VZCZCXRO1592
PP RUEHDE RUEHDIR
DE RUEHYN #0553/01 0921114
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 021114Z APR 07
FM AMEMBASSY SANAA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6708
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHMFISS/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA
RHBVAKS/COMUSNAVCENT
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0078
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORP
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SANAA 000553 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/01/2017 
TAGS: PREL PGOV YM
SUBJECT: SALEH RE-SHUFFLES: WILL REFORM GET A BOOST WITH 
PM'S OUSTER? 
 
SANAA 00000553  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
Classified By: CDA NABEEL KHOURY, FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). 
 
¶1. (C)  SUMMARY:  Finally making a move that has been a hot 
topic of Sanaa's political class since the last cabinet 
re-shuffle in February 2006, President Saleh decreed the 
formation of a new government on March 31 under the 
leadership of Prime Minister-designate Dr. Ali Mohammed 
Mujawar.  Yemeni reformers and leading donors had become 
increasingly vocal about the need to remove Prime Minister 
Abdulkader Bajammal, who was universally considered a major 
obstacle to reform and a center of grand corruption within 
the government.  Mujawar, up until now the Minister of 
Electricity, has limited experience in government and has 
been derided by some Embassy contacts as a corrupt tool of 
President Saleh's family, while others contend that he has a 
reputation for being clean.  Whatever Mujawar's strengths and 
weaknesses, however, he will receive a political honeymoon 
from reformers and donors, based simply on the fact that he 
is not Abdulkader Bajammal.  END SUMMARY 
 
---------------------------- 
DING DONG, THE WITCH IS DEAD 
---------------------------- 
 
¶2. (C)  It is difficult to exaggerate the level of former PM 
Bajammal's unpopularity among donors and average Yemenis. 
When the President foisted him upon the ruling party as its 
new leader at a party congress in December 2005, Saleh was 
met with cries of, "We don't want him!  He's a thief!" from a 
crowd of party loyalists.  Urbane and arrogant, Bajammal is 
viewed by most Yemenis who met him as a pedantic and corrupt 
official who cares little about Yemen and is interested only 
in lining his own pockets.  Many contacts, both within and 
outside the ruling party, claimed that Bajammal openly and 
clearly insisted on a cut of all major government contracts. 
 
¶3. (C)  Since February 2006, when President Saleh acted upon 
donor and popular pressure to address corruption and 
implement major reforms, donors -- first and foremost the USG 
-- have become increasingly vocal about the need to replace 
Bajammal.  The product of a bygone era, Bajammal had no 
interest in adopting government reforms, and instead set up 
roadblocks at every turn.  For instance, Bajammal led efforts 
to gut a new procurement law that would take government 
contracts out of the hands of the Cabinet and put them under 
the responsibility of a neutral technical committee.  He also 
blocked efforts by other ministers to join the Extractive 
Industries Transparency Initiative.  Other than blocking 
useful reforms, Bajammal was a non-entity for donors, to whom 
he offered neither policy support nor advice. 
 
------------------------ 
BUT WHO IS THIS NEW GUY? 
------------------------ 
 
¶4. (C)  Preliminary assessments of Bajammal's replacement do 
not indicate that Saleh has made a bold move to boost reform 
with a strong new Prime Minister.  Mujawar does not have 
extensive government or private sector experience and his 
previous ministerial posts heading the Electricity and 
Fisheries Ministries have not given him the opportunity to 
lead approaches to the country's most pressing issues, such 
as security and economic development.  In that regard, if 
Saleh had been looking for a strong leader of reform efforts, 
he could have reached out to the Interior Minister, who has 
proven a reliable partner on security matters, or to the 
Minister of Planning, who is leading the government's overall 
reform program. (NOTE:  Mujawar's preliminary biographical 
information is available on intellipedia via the SIPRnet.) 
 
¶5. (C)  According to reliable post contacts, there are also 
serious concerns about his record on corruption.  One highly 
reliable source said that Mujawar had inflated contracts for 
electrical generators during his time at the Electricity 
Ministry and had pocketed a large percentage in complicity 
with Bajammal.  Much of this money found its way into the 
ruling party's coffers, he said, at a critical moment before 
the September 2006 elections, which ingratiated Mujawar with 
President Saleh and the party leadership.  The contact also 
said that as Fisheries Minister, Mujawar cancelled all 
fishing concessions and then re-distributed them to President 
 
SANAA 00000553  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
Saleh's sons, nephews, and their associates.  In this 
contact's view, Mujawar's elevation to the premiership is 
another sign of the slow consolidation of economic and 
political power by the next generation of Saleh's family. 
 
¶6. (C)  Another contact, who was Mujawar's deputy at 
Fisheries, said he resigned in protest over Mujawar's blatent 
corruption.  A ruling party contact who, as a tribal sheikh, 
is normally frank about the shortcomings of party and 
government leaders, said he was not aware of any allegations 
of corruption surrounding Mujawar, and that he thought his 
elevation to Prime Minister would bring a boost for reform 
and modernization efforts.  A prominent oppositionist also 
said he thought Mujawar had a reputation for being clean, but 
questioned the importance of the Prime Minister slot, since 
important decisions in Yemen are made within Saleh's inner 
circle, not in the Cabinet. 
 
¶7. (C)  COMMENT:  Whatever Mujawar's past experience or 
dealings, Yemen's political establishment has breathed a sigh 
of relief with Bajammal's departure.  We will judge Mujawar 
on his actions going forward, and will take advantage of this 
new dispensation to aggressively pursue our reform 
objectives, in the hopes that Mujawar will decide to be our 
partner.  While it is true that the premiership in Yemen is 
not the locus of power, Bajammal has demonstrated that the 
office can certainly be used to create major roadblocks.  For 
now, nothing is known about the composition of the new 
cabinet, but we expect an announcement within the week, and 
expect that several ministers will move to different 
portfolios or leave government altogether. 
KHOURY