to improve the conditions of the crossing and for the state’s revenues to be poured into the state’s container, after the process of securing the crossing road from interruption has taken place, as it constitutes an important point for the national security of our country and the brotherly Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Coalition support
The Commander of the Support and Support Force of the Arab Coalition, Major General Sultan Al-Baqami, praised the efforts and follow-up of the Governor of Hadramout to improve the conditions of the port, stressing support for these efforts in implementation of the directives of the Kingdom’s leadership to alleviate the suffering of citizens as the port is the link and the important artery between the Kingdom and Yemen, indicating that the meeting comes to remedy security problems. And the development of the port, and binding decisions will be adopted for all to prevent any transgressions in a way that serves the citizens, and in particular the visitors of the Two Holy Mosques, pilgrims and Umrah performers.
