By: Yousof al-Jumery and Isam al-Bahri
 
Translated by: Fadwah al-Ariqi 

Revised by: Mahmoud Assamiee 

SANA'A, August 31 (Saba) - The Supreme National Authority for Combating Corruption (SNACC), in coordination with the concerned authorities, conducted investigations to confirm the credibility of a report on the contaminated benzene shipment imported by Aden Refineries Company. 

The SNACC's investigations proved that the shipment was contaminated with MTBE substance which is prohibited in Yemen and several world countries for its fatal danger on environment.
"The investigations procedures was carried out after receiving a notification on the contaminated shipment last May in several governorates," said a report issued by the SNACC's information sector over the authority's achievements during the last few months of this year. 

The report made it clear that the authority formed a joint team from related authorities, SNACC, Central Organization for Control and Auditing (COCA), National Security and an expert from Mareb Refineries. The team is in charge of studying and bringing all the available documents related to the case. It is also responsible to conduct field visits, identifying the source of the contaminated shipment and reasons behind its contamination. 

The team is to count damages caused to the public and private funds and other damages, as well as providing detailed report includes all the needed documents, especially after discovering the authenticity of notification. 

The authority has studied all documents before hands and directed to carry out field visits to a number of oil facilities, with the help of specialized expert, to take several samples from that shipment to be examined. The investigation proved the contamination of the Benzene shipment, the report clarified. 

"Although Aden refinery has been insisting on Yemen Oil Company the safety of the imported shipment and fits the international specifications, the studies verified the converse," said the report." Aden refinery imported in April 25 a shipment of unleaded petrol (high octane No. 91) from the Independent Kuwaiti company (TPG) with the equivalent of YR 2,600 billion." 

Accordingly, the field study recorded irregularities and observations committed during implementing the tenders and importing procedures. Aden Refinery Company (ARC) prepared special specifications for the mentioned shipment which was incompatible with those imported previously. Also the refinery ,for the first time, added 1% of the Oxygen to the Benzene shipment without doing any technical examinations. 

The ARC conducted the purchase via broker companies engaged in the field of selling and purchasing of oil derivatives not from the main sources, the refineries and companies of oil producing countries. This violation added to the public budget a burden of commission and profits for the broker companies. 

"Through examining and amending the shipment's documents, it appeared that the source of the shipment was unknown, in addition the procurement documents were not ratified by Yemeni Embassy and chamber of commerce," goes the report. "These procedures were to be examined for checking the authenticity of the documents, particularly the certificate of the examining company, the bill of loading and packing list and the failure to clarify the components of the Oxygenate in the intermediary company's documents." 

Instead of examining each element separately, the company only said that the percentage of the Oxygenate was % 10,38 despite the substance has not been studied by ARC which means lack of ordinary technical equipments for examining and confirmation the delivered shipment with the one agreed upon. 

According to the report, the team affirmed that the contaminated shipment contained the (MTBE) substance which is prohibited to be used in Yemen for its fatal dangers on environment, mostly after stop using it for its highly toxic and its non- dissolution items. The MTBE substance, even with low concentrations, pollutes water if it leaks into it and makes it not suitable for use, even their concentration is low (20-30 parts per billion). 

For that regard, many refineries worked to transfer its production units to produce another substance to replace that one. On the international level, no one anymore is still producing this substance as a substitute for the lead substance which any leaking of this substance pollutes the groundwater as well as surface water and is not used in Benzene in the countries which depends on these two water sources. 

The authority authorized another team to study the health damages caused by the contaminated Benzene shipment in the light of a memorandum submitted by the director of Al-Sabahha Oil Facility in the 9th of June 2009 to the director of commercial affairs at the Oil Company, according to the SNACC's information sector's report.

The report showed that the team made sure, after making the field visits to the oil facility, of the authenticity of the director's memorandum. So that the studies held Aden refinery responsible for dealing with contaminated shipment which poured into the markets in May 2009. In addition to health effects there are financial and environment losses.
The report emphasized on the continuation of the investigations in this case in order to be submitted to the legislation bodies. 

In reference to the case of the fuel oil imported from Saudi Arabia, the report said that the SNACC investigations on Bitumen shipment, which was imported from Saudi Arabia revealed the shipment was imported to be used as fuel for the cement factories contained a lot of illegal manipulations, tricks and faults . 

" The investigation's findings showed that this substance entered Yemen under the name of Bitumen through several traders and oil tankers' owners and selling it here as fuel oil. This substance is bought from Saudi Arabia from shops selling waterproof materials under Yemenis names either as Bitumen oil or as used oils as it was fuel oil."

The dealers pretended that the shipments are Bitumen because the fuel oil is supported by the government and it is prohibited to be exported out of the country, for that reason they change the substance's name to be taken out of the country. 

The Parliament recommended, during discussing and approving the 2009 general budget of the state, preventing the entrance and use of Bitumen substance in the country for its bad effects on health economy and environment. The Finance Minister implemented the
Parliament's recommendations and directed the head of the customs to generalize all the outlets not to allow this substance to enter the country. The branch of the Yemen Standardization, Metrology and Quality Control Organization (YSMO) at al-Tiwal outlet lacks the technical labs, the thing which facilitates the flowing of this substance via it. 

By the end of April 2009, a trader tried to penetrate 35 oil tankers carrying Bitumen where al-Tiwal customs administration refused to give him the permission to enter these oil tankers to the country for exporting the shipment under the name of Bitumen. When customs authority examine the shipment and found it was dangerous, the trader asked for the permission to enter these oil tankers to al-Saleef Port to be exported via this port to the country of origin. The customs agreed upon his request but till now the oil tankers still laying at the port and have not exported yet. Now the trader is demanding concerned authorities to help him get it into the country as mazot.
 
At the same time, SNACC took some samples from four oil tankers laying at Haradh customs department and others taken from Bajel cement factory in addition to samples taken from two oil tankers belonging to another dealer during their unloading their shipment at Bajel cement factory's tanks. All the results of the examined samples showed that they were not fit the international specifications of mazot wither in its intensity or high concentration of sulfur substances internationally approved for industrial use. 

On these bases, the authority has made a number of measures, the most significant one is informing Prime Minister on dangers of entering any unexamined shipment of oil derivatives. The authority also addressed the customs authority to re-export the 35 tankers stopped in al-Saleef port and committing the trader to return them to Saudi Arabia and reporting to the SNACC on that.
The authority also addressed Bajel Cement Factory to use the mazot fits international specifications and not to repeat the previous mistake.

According to the report, the Supreme National Authority for Combating Corruption opened a file for investigating the case and the investigations are going on in preparations to refer the case to justice. 

The report showed the authority has conducted last July 16 in investigation into corruption crime, three of Sa'ada's local water corporation's leadership demanded and took bribes, besides another person not from the corporation who accepted the demand of the three and wrote the cheque of the bribe. This person helped the three accused to be camouflaged against criminal accountability, despite he already knew this practice is against law. 

The report indicated that this person has been arrested while he was receiving the cash included the bribe cheque estimated at YR 5 million and then the authority referred the case file to the prosecution of public funds. 

The SNACC's report noted that the authority has prepared a study on the offset of ministers exploiting their posts as monitors of institutions and companies and using their budgets to cover some of their demands. 

"The study revealed that some ministers exploits their posts… and issue directives to get funds to cover some expenditures mainly included in their ministries' budgets," said the report which said these practices have negative effects on current and investment activities of these bodies.