Blackouts in southern Yemen as economic crisis deepens

News Desk - The Cradle 

Earlier this month, the currency in Saudi and UAE-controlled Aden plummeted to an all-time low

The southern Yemeni city of Aden suffered widespread power outages on 27 July after private generators were shut off in protest against lack of funds and unpaid bills, coming as a severe economic crisis is plaguing the Saudi and UAE-controlled areas of the country. 

Aden’s state-controlled power company announced that several private firms had begun to gradually boycott their duties in order to pressure authorities into meeting payment requirements. 

Power outages have been increasingly common in Aden. 

Some have suggested that the Saudi-backed government in Aden invest in the construction of power plants and formulate an energy plan for the coming years. 

An anonymous official told Arab News that the Saudi-backed government has tasked its Vice President, Aidaroos al-Zubaidi, with finding a quick fix to the electricity crisis in Aden, as opposed to relying on private facilities.

“There is a delay in the completion of some emergency projects that were supposed to be operational in June. However, council member Aidaroos Al-Zubaidi is tasked with implementing quick solutions, such as employing an international company offshore to generate additional energy,” the anonymous official said. 

Control over Aden is divided between the Saudi-backed Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) and the UAE-backed, secessionist Southern Transitional Council (STC) – who are at odds with one another over diverging interests in Yemen, signifying the overall regional power struggle between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi. 

Aden has recently been suffering a severe economic crisis. Earlier in July, the currency in the areas of Aden under the control of the PLC and the STC fell to an all-time low. 

On Tuesday, 11 July, the riyal plummeted to 1,500 to the dollar, down from 1,300 in May this year. Demonstrators in Aden and elsewhere cut off roads and burned tires. Businesses, currency exchange centers, and stores all shut down in protest. 

The protests are ongoing, and have persisted into the current week. 

Aden’s deteriorating situation coincides with the collapse of once-hopeful Omani-sponsored negotiations between Saudi Arabia and the Ansarallah resistance movement. 

Specifically, negotiations have collapsed due to disagreement on the mechanism Saudi Arabia plans to use to pay the salaries of all Yemeni government employees – which have not been paid since 2016 and represent one of the most crucial aspects of recent peace talks.