TAIZ — The reconciliation government agreed Tuesday to recognize Taiz as Yemen’s cultural city. Governor of Taiz Shawqi Hael said the government assigned him and other concerned bodies to take the needed procedures to implement this decree.

“Currently, we are counting the things the city needs to be a real cultural city,” he said.

According to Hael, the education system in Taiz needs improving. Moreover, the establishment of public libraries, research and  improved city infrastructure are much needed.

Hael said Taiz has been a cultural city for years, and the decision to officially anoint it as a cultural city had been culminating.

Fakhr Al-Azab, a youth activist, said the decree came at this period to humiliate Taiz and its people. He said it is common knowledge that Taiz is a cultural city and that it doesn’t need to be recognized as one. However, he did say Taiz needs theaters, cinemas and, above all, Taiz needs water.

Al-Azab said President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi and the reconciliation government used this decree as a way to cover-up the existing policy of marginalization against the people of Taiz.

Journalist Mohammed Ameen Al-Shar’abi said the decree is a positive step by the government, but it won’t be useful unless it is accompanied by several other projects to qualify Taiz and to make it a real cultural city.

“There are no book fares, study centers, and even colleges lack the required components,” he said.

The government ordered the culture minister and the legal affairs minister to take the needed procedures to issue this decree, according to the state-run Saba News Agency.