Yemeni officials, community leaders, opinion makers, and intellectuals agree that steps towards decentralization are the next vital move in the country's political evolution. This was clearly spelled out in a seminar organized by the Human Rights, Liberties and NGOs Committee of the Consultative Council, in cooperation with the Friedrich Ebert Foundation of Germany. 

 

Container Terminal of

Friday, March 19th, 1999, witnessed the official opening of the Container Terminal of the Aden Free Zone. After two years of sustained work, companies such as PSA, Hyundai, Shifa, etc. completed their excellent work, which covers 70% of the terminal. 
The amount of material used in the construction of the quay is enormous - 5,000,000 cement blocks; 525,000 cubic meters of sand; 175,000 cubic meters of concrete; 60,000 tons of cement; etc. 

 

A 4-day gathering of experts organized by the Supreme Elections Commission (SEC) in cooperation with the International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES), was successfully concluded on 18th March, 1999. Local and international experts and officials met to discus means of improving the administration and procedures of the election process. 
The 60 or so experts met in 6 election-related work groups - voter education and awareness; the election system; voter registration; election day procedures and vote count; independence and neutrality of the SEC; and election administration and training. 
In a well-thought out concluding statement, the experts recommended incorporating voter education into the national educational curriculum; helping candidates finance their campaigns; opening branch offices of the SEC; including women in all levels of administration; making the date for candidate withdrawal earlier to facilitate printing of ballots; and emphasizing comprehensive training for election workers. 
The SEC promised to consider these points in organizing the next elections.