Islam calls upon all Muslims to work in the month of Ramadan similarly as every other month of the year as the holy month is for worshipping and work alike. However, what happens during the month of Ramadan is that production remarkably declines at most of the government departments which consequently affects the ratio of economic growth.

Slower economic activities and lower production
Economic studies reveal that the reasons behind the low economic activities at the administrative departments, factories and government's corporations are the reduction of working hours at the rate of 3 hours on a daily basis and one-month obligatory leave of absence given to 20% of civil servants during the holy month of Ramadan. Studies also show that the rate of decline of economic and production activities at the different government departments, particularly the manufacturing industries, averages 4.5%, while reaching 4% in public service sectors and 5% in transportation, storage and telecommunication.

High demand for foodstuffs
In contrast, the private sector achieves good results regarding its production, especially the dairy, yogurt, beverages, juices, and fruits and vegetables. The reason for this increase is certainly owing to the higher demand for foodstuffs by the people who double their consumption of milk products and beverages in this fasting period. Therefore, the private sector companies tend to increase their production in order to meet the high demands of consumers, and earn much higher revenues than during the rest of the year. Similarly, as the private sector companies partially fail to meet the local markets' demands for foodstuffs, import companies also enjoy a big share of the more important incomes made during the holy month. However, the increase in sales during the month of Ramadan does not mean a general improvement in the performance of the national economy as this surge in sales is mostly seasonal rather than being an overall improvement.

Employment opportunities for the jobless
Merchants say that the month of Ramadan gives the jobless people opportunities to work in providing foodstuffs. During the holy month of Ramadan, many people start various businesses, such as trading with fast food, chilies, dates, juices, religious books, vegetables and fruits.
Ultimately, the clothing trade also reaches its peak by the end of Ramadan since purchasing new clothes for all the members of the family is a part of the Eid's celebration. Yet, these activities, as stated by many business owners, are not a solution for the problem of unemployment since this is just a seasonal job that merely covers the expenses of the month of Ramadan and Eid.
Furthermore, many of the bakers, widely seen during Ramadan selling the home-made breads known as "lahuh," raise their sales by roughly 40% in comparison with the rest of the year. This is mainly because this kind of bread is greatly used for certain meals during the holy month of Ramadan.
Yet, it is obvious that the prices at local markets sharply increase during the month of Ramadan, which affect employees with low income. Although fasting is an obligation for Muslims in order to make rich Muslims feel the suffering of their poor brothers, we find that the merciless merchants double the prices of most products in a drive to make fast earnings. The government should verify the reasons behind the decline of economic activities and find proper remedies that could ensure a fast recovery for our national economy.

Preparations for the construction of the second phase of Aden Free Zone will start at the end of this year by the construction of the goods and air cargo village at Aden International Airport. The project will include the building of an industrial and warehousing area at the cost of USD 10 million. The Yemeni air carrier, Yemenia Airlines, will finance the goods and air cargo project with USD 7 million as a joint venture with the Free Zone Authority which will provide the project with USD 3 million. This project presents a commercial importance as it will double the warehousing capacity of Aden Free Zone and will increase volume of trade exchange with world countries through air cargo. It is useful to mention that the container, the goods and air cargo project will be build in an area covering 198 hectares and will be furnished with up-to-date shipping equipment. Moreover, the project aims to re-ship imports to other ports after some modifications made on them in cooperation with experienced companies. The project will include sophisticated telecommunication and service techniques in order to facilitate transportation and marketing of goods through air cargo to different ports of the world. The construction of the goods and air cargo village at Aden International Airport is one part of many projects which will be accomplished at Aden Free Zone including:
1- Construction of an industrial area for light and heavy industries such as sugar refining, fabrics and petrochemicals.
2- Building a warehousing and service area to facilitate the flow and exchange of goods between the Container Terminal in Aden and other ports around the world.
3- Upgrade of Aden Oil Refinery and update of the refueling equipment, as well as the construction of a new dock for small boats and the setting up of a floating dock. The second phase project of Aden Free Zone is scheduled to be completed in 2004 with an overall cost of USD 254 million. As officially scheduled, there are four phases that have been achieved in the first phase, while the implementation of the second phase will begin at the end of the current fiscal year. The third phase will start in 2005 and will be completed in 2012 at the cost of USD 2.3 billion. The most important projects to be constructed during the next phases are: the construction of an additional 4 docks at Caltex Terminal; the deepening of the Caltex Channel Terminal; and, the construction of housing complexes in West of Mansura City.
Let us mention that President Ali Abdulah Saleh inaugurated the works of Aden Container Terminal on September 11, 1999.

Oil sources said that Yemen will raise its production capacity of crude oil from 460,000 barrels per day to 475,000 barrels per day as from the beginning of the upcoming year. Similarly, Yemen stroke deals with other U.S.-based oil companies by awarding them concessions to invest in oil and minerals. Ministry of Oil also signed memorandum of understanding with a US consortium led by Pan-America and U.S. Oil Production by which the consortium will get the right to explore oil and gas in blocks No. 16 and 62 located in the Arabian Sea near Mahra coast. The memorandum also stipulates that the US consortium will invest USD 35 million during the two exploration phases. Rashid Baraba'a, Minister of Oil, said, "The signing of the memorandum came as part of the activities of the Yemeni government to make public the oil sector and bring in international oil companies to start business in Yemen." This consortium is the second of its kind to get a concession for exploring oil at off-shore blocks in the Republic of Yemen. Earlier a consortium of Australian and Korean companies got a concession to explore oil at off-shore block No. 60 opposite to Hadramaut governorate. During the last months, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the Ministry of Oil and Russ Oil & Gas Stroy at blocks 37 and 39 in Mahra governorate.
Furthermore, oil sources highlighted that some international companies showed high interest to operate at on-shore and off-shore oil blocks. Currently, 23 oil companies operate in oil and gas exploration at 33 blocks. The Yemeni government is trying to benefit from the Gulf countries' expertise in oil exploration and extraction. Yemen encompasses oil reserves totaling 5.7 billion barrels and 15 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. In addition, the Yemeni government intends to distribute the shares of oil investment among the multinational companies with the goal of encouraging these companies to compete with each other in the oil sector. Yet, Yemen is still a small producer of oil and not a member of OPEC.

Grant for Financing Underground Waters Signed
A grant for financing a study related to underground water projects and retaining soils was signed at the Ministry of Planning & Development. The USD 331,750 grant, given by the Government of Japan and the International Development Association (IDA), aims at developing the pipe irrigation system, retaining soil, and training the workers needed to explore water resources.

446,000 Permanent Civil Servants
According to the last survey update conducted by the Ministry of Civil Service and Pensions, the total number of civil servants working at the different governmental departments totaled 446,000 permanent employees and 14,880 employees on a temporary contract basis. Dr. Abdulwahab Raweh, Minister of Civil Service, disclosed in a press conference that highly-qualified employees do not exceed 14% of the total number of government employees, while holders of high school certificates and lower levels represent the majority of government's employees, i.e. 86%. He also noted that the number of the retired civil servants in 2000/2001 reached 17,000.

Yemeni-Jordanian Trade Exchange Discussed
The Joint Yemeni-Jordanian Committee agreed during its meeting in Sana'a on working out a mechanism for implementing the land transportation agreement signed between the two countries in 1995. During the meeting, mechanisms for enhancing and activating trade exchange through land and sea outlets were also discussed.