Failed Promises and Intentional Power Cuts in Aden South Yemen
Residents of the port city of Aden South Yemen take to the streets almost daily to protest against the lack of power supply as temperatures soar to 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).
Despite repeated promises by Prime Minister Ahmed Obaid Bin Dagher that the this summer in Aden will be cold — his government has failed to find any practical solutions aimed at improving the electricity situation to alleviate the suffering of the citizens of Aden.
On May 19, 2017 the Prime Minister’s Office sent a memo to Yemeni news sites reporting that an agreement has been signed between the Ministry of Electricity and a Ukrainian company worth $31 million for the maintenance and rehabilitation of the Al-Haswah thermal power station in Aden and repairs will begin immediately. But on May 24, 2017 when the High Commission for Combating Corruption, consisting of several academics and lawyers, went to investigate what is happening with the electricity and what are the reasons for the frequent interruptions that have left the city without electricity for a total of 18 hours every day while temperatures reach 40 degrees Celsius. The commission members were surprised when the managers and engineers at the power plant said that no one had discussed any agreement or consulted with them regarding repairs and maintenance on the station. They also stated that they have sent numerous complaints and requests for repairs to the Ministry of Electricity but requests were ignored the while ministry officials continue to lie to the media that they’re working on a solution.
The commission issued a statement standing with the leadership and employees of the Al-Haswah power station and holds the government of Bin Dagher responsible for the power cuts and all that happens in Aden.
Fast forward to today, one month after the Prime Minister’s Office sent the memo, and almost two years since Aden was liberated from the Iran-backed Houthi and Saleh militia; no repairs have been done on any of the the power stations and even the 60MW generators provided by Qatar and the 100MW and more provided by UAE have not been integrated into the power stations and people of Aden continue to suffer amidst extreme heat and a deadly cholera outbreak.
What are the local residents of Aden saying.
Most of the city’s electricity installations and other public and private infrastructures were destroyed during fighting between pro-government forces backed by Saudi Arabia and Iran-backed Houthi rebels in 2015, yet two years after the Houthis were pushed out of Aden — deteriorating public services, and intentional delay by the government to rehabilitate damaged and destroyed infrastructure is the cause of resentment towards Bin Dagher’s government.
Residents of Aden use social media to express their discontent with Hadi’s government and accuse Bin Dagher and the Muslim Brotherhood who control Hadi’s government of deliberately using public service such as electricity and water as war tools against the people of Aden and South Yemen as a whole because they fought for and are calling for the independence of South Yemen.
Nadeem Salmeen is a South Yemeni activist who uses twitter to express his frustration about the dire situation in Aden. Tweet says “cutting electricity is considered a torture tool in some prisons, and we here in Aden are subjected to terrorism by the authorities who cut power for long hours”.
Many who have lost faith in Hadi’s government send pleas to the international community to help.
Hundreds have taken to the streets to protest at night using candles and flashlights. They’re not able to protest during the day because of the extreme heat and humidity.
People of South Yemen have faced two wars in the past two years. First the Houthi invasion in 2015 that devastated southern cities especially the capital city of Aden, destroyed thousands of infrastructures, and killed thousands of southerners. The second is currently being waged by the legitimate government and North Yemeni kleptocrats who control the city of Aden and southern resources and are intentionally using needed public services to punish the southern people who aspire to regain their independent country which has been occupied by North Yemeni forces since the civil war of 1994.
