STC

التالى السابق

The Current Crisis in South and the Role of the Southern Transitional Council in Addressing Institutional and Economic Collapse

REPORTS - 1 month ago

South Eye | Report - Exclusive

Amid the worsening conditions in the capital, Aden, and other southern governorates, the Southern Transitional Council (STC), under the leadership of Mr. Ali Abdullah Al-Kathiri, acting president of the council, held an emergency meeting on May 26, 2025. The meeting aimed to discuss the economic and living crises directly impacting citizens' lives. It included prominent executive, national, and ministerial figures, reflecting the gravity of the moment and the urgent need for practical and immediate measures.

This move comes in response to the escalating collapse in essential services most notably electricity, delays in salary disbursements, deteriorating environmental and public health conditions, and the sharp decline in the value of the local currency. These factors have turned the daily struggles of southern citizens into an existential challenge, especially in light of the government’s clear failure to provide realistic solutions or fulfill its constitutional obligations.

The meeting reaffirmed that the Southern Transitional Council, with its popular mandate, cannot remain a passive observer amid this accelerating collapse. The current phase demands decisive action, transparency, and the willingness to assume moral and national responsibility. Accordingly, the council agreed to establish a permanent emergency committee, composed of representatives from the STC, the government, and local authorities, tasked with monitoring the situation on the ground and issuing regular reports to the public to promote transparency and trust.

The meeting also issued an official message to the United Nations Security Council, the UN Special Envoy, and the key sponsors of the political process most notably Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, and the United Kingdom calling for a serious international intervention to address the root causes of the crisis. In a move reflecting southern responsibility and committment, the STC recommended canceling all non-essential political or celebratory events and reallocating their resources to support vital humanitarian and service sectors.

Moreover, Fadi Ba'oum also indicated to one of the core of the crisis which lies in deep institutional collapse, chronic corruption, and the lack of clear mechanisms for oversight and accountability especially concerning the "Financial Disclosure Law," one of the most critical legal tools for combating corruption, which has been widely neglected by successive government officials since 2015, even before.

The law clearly stipulates that any official must submit a financial disclosure statement for themselves and their family members within two months of assuming office. Non-compliance is punishable by dismissal and imprisonment. Despite the simplicity of this measure, which does not require disclosure of past assets but only current holdings—most government officials have consistently ignored it. Reports show that several current and former ministers since 2015 have moved between ministries without ever submitting any financial disclosure, blatantly disregarding the law, as Fadi tweeted.

What exacerbates the situation further is the silence of the Supreme National Authority for Combating Corruption, which has been legally empowered with broad enforcement, investigative, and referral powers. Yet it has chosen to remain silent, effectively abandoning this issue. Meanwhile, grassroots initiatives like the "Civil Union for Combating Corruption" continue their volunteer efforts to collect and document evidence and submit it to the relevant authorities, without receiving any meaningful support.

The continued neglect of the financial disclosure law is not merely administrative negligence it provides cover for the corrupt and perpetuates a culture of impunity. When no government official is held accountable for failing to disclose, it opens the door for public funds to be treated as personal spoils and erodes citizens' trust in the state.

Confronting this situation requires more than short-term crisis management; it necessitates restoring the very foundations of the state. That restoration begins with transparency turning the financial disclosure law from a dead letter into a living tool in the hands of southerners. Every southern citizen, therefore, has the right to ask: What is the government official who refuses to disclose hiding? And why is he evading accountability? As this is the core concept of transparency, integrity and law-based state.

Serious action must start with holding today’s government officials accountable and those who have already left office. Furthermore the integrity system must be rebuilt to prevent corruption, not just expose it after the fact. For this reason, integrating the efforts of the Southern Transitional Council with civil society organizations, regional partners and international institutions is essential to establishing effective oversight that restores the state’s authority and the people’s confidence.

At the end, this critical phase in the South's history requires courage, a break from silence, a commitment to a culture of accountability, and a firm embrace of transparency as a non-negotiable principle. The foundations of the state will not be reinforced by hesitation, but through concrete measures that stop the hemorrhaging and rebuild the relationship between southerners and state based on clear principles: Those who serve the people are honored, and those partners who steal public funds are held accountable. Only then can the South emerge from this crisis toward a new horizon of stability and prosperity, as there are so many successful examples of such models for law-based accountable state.