Houthi militias steal 10% of qat taxes in favor of teachers' rewards
English - Wednesday 17 November 2021 الساعة 09:29 am
Sana'a, NewsYemen, private:
The Houthi militia, the Iranian arm in Yemen, imposed new sums of money on qat taxes, and obligated recipients to supply them as predetermined percentages on the assessment amounts of qat taxes they receive.
Sources in the tax authority in the capital, Sanaa, told NewsYemen: The Houthi militia imposed a rate of (10%) on the total amount that each qat tax collector must compulsorily submit. Today, for example, an amount of (500,000 riyals), it is obliged to pay an amount (550 thousand riyals), that is, an increase of ten percent under the name of education support.
According to the sources, this percentage that was added to the qat taxes, which is collected and supplied on a daily basis, was imposed under the directives of the Supreme Political Council, which is under the control of the militias and under the name of education support, noting that the goal was to contribute this amount in addition to the sums collected from the students’ parents. In government schools, in addition to donations made by local and international organizations in the payment of the so-called rewards for teachers in militia-controlled areas, according to what was announced by the Ministry of Education, which is run by the brother of militia leader Yahya Badr al-Din al-Houthi, early this year.
The sources confirmed that these sums are collected on a daily basis, but it is not known whether they are being supplied to the Education Encouragement Fund, or whether they are being defrauded by tax authority officials, whether the tax authority in the capital, Sana’a, or its branches in militia-controlled areas.
Educational sources, for their part, told NewsYemen that the Houthi militia disbursed a one-month stipend of thirty thousand riyals, which it announced only to the teachers of the capital, Sanaa, while it did not spend the second month, citing the presence of problems delaying the disbursement process.
However, sources working in the ministry, which is run by Yahya al-Houthi, brother of the militia leader, explained that the differences between the minister and the Houthi leader and the director of the presidential office, Ahmed Hamed, are the reason for the delay in the delivery of these rewards due to Hamid’s insistence on controlling all the money spent through the Education Encouragement Fund and subjecting it to its direct supervision. This is rejected by Minister Yahya al-Houthi, who has previously attacked Hamed and accused him of corruption repeatedly, most recently when he attended a session of the Parliament, which is under the control of militias last month.
The Houthi militia has used the issue of teachers’ salaries as a blackmail card and a means to pass its project in the Houthis of education through the use of salary cuts as a means to stop a large number of educational leaders and teachers from doing their work and going to search for a living, whether in private and private schools or other businesses in order to replace its elements. The last three years witnessed a comprehensive modernization of the education sectors, starting with senior positions in the ministry and its affiliated institutions, and ending with school principals and teachers.
