Iraqi News and Highlights Tuesday AM 7-14-20
Iraqi News and Highlights Tuesday AM 7-14-20
TLM 724 Administrator BondLady’s Corner
The Executive, Legislative And Judicial Authorities Joined Forces To Confront The Electricity Crisis
Tuesday 14 July 2020 95 Baghdad / Al-Sabah The executive, legislative and judicial authorities have redoubled their moves to improve energy production, address this file by implementing plans to develop production sectors, and stand at the joints that stand in the way of the advancement of electricity, whereas the Prime Minister, Mustafa Al-Kazemi, instructed on Monday to activate electricity projects All,
the Parliamentary Committee, headed by the First Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hassan Al-Kaabi, agreed to ask the government to prepare a clear five-year vision for the work of the Ministry of Electricity that is not affected by the change of ministers, while the head of the judiciary,
Faeq Zaidan, confirmed his willingness to coordinate between the Public Prosecution and the investigative committee formed to audit contracts The Ministry of Electricity. Yesterday, Sunday, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mohamed Al-Halbousi, formed a committee to investigate the contracts of the Ministry of Electricity, from 2003 to 2020 due to the continuous deterioration in the electrical system.
Al-Kazemi said: “The past periods witnessed spending billions of dollars on this sector, which was sufficient to build modern electrical networks, but corruption, financial waste and mismanagement prevented the treatment of the electric power crisis in Iraq, so that the suffering of citizens that exacerbates in the summer months” continues, directed to the Ministry Oil by "providing free fuel to the owners of private generators, in exchange for lower subscription prices and increased processing hours."
In the same context, a statement of the Office of the First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, received by Al-Sabah, stated that Al-Kaabi said, when he headed yesterday the first meeting of the Parliamentary Investigative Committee to audit and investigate the contracts of the Ministry of Electricity from 2003 to 2020, and revealed corruption in all those years:
it is “the first time By the history of the House of Representatives in which an investigation committee is formed in which the legislative authority participates in its oversight capacity, and the supervisory authorities are represented by the Financial Supervision Bureau and the Integrity Commission, which would exercise a broader and more accurate oversight role, stating that “the committee will work on files during longer periods of time, which is our responsibility Legitimacy, legal and humanitarian also, by revealing corruption and restoring stolen or wasted public funds. LINK
Al-Kazemi: We Were Directed To Activate All Electrical Energy Projects
Tuesday 14 July 2020 106 Baghdad / Al-Sabah Yesterday, Monday, Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi directed the activation of all electricity projects, especially the agreement concluded with the German company Siemens, stressing the government's intention to address this file, and while he expressed his willingness to cooperate with the investigative parliamentary committee on the electricity file in order to eliminate corruption, the committee agreed,
Headed by First Deputy Speaker Hassan Karim Al-Kaabi, to demand the government to prepare a clear five-year vision for the work of the Ministry of Electricity that is not affected by the change of ministers, while the head of the judiciary, Faeq Zaidan, confirmed his willingness to coordinate between the Public Prosecution and the investigative committee formed to audit the contracts of the Ministry of Electricity.
A statement to the Prime Minister’s Information Office, which was received by Al-Sabah, stated that Al-Kazimy held a meeting yesterday, Monday, with the Ministers of Electricity and Oil devoted to addressing the current electricity crisis.
Al-Kazemi said: “The past periods witnessed spending billions of dollars on this sector, which was sufficient to build modern electrical networks, but corruption, financial waste and mismanagement prevented the treatment of the electric power crisis in Iraq, so that the suffering of citizens that exacerbates in the summer months” continues, indicating that "The previous ministry did not carry out projects related to the maintenance of electricity, which has exacerbated the problem of electricity, especially in this economic and financial circumstance that Iraq is experiencing due to the global collapse of oil prices as a result of pandemic repercussions." Sk. "
The Prime Minister added that "the government is determined to address this file by implementing plans to develop production sectors, as well as standing at the joints that stand in the way of the advancement of electricity, and blocking all corruption outlets in this vital vital sector," directing the Ministry of Oil to "provide fuel Free to the owners of private generators, in exchange for reducing subscription prices and increasing processing hours. "
In the context, a statement of the Office of the First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, received by Al-Sabah, stated that Al-Kaabi said, when he headed yesterday the first meeting of the Parliamentary Investigative Committee to audit and investigate the contracts of the Ministry of Electricity from 2003 to 2020 and revealed corruption in all those years, with membership of the heads of the oil, energy and integrity committees Parliamentary services, construction, economics and investment, head of the Financial Supervision Bureau, head of the Integrity Commission, agency, and director-general of investigations in the Integrity Commission:
“It is the first time in the history of the House of Representatives that an investigation committee has been formed in which the legislative authority is participating in its oversight capacity, and the regulatory authorities are represented by the Financial Supervision Bureau and the Integrity Commission, which It would exercise a broader and more accurate oversight role,
"noting that" the committee will work on files during longer periods of time and it is our legal, legal and humanitarian responsibility as well by uncovering areas of corruption and recovering stolen or wasted public funds. "
Al-Kaabi added, “We will work at the beginning of our committee’s work on the electricity file as it is one of the most important files that greatly affected the life of the Iraqi citizen and all the health, educational, service, industrial and other joints of the state suffer from it. , They will drop the suspicions of forming committees with the aim of political downfall, and all parties will work in a professional, neutral and legal manner. "
During the meeting, according to the statement, "It was agreed to conduct a visit to the members of the committee to the headquarters of the Ministry of Electricity and to meet with the officials therein, provided that the investigative committee is provided with all the details of the investment and operational contracts and projects,
as well as the details of the loans provided to the ministry and the allocation and implementation ratios, and request from the ministry also With a detailed statement of government and private taxation and revenue accruing to the public budget,
as well as full statements of the total allocations for the electricity sector, as well as a request to the Ministry of Planning to provide detailed data for the amounts allocated to the electricity sector from the development of the regions.
