(Scandal) .. Director of "Al-Shamayteen" in Taiz expresses his readiness to a UN organization in Aden to disburse "expired" aid in exchange for 10 thousand dollars (documents)

A Yemeni journalist in southern Yemen revealed a new corruption case of an irresponsible nature in the international organizations’ handling of the humanitarian aid file, involving the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Aden and the Director General of the Al-Shamayatayn District in Taiz.

The case is related to the desire of the first party (the Commission) to dispose of very large quantities of expired “soap” bars in its warehouses, and the acceptance of the second party (the manager of the two shops) to receive and dispose of them in exchange for receiving thousands of dollars in exchange for dealing with that spoiled quantity and distributing it..!!

 Commission.. "Gang Behavior"

According to what was published by the southern journalist "Saleh Al-Hanashi" on his Facebook page, yesterday evening, Sunday, a quantity of 750 thousand soap bars, weighing 80 grams, arrived at the warehouses of the High Commissioner's office in Aden in 2021, and remained in the warehouses until their expiration date, accusing the organization of adopting "gang behavior" in disposing of that expired quantity.

He added: “After more than a year had passed since its expiration, the organization began looking for a way to dispose of it,” noting that: “In the law of humanitarian organizations, when the expiration date of any material in their warehouses expires, it stipulates that these materials be recycled, if there are recycling factories in this country. If there are no factories, these materials are shipped and returned to the country of origin.”

But the Commission in Aden, according to the journalist, "did not follow these methods, but rather sought to get rid of this material through gang methods," as he described it, as "the organization's office in Aden contacted some local authorities to help it get rid of this quantity."

He revealed that the organization did not receive any response from anyone, except for "the Director General of Al-Shamayatayn District in Taiz, who asked the Aden office to send 260,000 damaged soap bars, and that he was ready to treat and recycle them...", asking: "I do not know if Al-Shamayatayn District in Taiz has recycling factories?"

Al-Shamayteen Director: Demands costs in exchange for disposal

Journalist Al-Hanashi attached photos of official documents, including correspondence between the two parties, including an official memorandum sent by the Director of Al-Shamayatayn District in Taiz, Abdul Aziz Al-Shaibani, to the Head of the Commission’s Office in Aden, dated October 19, 2023, in which he officially expressed his readiness to receive 260,000 bars of soap (expired), process them, and distribute them to what he described as “the vulnerable population within the district.”

In return, the director of the directorate requested $10,000 from the commission “to cover part of the labor costs related to processing, loading, unloading and distributing the soap,” according to the memo, which stressed that these funds “will be crucial in accelerating the distribution process.” (See image of the memo below.)

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Commissioner welcomes and commends assistance

In another memorandum, sent by the Director of the Commission’s Office in Aden to the Director of the Ash Shamayatayn District, dated 19 December 2023, in response to the latter’s aforementioned memorandum, the Commission expressed its pleasure at confirming the “positive response” to meet the request, expressing its request “to kindly assist your team in coordinating the delivery of these essential supplies from our warehouse in Aden.”

It also expressed its “full commitment to expedite the shipment of a total of 273,887 bars of soap to the intended location as quickly as possible.” The organization also garnered many expressions of thanks, gratitude and deep appreciation for their cooperation in this matter.. (See image of the memo below)

The Commission.. Economic and Environmental Justifications

Journalist Al-Hanashi confirmed in his post that the commission’s office in Aden transferred the required quantity to a private warehouse, in preparation (prelude) to transferring it to the Ash-Shamayateen Directorate.

On the same day that the Commission sent its memorandum to the Director of Al-Shamayatayn, its Director also sent another memorandum to the Director of Security in Aden Governorate, requesting his assistance in facilitating the exit of the required quantity to Al-Shamayatayn Directorate in Taiz, which he explicitly described in his memorandum as “expired.”

The director said that the commission "will supervise the transfer of this quantity from our warehouses in the free zone to a specific location in the city of Aden, as part of our commitment to environmental conservation and resource efficiency, and then the local authority in the Ash Shamayatayn district will assume responsibility for the next transfer."

To justify and justify this (suspicious) disposal process, the Director of the Commission’s office in Aden, in his memorandum, was keen to explain and clarify the importance of such an “initiative,” which he described as “not only meeting the urgent need for such essential elements in Yemen, but also representing a beneficial economic approach through the re-employment of valuable resources.”

He also summarized the importance of making use of these “high-quality pieces of soap” that were damaged, by recycling and repurposing them, as “disposing of these resources would not only be a wasteful practice, but could also pose environmental risks,” adding that “by choosing to recycle, we contribute to sustainable practices while providing essential supplies to communities in need.” (See image of the document below)

Ethical questions

Here, some may have the right to question the intentions of the international organization, compared to its extensive justifications, in light of a number of questions that have been raised, including:

Is it logical: How could a large international organization, with great resources and high capabilities, not be able to recycle these damaged quantities itself, but easily trusted the capabilities of a semi-remote directorate in Taiz to do so on its behalf?

Then, assuming the justifications related to the importance of benefiting from those damaged/spoiled quantities are correct, in comparison to the size of the great need in the country for all humanitarian aid or service resources...etc.; isn’t it supposed, in accordance with what administrative and moral responsibility requires in such a case, that the Commission should verify the capabilities and potential of the party responsible for helping to dispose of that quantity?

It would have been easy to do this, even if it was to legally shift responsibility away, by asking the director of the Shamayatayn Directorate to submit a detailed report in advance about the method, mechanisms, or capabilities he possesses to accomplish this dangerous task, in the required manner??

Especially since the Commissioner was the one who presented this deal to the Director of Al-Shamayteen District. This is clear from what was stated in the introduction to the Director of Al-Shamayteen District’s letter (above), where he confirmed this by indicating that his response came “in response to the last conversation that took place between us…”

His response also suggests that he had the governor’s approval for this, saying: “In compliance with the directives of His Excellency the governor of the province, we submit to you an official confirmation of our readiness to process and distribute the shipment...etc.”

This matter, on the other hand, not only places the director of the commission’s office in Aden under legal and moral accountability, but also the director of the Ash Shamayatayn district, and may also implicate the governor of Taiz governorate if he actually agreed to pass this corrupt deal, according to what the director of the district claimed in his memorandum..!!

Damaged quantities leak in Aden

Journalist Al-Hanashi expressed his surprise in his post at the way the Aden Security Department dealt with this issue, saying: “The strange thing here is that the Security Department did not care about the story that this material was damaged, even though the organization said in its memorandum to the Security Department that it was damaged. Immediately, the Security Department took action on the memorandum and directed that the task of getting this quantity out be facilitated..!!

He revealed that quantities of spoiled soap had leaked into the market in Aden, "which caught the attention of the Trade and Industry Office, and the Public Prosecution moved to the warehouse, seized this quantity and sealed it with red wax."

He attached two official documents to the summons of the Industry and Trade Prosecution for two government employees, the first from the Executive Unit for the Management of Displaced Persons Camps - Main Office, and the other from the Office of the Commissioner of Dar Saad District, to hear their statements in the case of the leakage of those spoiled quantities into the market in Aden.

Journalist Al-Hanashi pointed out that there is news that “the Commission is negotiating with the Public Prosecution to lift the ban on soap and transfer it to Taiz.”

He said the most important question here is: "Where did the remaining 48 tons go? And how was it disposed of?"

He concluded his post by criticizing the way the organization deals with things, saying: “By the way, this behavior reveals how the organization runs its business, even with food supplies,” demanding that “a comprehensive investigation be opened into the case, and with all those involved.”