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Donors must not wait for a political settlement to begin addressing Yemen's reconstruction, Ala Qasem of DeepRoot Consulting argued at a recent CSIS Middle East Program roundtable.
Efforts to rebuild Yemen will have to address humanitarian issues, reconstruction, and economic reform simultaneously rather than sequentially, and efforts need to begin now, Ala Qasem argued at a recent CSIS Middle East Program roundtable. Qasem also highlighted new opportunities for Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) involvement in Yemen's reconstruction. Qasem, co-founder of the strategic and political consulting firm, DeepRoot Consulting, spoke at a CSIS roundtable on “Yemen’s Challenges and Prospects for Reconstruction” on July 23, 2018.
Local factions and armed groups are often more powerful than the central government, yet these actors have not been presented with sufficient incentives to buy in to the development process.First, government institutions are weak and lack the capacity to execute development projects efficiently. Qasem noted that commitment to infrastructure project completion is low, project managers often lack the necessary expertise, and steering committees fail to convene regularly, resulting in a critical lack of transparency in project planning and development. Local factions and armed groups are often more powerful than the central government, yet these actors have not been presented with sufficient incentives to buy in to the development process.
Elections necessarily produce winners and losers, and could therefore serve as a spark for renewed conflict if losing factions reject the results.Although elections are often seen as a litmus test for government legitimacy, Qasem warned against holding them too soon. Elections necessarily produce winners and losers, and could therefore serve as a spark for renewed conflict if losing factions reject the results. The government must first work to rebuild the trust deficit with its citizens by improving accountability and transparency. Qasem suggested that delivering aid in the government’s name would be one way of enhancing its legitimacy. He also said that Yemeni citizens should be engaged in constitutional reform in a meaningful way. Yemen’s government must also improve its capacity to deliver essential services effectively, while also proving its ability to follow through on macroeconomic policy objectives. However, Qasem noted that Yemenis’ expectations of what services the government should provide have lowered significantly, and he presented this as an opportunity. He argued that the private sector is especially well-placed to collaborate with the government in this regard and share the burden of service delivery.
Some Yemenis are critical of the politicization of aid from regional donors, perceiving GCC states to be pursuing their own agendas and failing to deliver on some of their pledges for political purposes.Qasem noted that some Yemenis are critical of the politicization of aid from regional donors, perceiving GCC states to be pursuing their own agendas and failing to deliver on some of their pledges for political purposes. To make their contributions most effective, GCC states must increase their coordination efforts with Yemen’s national and local authorities to fill gaps in projects’ planning, implementation, and evaluation, and to increase local buy-in to reconstruction processes. GCC states could also benefit from increasing their collaboration with Western donors who have more experience with monitoring and evaluating humanitarian delivery. Qasem concluded by saying that it is an opportune moment for GCC countries to refocus their interventions in Yemen to help integrate its institutions, bolster its economic capacity, and shift its focus to longer-term reconstruction projects.