Yesterday, Sunday, Parliament Speaker Muhammad Al-Halbousi formed a committee to investigate the contracts of the Ministry of Electricity, due to the continuous deterioration in the electrical system.
According to a statement received by Al-Sabah, Al-Halbousi ordered the formation of an investigative committee headed by the First Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives to scrutinize and investigate the contracts of the Ministry of Electricity from 2003 to 2020 and the extent of their conformity to the laws and regulations in force and the rates of financial and actual achievement for each project.
Central And Editing The Connector
Tuesday 14 July 2020 109 Samir Al-Nassery In the midst of the new economic and financial crisis and efforts to confront the Corona virus in its third stage of spread and the international economic conditions and challenges facing Iraq, the latest of which is the European Union's truth report considering Iraq among the high-risk countries in the field of money laundering and terrorist financing.
The third anniversary of the liberation of Mosul passes through the solidarity of our security forces of all kinds and the cohesion of our people with all their spectrums. The important thing here is that in order not to pass the lessons learned from victory and liberation without recalling them, we must make it clear from the axioms that a military victory cannot be achieved without the presence of economic support and support in complicated economic conditions that spanned the years (2015-2018) and the supporting army was Our armed forces is the Central Bank of Iraq (the National Economic Support Army).
The support provided by the central bank to the national economy during the economic and financial crisis, the war on terrorism, the liberation of Mosul, Anbar, and Salah al-Din is a bright spot and a success experience in a country that is going through harsh conditions and a historical stage that is the most difficult in facing economic and security challenges that no country in the world like Iraq has gone through , As it contributed significantly to strengthening economic resilience and achieving the victory victory over terrorism and achieving monetary stability and financial victory.
Efforts, wise actions, applications of monetary policy and developmental measures for the central bank in the difficult economic phase of Iraq, as the bank was able to draw its strategy for the years (2016-2020) in achieving stability in the financial system and stimulating economic growth, financial inclusion, structural and institutional building and optimal investment in human capital through achievements The most important task:
Supporting the state treasury up to 20 trillion dinars and maintaining the stability of the Iraqi dinar exchange rate and maintaining a balanced rate of prices as well as maintaining the annual base rate of inflation at Not exceeding 2 percent, and at a level of foreign reserves within acceptable levels according to international standards, and its foreign reserves are still in the range of 68 billion dollars.
And stimulate the banking sector organizationally, supervisory and control, and the establishment of new units within the organizational structures of banks, such as compliance, combating money laundering and terrorist financing, managing credit and operational risks, issuing the Money Laundering Law No. 39 of 2015, establishing the Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Council, developing payment systems,
applying all retail and mobile payments, establishing The national exchange and work to implement international standards in financial reports in line with the principle of transparency and disclosure.
In addition to this, the bank’s efforts exerted on a daily basis to stimulate financial inclusion operations and focus on the initiative to localize employee salaries in order to raise the financial inclusion rate for residents who do not have accounts in the banking system and for the purpose of restoring confidence in the banking sector,
the bank has re-evaluated and classified banks according to international standards and standards in evaluating business results Measurement of performance efficiency, as well as the establishment of a deposit guarantee company with the aim of raising the percentage of savings in banks and reducing the percentage of hoarding in homes,
thus stimulating the economy by activating investment and bank financing and taking regulatory and structural measures and creating a deposit center in the Iraq Stock Exchange and establishing a national center for credit inquiries.
