Asharq al-Awsat, a prominent pan-Arab newspaper reported on Monday that its sources in Yemen had confirmed that NDC representatives and all foreign partners had agreed on a federal formula which would see the an equal repartition of resources between north and south, putting an end to decades of bitter bickering and talks of northern imperialism. UN Special Envoy to Yemen, Jamal Benomar who extended his trip to the impoverished nation to ensure the success of the NDC and the drafting of a news constitution, in keeping with the terms of the GCC-brokered 2012 power transfer initiative, is believed wrote Asharq al-Awsat to have received a closed agreement approved by the Special Committee (8+8 Committee in charge with dealing with the southern dossier). The agreement provisions for the establishment of a federal state (the number of regions/states have yet to be defined and agreed upon) and the equal sharing of all natural resources. It has been agreed that all natural resources belong de facto to the people of Yemen, a notion representatives have been keen to introduce as over the past decades many have felt that officials have acted as if Yemen's wealth was their own and not that of the state as a legal entity. Moreover, the 8+8 Committee agreed to share equally all government positions with southerners: judicial, executive and legislative (both at the parliament and the shura council). While many issues remain to be solved, essentially security, Yemen's political breakthrough will hopefully set the tone for a broader and all-inclusive recovery.
