STC Presidium Calls for Swift and Decisive Action to Curb Currency Decline and Warns Against Continuation of Current Fiscal Policy

The Presidium of the Southern Transitional Council (STC) held its regular meeting today, Thursday, chaired by Mr. Ali Abdullah Al-Kathiri, Acting President of the STC and Chairman of the National Assembly, in the presence of the STC's ministers in the government and heads of the auxiliary bodies.

The Presidium has discussed the public deteriorating economic situation, particularly the sharp collapse of the local currency, focused on the underlying factors contributing to this ongoing decline, and explored necessary measures that the government and both public and private banks should implement to stabilize the exchange rate and restore economic stability, as per a concise assessment from the auxiliary economic and services committee, along with a report from the Money Changers Union of the South.

Similarly, the Presidium has urged the government and the central bank to take swift action to regulate the banking sector, combat speculative activities by banks headquartered in Sana'a, and curtail the activities of exchange companies that have exploited the lack of effective oversight to manipulate exchange rates through the vast amount of liquidity they control outside the central bank's jurisdiction.

During its discussion on the economic situation, the Presidium warned of the grave danger of the bank continuing its current policy of injecting foreign currency through non-transparent auctions, the majority of these funds end up in the hands of banks and exchange companies based in Sana'a and those operating in Houthi-controlled areas, with little benefit to the local market in liberated governorates, emphasizing that halting this practice, as well as revoking the decision to float the exchange rate and moving to a managed exchange rate (fixing an official exchange rate) during this exceptional period, with the central bank committed to supplying the demand for hard currency to import essential goods, is an urgent necessity to stop the manipulation and massive drain of foreign currency and to stabilize prices in the local market at an acceptable level.

In a separate context, the Presidium listened to a verbal briefing on the final report of the liaison committee tasked with advocating the rights and achieving demands of Hadhramaut, presented by Muhammad Abdullah Al-Hamid, head of the committee, which included a presentation of the committee's findings, the understandings reached during its meetings with various segments of Hadhramaut society, and a matrix of the demands emanating from these meetings and the mechanisms for their implementation.

The Presidium commended the immense efforts made by the committee in accomplishing the assigned tasks and the tireless endeavors it made to unify the Hadhrami ranks and to come up with a realistic work matrix that represents the rightful demands of the people of Hadhramaut based on the principle of full partnership, far from any attempts to monopolize or claim to represent Hadramaut by any personalities, components, or certain political parties.

The Presidium has reaffirmed the STC’s commitment to supporting the people of Hadhramaut in their pursuit of legitimate rights, adopted a matrix of demands presented by the committee, and has tasked its leadership in the governorate and districts to develop these demands into practical field programs and to exert pressure for their implementation, thereby fulfilling the legitimate aspirations of the people of the governorate to manage their own affairs and benefit from the resources of their governorate to improve their economic and service conditions, which have deteriorated to unprecedented levels.

Furthermore, the Presidium extended its greetings and applauded the vast crowds that rallied in the cities of Seiyun and Al-Ghaydah, and the rest of the governorates of the South, to commemorate the 61st anniversary of the glorious 14th of October Revolution, themed "Indigenous Identity of the South," emphasizing that the active widespread participation of various segments of Southern society in all governorates of the South reflects the keenness and responsibility demonstrated by the Southerners and their determination to thwart all plots targeting their identity, social fabric, and national just cause.

At the conclusion of its meeting, the Presidium touched on the recent developments on the national scene, discussed a range of organizational topics and issues related to the work of the STC's various bodies, and took the appropriate decisions and measures.