Parliament listened to the government’s message regarding a draft law amending some provisions of Law No. 17 of 2010 regarding income taxes and its amendments, approving at the end of the meeting, the government presence to discuss private funds’ performance.
In its session, chaired by Speaker Yahya Al-Ra’i, the government’s message presented by Minister of State for Parliament and Shura Council Affairs Ali Abu Huliqa included a draft law amending some provisions of Law No. 19 of 2001 regarding the general sales tax and its amendments, in addition to the government’s memorandum regarding the draft amendment to Customs Law No. 14 of 1990, where Minister Abu Huliqa demanded to complete the constitutional procedures in this regard.
The Parliament approved the presence of the competent minister to present the aforementioned draft laws in a future session.
In its session, the Parliament listened to the response of Minister of Public Works and Roads Ghaleb Mutlaq to the questions and inquiries of Member of Parliament Mohammed Basha about the rehabilitation and restoration of some streets in the districts of Hamdan and Shamlan neighborhood in Sana’a province, which witnessed the digging of a number of sewage wells.
In the context of his response to the question of a member of the Parliament about the role of the Public Works Office in Sana’a province, the minster stressed that the office and those concerned were instructed to abide by the implementation of regulations and laws to preserve the roads and perform periodic maintenance for them.
Regarding the lack of commitment of the Roads Maintenance Fund to complete work on Wadi Sardoud-al-Kadn-Bajil Bridge despite its commitment to do so more than two years ago, the Minister explained that this issue is within the competence of the Public Corporation for Roads and Bridges.
In response to a question by Council member Muhammad Bakir Salah, the Minister of Works confirmed that the maintenance and restoration work for the roads of al-Kadn, Malhan Center, Bab al-Naqat al-Malbach, Malhan, and al-Akma al-Walaja Bani Malik areas are within the jurisdiction of the Road Maintenance Fund, holding the concerned authorities responsible for holding the executive unit accountable in the capital Sana’a and the provinces regarding its performance in the repair, restoration and maintenance of roads.
Minister Mutlaq pointed out that there is an overlap in the specializations between Public Works, the Rapid Intervention Unit and the executive units in the capital Sana’a and the provinces, stressing the need to develop solutions to reduce these overlaps.
In the context of their discussions, members of the Parliament stressed the importance of monitoring and following up on those units that operate outside the scope of special laws, including the Roads Law.
The questioners commented that these responses were not convincing, and the government should clarify who is responsible for these violations, stressing the importance of adhering to the implementation of relevant laws and regulations.
The Parliament members asked about the conditions of streets that need maintenance and restoration, as they provide important and vital services to citizens.
The Parliament approved addressing the government to attend to discuss the progress of the performance of the private funds and the irregularities related to those funds, which the members of the Parliament referred to in the context of their remarks during the discussion that took place in the session.
In addition, the Parliament listened to the response of Minister of Water and Environment Abdulraqib Al-Shurmani about the legal justification for imposing fees on farmers who dig artesian wells to irrigate their lands.
The Minister clarified that the Public Authority for Water Resources performs the tasks entrusted to it in accordance with the decision to establish it and its organizational regulations and Water Law No. 33 of 2002, and its amendments by Law No. 41 of 2006 AD, and its executive regulations, which determined in Chapter Eight the fees, and I attached a table showing the amount of those fees.
Source: Yemen News Agency