President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, after serving as a lieutenant colonel in the army. He had been part of the conspiracy that bumped off his predecessor, Ibrahim al-Hamdi, in the usual tiresome military coup, and he has maintained power by keeping Yemen's many tribes fighting with each other, rather than uniting to string him up. ...
chaired on Friday evening an expanded meeting with the National Defense Council, politicians and the security committee.
This meeting came after Egyptian President Mobark's resignation in which he handed his authorities to the Egyptian Military Council peacefully after the call of the of Egyptian people to step down.
President-for-Life Saleh
... exemplifying the Arab's propensity to combine brutality with incompetence...
discussed several issues regarding economic reforms and the efforts of construction and modernization of the armed forces as well as issues related to improving the wages of government staff and personnel of the armed and security forces.
He also approved new measures to launch the financial allowances for government employees, following the application of the 3rd phase of the strategy of wages and salaries in order to improve their living conditions.
President Saleh endorsed necessary measures to reduce public expenditures of all government facilities and stop purchasing any accessories or building any unnecessary buildings, giving priority to equip the completed buildings and facilities.
During the meeting he stressed the need to combat tax evasion and take legal action against taxes and customs duties evaders.