On the level of international banking relations, the Central Bank was able, with exceptional efforts, to restore and strengthen relations with Arab and foreign banks and to communicate the accomplishments achieved during the years 2015-2018 to the ruling international financial institutions such as the Financial Action Group (FATF), as some 700 notes installed on the financial situation in Iraq were liquidated
Which contributed to the transition of Iraq’s classification from gray to periodic regular follow-up, and the call of the Governor to the Security Council and his presentation of organizational and structural and technical achievements and developments and compliance with international standards in financial reporting and enhancing confidence in the Iraqi economy and the ability of Iraq to adhere to international credit entitlements,
and the World Bank and Monetary Fund praises The international has had a clear impact on strengthening economic resilience, financial triumph and a steady step towards financial sustainability.
It is a clear and transparent response to the recent EU report. In the current circumstance, the Iraqis celebrate the anniversary of the liberation of Mosul, I call on the national media to reinforce the exceptional efforts made by the fathers Iraqis while they are fighting terrorism and building the new Iraq at the same time to shed light on the economic success experiences that achieved the economic resilience that was previously led and currently led by the Central Bank of Iraq . LINK
Private Sector And Building The National Economy
Tuesday 14 July 2020 57 Baghdad / Imad of the emirate The call to encourage the private sector is one of the first policies required to be adopted to contribute to building the national economy, because of the need for local capital and not to rely entirely on oil imports, which sometimes do not meet Iraq's financial allocations to achieve economic growth.
Academic Dr. Ahmed Al-Rawi emphasized, "The imperative of private sector participation in the construction process, after the state has dominated all economic activities. To achieve this, the necessary legislative and institutional frameworks must be issued to encourage and attract private national investments, especially fleeing national funds, so investment law No. 13 is considered For the year 2006 and its amendments, an essential step in creating the appropriate investment climate so that investment can be encouraged to achieve economic reform through a greater role for the private sector.
He continued, "Since Iraq was not prepared to receive private investments, especially foreign ones, it is necessary to carry out a series of economic and legal policies that help in creating an investment environment that encourages the national investor and gives full confidence to ensure his rights through a number of measures,
the most important of which is the need for a national framework of laws The charters that form the ground for attracting investments with an institutional framework to receive and encourage the movement of investments in Iraq and provide all the support required for the development of investments. "
Investment activities
"Reforms must be made in policies and procedures regarding investment activities due to the multiplicity of investment departments in state ministries that often intersect with their policies towards encouraging investment, reviving national capital markets and increasing awareness of the importance of investing in securities with the aim of encouraging private savings and converting them into meaningful investments in sectors," he added.
Productivity, development and qualification of the banking sector to be compatible with the movement of investment and dealing with international financial institutions, as government banks are still the dominant banking capital in Iraq, and government banks account for 90 percent of banking activity.
Private activity
"The private activity in Iraq has faced obstacles in the forefront of which are the problem of financing and allocating resources, as well as the inadequacy of the investment climate, which created a lack of confidence in the creation of large national investments with the dominance of the public sector on the main economic activities, in addition to the economic policies that were adopted were directed to support the effort The military. "
The narrator said: "The options were limited in obtaining financing through public financial and banking institutions and across the Iraq Stock Exchange for the difficult conditions set by those banks, which often prevents the private sector from being able to meet them, as well as the weakness of non-banking institutions."
Bank financing
He stated, "It is known that a good financial and banking sector provides an appropriate environment for savers and investors and encourages the growth of investment opportunities and helps to develop organized work in private economic institutions, which facilitates monitoring the performance of their departments and encourages institutional development to openness and transparency in corporate management, but the banking system despite the importance Its institutions, however,
it was not able to create an enabling environment to revitalize the private sector due to the restrictions and procedures followed in the activity of these financial institutions, as they follow the state and its policies. LINK
Money Laundering Excesses
Tuesday 14 July 2020 72 Muhammad Sharif Abu Maysam The recent decision of the European Union Commission regarding the continuation of keeping Iraq on the list of high-risk countries regarding money laundering and terrorist financing, contrary to all the transformations that led to the exit of Iraq from the list of countries subject to monitoring and follow-up by the International Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in July 2018.
After the legislation of the Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Law No. 39 of 2015, Iraq was able to achieve significant progress in the applications of fighting this phenomenon through a series of decisions and procedures aimed at reaching the level of requirements that are consistent with international standards to combat this phenomenon, and among the most important of them, was to take a decision on the independence of the Anti-Laundering Office Funds within the Central in the year 2016.
And contracting with international companies to train on modern operations in this area. At a time when the governor of the Central Bank confirmed during his meeting with representatives of government and private banks, at the end of May 2016. LINK
Corona Crisis And The Iraqi Economy
Dhia Al Mohsen92 2020-07-14 Dia Al Mohsen ||For more than five months and more than two thirds of the inhabitants of the globe have been living in fear and terror from the Corona epidemic, which has stopped everything, factories, trade and entertainment; Everything has been stagnant due to the epidemic that is not visible to the naked eye. In securing the requirements of living in it for oil exports, as the price of a barrel of oil fell in the first period of the epidemic to less than twenty dollars, which means that it hardly covers the costs of its production.
