SANAA, Yemen — In an attempt to avoid the scenes of discontent being broadcast from anti-corruption protests in the Middle East and elsewhere, the de facto Houthi government in Sanaa recently announced measures to assuage Yemenis disgruntled by entrenched government corruption. The first phase calls on citizens to report instances of financial and administrative malfeasance using new toll-free hotlines set up by the Supreme Political Council (SPC), the executive body created by the Houthis and the General People's Congress to rule Yemen in July 2016.

At the gathering to announce the launch of the first phase on Oct. 30, SPC President Mahdi al-Mashat directed government agencies and institutions to “activate” their departments of public services and install the hotlines to log complaints of blackmail, bribery and extortion. A complaints department will also be created at the SPC President's Office. The Ministries of Health, Justice and Oil have already set up call systems. For the time being, a complaint can be lodged with the SPC's dedicated department to report an employee who does not work at one of the ministers cited.

In Yemen, it is not uncommon that when seeking government services, residents must not only pay the statutory fee to arrange for a service, they but must also pay the government employee or employees a bribe to make sure it gets done. According to Mashat, citizens who report corruption and bribery will be exempted from the service fees they would normally be required to pay and will also be awarded additional financial compensation. 

Abdul-Mughni, a pseudonym for a retired senior official from the Finance Ministry who requested anonymity for fear of retribution, told Al-Monitor, “These measures are an attempt to prevent anti-corruption protests similar to [what is happening in] Iraq and Lebanon.”