AL-MUKALLA: Yemen’s army has begun paying soldiers’ salaries directly into their personal bank accounts, in what officials describe as a landmark reform aimed at curbing corruption, eliminating ghost soldiers and ending a longstanding system that allowed commanders and intermediaries to control military payrolls.
Army officials and soldiers told Arab News during the past two days that troops received their latest salaries in person through local banks or money exchange firms in government-controlled areas for the first time in years. “This system is excellent because salaries are transferred directly from the Ministry of Defense into each soldier’s bank account, allowing them to collect their pay from any branch of the banks,” Mohammed, an army soldier who asked to be identified by his first name, told Arab News.
For years, Mohammed, like tens of thousands of Yemeni soldiers, received his salary through the commander of his military unit, who collected payroll funds from the central bank and distributed them to troops. Soldiers have long complained that commanders deducted varying percentages from their salaries, while some individuals collected multiple salaries under different names. Military officials and analysts have also said that “ghost soldiers” — fictitious or inactive personnel added to payrolls — enabled some commanders to siphon off public funds.
