President Saleh: We want the young people to be talented in all games

SANA’A, Dec 23 (Saba)- President Ali Abdullah Saleh said on Thursday that many young people of both sexes are emerging as talented footballers but that there ought to be talented players of different games. Speaking in the Awards Ceremony for winners of his 2003 Contest in the Hall of Youth Palace, President Saleh said “we want the young people to be talented in all games, track and field, horsemanship, and cross-country, not just football”. President Saleh said that, internationally, football could be a vigor-consuming game especially in countries where there are no democracies. “But because, with the grace of God, we have pluralism, the young people can use all their qualities and abilities in intellectual activities”. Saleh hopes that the Ministry of Youth and Sports would improve sports far better in the coming year. He instructed the Government to allocate more lands in the coastal regions for the young people to reclaim them. Recalling development, the President said that “education is of paramount importance”. “We encourage the education of women, the nation needs more educated youth. Illiteracy is a catastrophe.” He instructed the Government for more support of vocational training, small enterprises, construction of more roads and railways and reduction of customs in order to encourage development and therefore reduce unemployment. He also called on the Government to invest more in construction of accommodation facilities in order to reduce the rents of houses. President Saleh said that some officials, when they take public offices, they start to think of fraud of the most possible amount of public funds. In the end of the ceremony, the following winners were awarded: 1-Najat al-Aroolo of Sana’a City, and Wadhah Hussein of Hajja won the Prize of Koran.2- Al-Harith al-Shamiri of Sana’a City and Ali al-Khamisi of Hajja won the Poetry Prize. 3-Abdul-Karim al-Maqaleh of Sana’a City and Saleh Ali of al-Beidha won the Story Writing Prize. 4-Mohammed al-Azab of Sana’a City and Abdullah Mahyoob of Taiz won the Arts Prize. 5- Sharaf al-Qaedi of Hajja and Ishraf Hussein of Sana’a City won the Song Prize. 6-Ahmed al-Amri of Sana’a City and Abdul-Khaleq Sayf of Taiz won the Playwright Prize7-Ahmed Salem of Abyan and Eman al-Mahfadi of Sana’a City won the Music Prize. A number of sports federation and associations were rewarded. AA/AA SABA