Test Drive | Page 180

Chapter  9:  Case  studies  in  Ta’izz       Institutional  capacity   The  NWRA  in  Ta’izz  does  not  seem  to  have  much  power  or  capacity  to  intervene.  In  the  case  of  the  Halhalah   conflict,   Abdussamad   Shuja,   the   head   of   NWRA   in   Ta’izz,   indicated   that   Person   94   is   a   powerful   man,   well-­‐ connected  and  experienced  in  Shariah.  Furthermore,  the  courts  allowed  him  to  construct  matters  in  his  favor.   The   NWRA’s   role   is   limited   to   sending   “enforcement   officers”   to   study   conflicts   and   refer   cases   to   courts.   NWRA  has  5  lawyers  on  staff  who  follow  up  on  specific  cases  in  prosecution  and  courts.  Apart  from  that  NWRA   90 is  not  able  to  do  much .       NWRA   indicated   a   problem   in   enforcing   court   sentences,   but   maybe   more   importantly,   NWRA’s   ability   to   address  or  at  least  lead  an  effort  to  address  the  root  cases  of  conflicts  over  water  is  limited  by  small  budget   allocations,  poor  legislation,  and  lack  of  cooperation  from  local  and  district  authorities.  Most  of  the  time,  the   NWRA  tries  to  broker  peaceful  resolution/settlement  informally  among  locals  that,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Head   91 of  NWRA  in  Ta’izz,  does  not  put  an  end  to  conflict.  Although  peaceful  settlements  are  not  perfect  and  do  not   resolve  the  root  causes,  they  sometimes  prevent  the  conflict  from  escalating.  “Twisted  peaceful  settlement  is   better   than   functioning   Shariah”   is   a   local   saying.   This   saying   indicates   how   little   trust   people   have   in   government  and  rule  of  law.       One  of  the  problems  that  were  brought  up  is  that  NWRA’s  immediate  reaction  is  to  issue  “stopping  orders”,   meaning   orders   to   prevent   any   water   related   activities   that   are   being   disputed.   This   most   of   the   time   happens   92 without   proper   investigation   and   examination   of   the   problem   or   who   is   affected.  In   the   case   of   Halhalah,   for   example,  this  pushed  the  Qassems  to  resort  to  NWRA  Sana’a  for  help.       Governance  problem   There   is   a   tremendous   poor   level   of   management   with   a   clear   disconnect   between   district   level   authorities,   governorate  level  authorities  and  national  level  authorities.       NWRA   Ta’izz   complains   that   there   is   not   enough   support   from   the   central   Government.   Budgetwise   the   allocations   are   too   small   and   will   not   even   cover   the   basic   functions   NWRA   is   required   to   perform.   For   example,  the  budget  includes  only  10,000  (less  than  $50)  a  month  for  gas.       The   NWRA’s   ro