The legitimate government in Yemen called on the United Nations to declassify information in its investigation on corruption in its agencies that are operating in the war-torn country.
The Associated Press had exposed on Monday rampant corruption in the agencies.
Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Najib al-Auj said the government will take firm and strong measures against the complicit agencies, revealing that their licenses for operating in Yemen will not be renewed.
He told Asharq Al-Awsat that after reading the AP report, “we will file a comprehensive report about the performance of each agency.”
He added that his ministry had previously ordered each UN agency to file performance reports “but only a few of them complied.”
Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani said the AP report exposed the extent the Iran-backed Houthi militias have infiltrated UN agencies.
It also exposed the political and financial corruption and mismanagement of relief efforts in Yemen, he added.
The scandal tarnishes the reputation of the UN, he remarked.
More than a dozen UN aid workers deployed to deal with the wartime humanitarian crisis have been accused of joining Houthis to enrich themselves from the billions of dollars in donated aid flowing into the country, according to individuals with knowledge of internal UN investigations and confidential documents reviewed by the AP.
The report confirms the repeated accusations by the legitimate government against the Houthis, Eryani continued.
He demanded the declassification of the information in the investigation and for a review of the performance of the UN and its agencies in Yemen in recent years. The results must be revealed to the Yemeni people.
The fate of millions of dollars in aid and food and medical relief stolen by the Houthis must be revealed, he added.
Minister of Local Administration Abdulraqeeb Fath urged UN Resident Coordinator in Yemen Lise Grande to immediately form an investigation committee to probe the corruption.
Official sources revealed that he had informed her that the government will not accept any shortcomings or abuse of the relief effort by any humanitarian agency.
Local Yemeni sources spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat about the UN’s “complicity” with Houthi sectarian projects and agendas in areas under their control.
They revealed that the Houthis received funding from UNICEF to transform a building at Ibb University into a school that carries the name of former supreme council chief Saleh al-Sammad as part of its efforts to glorify its slain leaders.
The building will be inaugurated soon and the Houthis have only allowed the children of its dead fighters to enroll.
The school has been equipped with computers, chairs and other supplies that were provided by UNICEF, charged the sources.
