A UN aid distribution centre in Hodeidah, Yemen. Reuters
A UN aid distribution centre in Hodeidah, Yemen. Reuters
A UN aid distribution centre in Hodeidah, Yemen. Reuters
A UN aid distribution centre in Hodeidah, Yemen. Reuters

UN to resume food deliveries to Yemen's rebel-held areas after Eid

Decision follows Houthi guarantees that aid will reach its intended beneficiaries

The National

August 09, 2019

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The United Nations said it will resume food deliveries in areas held by Yemen's Houthi rebels, starting in the capital Sanaa next week, after a two month pause.

The World Food Programme had halted aid distribution in Houthi-controlled territory in June after accusing the rebels of being responsible for "diversion of food" meant for Yemeni civilians.

But the Houthis offered guarantees of aid reaching its intended beneficiaries of aid in a deal signed last week, the UN agency said.

"WFP will resume food distributions following the Eid Al Adha festival for the 850,000 people in Sanaa City who have not received food rations from WFP for the last two months," WFP spokesman Herve Verhoosel told reporters in Geneva on Friday.

The Eid festival begins on Sunday and continues until Wednesday.

Mr Verhoosel added that WFP would also start impementing a biometric registration system for nine million people that would help to identify legitimate beneficiaries of food aid in rebel-held areas.

Yemen's internationally recognised government led by President  Abdrabu Mansur Hadi this week called for full disclosure by the UN of its activities in the country after it was revealed that the global body was conducting an internal investigation into alleged wrongdoing by some its aid workers in the country.

The employees were accused of enriching themselves from the theft of donations of food, medical supplies and money, according to a report by the Associated Press.

"Since the start of the war the government has warned, various times, about the suspicious role of the UN operations in Houthi-held areas, especially by supporting the rebels and prolonging the conflict," Hamza Al Kamali, Yemen's deputy youth minister, told The National.

“The AP report revealed shocking information, the UN must disclose full details of what the report found and punish the culprits,” he said.

The UN says Yemen is the world's worst humanitarian crisis, with 24.1 million people, or about 80 per cent of the population, in need of aid after the Iran-backed Houthis have been fighting government forces supported by a Saudi-led coalition since March 2015.

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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