STC's Presidium Warns Against Fabricating New Crises Post-Electricity Crisis

The Presidium of the Southern Transitional Council (STC) held its periodic meeting today, Thursday, chaired by Mr. Ali Abdullah Al-Kathiri, Acting President of the STC and Chairman of the National Assembly.

In the beginning of its meeting, which was attended by Dr. Abdul-Nasser Al-Wali, Minister of Civil Service and Insurance, and Eng. Mane'a bin Yameen, Minister of Electricity, the Presidium stood before the continuing deterioration of the electricity service and the artificial obstacles that are being placed in the way of the exerted efforts by the ministry to provide immediate solutions to stabilize the energy service at a minimal level, diverting the path and direction of the ministry to strategically address the persistent electricity crisis.

The Presidium highlights the responsibility of the government and the Central Bank in providing financial resources to purchase fuel and operate the electricity stations and the necessity of urgent intervention by the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) and the coalition to remove these obstacles and start serious steps now to prevent their recurrence during the coming summer.

The Presidium also called on the PLC to quickly address the situation and give directives to re-operate the Aden refinery, given their paramount importance in solving the problems of petrolatum-based products, providing electricity, and saving hard currency, in light of the wrong financial policy followed by the Central Bank, which leads to a sharp decline in the price of the local currency, while the government and the Central Bank are unfortunately standing idly by in the face of the collapsing currency crisis and not taking any proper measures to stop its continued deterioration.

Similarly, the Presidium warned of the tendencies of the decision-making forces in the government to continue managing the country through crises and to prepare to launch new and successive crises after the electricity crisis, most notably salaries and the strategic food stocks, which are underway in full swing, noting their negative impacts on the general political situation in the country, the repercussions of which cannot be predicted or controlled, and calling on the PLC to stop the Prime Minister’s policy of running the country by fabricating crises that harm citizens and the community in general.

Politically, the Presidium asserted the STC's positive engagement with all proposed solutions and initiatives in accordance with its specifically agreed-upon texts, noting that the Council’s position on any initiative is determined by the extent of its connection to the public interests and goals of the people of the South, which ensure the fulfillment of their aspirations to restore their state.

In addition to that, the Presidium affirmed the Council’s continued efforts to promote its political relations with its brothers in the region and other active international powers and to strengthen the military capabilities of the southern armed forces that enable them to protect the achievements of the South and decisively counter the ambitions of the Houthis and terrorist groups.

The Presidium pointed out the need for the people of the South and the educated elites to understand the delicate conditions that the South and the region are going through, which require standing firmly with the STC in its political struggle to defend the right of the people of the South to restore their state, and the importance of everyone’s contribution to strengthening the unity of the ranks and imposing the rights of the South in the political process.

To the end of its meeting, the Presidium discussed a report submitted by the Legal and Human Rights Commission (LHRC), assisting the Presidium of the STC on its performance for the third quarter of the year 2023, in addition to a range of organizational topics and issues related to the work of the central and local bodies of the STC, and took the appropriate measures.