SANAA, 13 February 2006 — Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh announced a major government reshuffle Saturday ahead of the presidential vote scheduled for September, according to a decree carried by state-run television.
Prime Minister Abdul-Qader Bajammal retained his post, but his two deputies Alawi Al-Salami and Ahmad Sufan, who respectively held also the finance and planning portfolios, were sacked.
Saleh axed 16 members of the 35-member Cabinet, including Information Minister Hussein Al-Awadhi and Oil Minister Rasheed Barabaa. Defense Minister Abdullah Ali Eliwa was appointed military adviser to Saleh.
Ministers of other portfolios such as foreign affairs, trade, telecommunications, civil service, transport and local administration remained unchanged.
The reshuffled Cabinet would see two new female ministers: Amatul Razaq Hummad as social affairs minister and Khadija Al-Haisami as human rights minister, according to the decree.
Haisami replaced the only female minister in the previous Cabinet, Amatul-Alim Al-Swsua, who was appointed last year as a regional adviser to the United Nations Development Program.
Fifteen portfolios were given to newcomers described as technocrats, most of whom replaced long-serving politicians.
Among the newcomers were Muhammad Nasser Ali as defense minister, Saif Al-Asali as finance minister, Hassan Al-Lawzi as information minister, Khaled Ba-Haj as oil minister, Jalal Faqira as agriculture minister and Mahmoud Saghiri as fisheries minister.
Interior Minister Rashad Al-Alimi was appointed deputy prime minister. He will also keep his ministerial portfolio.
Also retained in their posts were ministers of religious endowment, technical education and sports. Three ministers of state were also unchanged. The Ministry of Expatriates Affairs was dissolved, and its function was added the Foreign Ministry. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism was split into two portfolios, with Khaled Al-Rwaishan retaining his post as culture minister. A new minister, Nabeel Al-Faqih was given the tourism post.
Observers say that the sweeping Cabinet reshuffle was a sign by Saleh to the Yemeni people and to international donors that he is eager to overcome weaknesses in the government and to implement policies to combat poverty. The move is also seen as an attempt by Saleh to fortify his Cabinet in preparation for the presidential elections.
Saleh’s current term ends in September. He ruled North Yemen for 12 years before taking the helm of the entire country after North and South Yemen merged in 1990.