Economies that depend on oil exports, including Iraq, have suffered a very severe blow, represented in declining revenues from the sale of crude oil, resulting in a large deficit in its current account.
With a simple review of the current account deficit, and among the risks associated with other commodity exports, we find that countries that depend on oil exports have very high risks, especially if they are like the case of Iraq, which depends on financing its public budget by more than 95% on Oil exports, and if we take into consideration that a large proportion of these revenues are re-exported from the country in the form of commodity imports, we will find the amount of disaster that this country is going through.
With this uncertainty in the Iraqi economic situation, the question that arises is the following: Is it possible to get out of this problem with minimal losses? What are the ways to achieve a qualitative boom, and the transition from an economy that relies so high on oil revenues, and dependence on the rest of the productive sectors?
The presence of natural resources in any country of the world is an important factor in developing the economy of that country, and regardless of whether these resources are depletable or not, it is the duty of governments to deal with them to benefit the people of that country,
and this requires the government to have a clear strategy How to deal with these riches to generate income for members of society, before the depletion of these riches, and strategic planning for this must be early, as the reality says that good times will not last long.
In fact, Iraq over the past years was unable to calculate this matter, even though the world during the period between 2003 and 2020 faced two financial crises, the first in 2008 and the second in 2014, and before these two years there was an abundance of public budgets, and successive governments could not benefit from these Wealth, under arguments that do not stand with reality, because the total budgets exceeded one trillion dollars a lot,
it was possible to activate the important economic sectors (agriculture and industry) in addition to the tourism and services sectors, and these sectors could absorb the largest possible number of the workforce now suffering from unemployment, rather From squandering these fortunes on matters that have become overwhelming the country; Instead of being his strength factor.
There are factors that contributed to the deterioration of the Iraqi economy, which we will try to summarize as follows:
The first factor we are talking about here is the increase in the number of workers in the government sector, relative to the number of the population, compared to the United States of America, for example, which does not exceed the number of workers in the government sector there are the number of employees in the government apparatus in Iraq, and this number of employees consumes what Almost 47% of the total revenue in the budget.
The second factor we are talking about here is the large number of ministries, departments and bodies, which could not provide a service to either the citizen or the country in general, but rather were shops that benefit the political parties that receive this or that ministry, or this body or that The department, so the executive authority must carry out a careful review of the reality of these departments.
For example, it is not reasonable to spend more than $ 47 billion over the past years on the electricity sector, and until now the production of electricity has not exceeded 20,000 megawatts, although if we assume that we spent half of this The amount to produce electricity, Iraq would have produced at least 23,500 MW, and it is not reasonable not to leave the electrical and gas stations and switch to solar energy available in a country like Iraq for a long time throughout the day, under the pretext that we have the expertise that can deal with thermal and gas stations.
The third factor we are talking about is the consultants who fill the offices (whether in the prime minister, the presidency of the republic or the presidency of parliament), the employees in the prime minister’s offices and the rest of the three presidencies, who do nothing but drain the state’s budget, and a simple view of the number of employees and the description of job grades for these You find that the employees in the lower levels are less than the number of employees in the higher levels,
and these words are taken from the general budget, which was approved by the Council of Ministers and then the House of Representatives and the President of the Republic and published in the Iraqi Fact Sheet.
Iraq was living a good life when agriculture represented more than 75% of the gross domestic product, so that we read about the Iraqi Reconstruction Council and the projects of this council that are spread all over Iraq, but today what has the country done to the country with these astronomical numbers,
it might be cast Some blame administrative and financial corruption for squandering these riches, yes part of it is true, but the most correct of them is the absence of an honest censor and the legal deterrent who has done nothing about rampant corruption, due to the association of corrupt people with political blocs and influential parties. http://burathanews.com/arabic/economic/372703
Iraqi Alliance: We Will Be A Strong Hand To Open The Files Of Corruption And Expose The Corrupt
Time: 7/14/2020 13:25:15 Read: 2,311 times (Baghdad: Al Furat News) An Iraqi alliance confirmed, on Tuesday, that it would be a strong hand to open the files of corruption and expose the corrupt.
A spokesman for the Iraqi bloc Hussein Arab said in an interview with Al Furat News that "the goal for which an Iraqi coalition was formed is to support the state in all its legislative, executive and judicial joints," noting that "there is a great opportunity to create a balance correctly and restore the prestige of the state by supporting it in the form Obviously. "
He added, "We have many ideas by forming committees within the coalition that will have a real impact in choosing bills serving the country at the time when parliament sessions are held," stressing that "an Iraqi coalition will have a strong hand to open the files of corruption and expose spoilers and corrupt."
The head of the Al-Hikma Movement, Mr. Ammar Al-Hakim, announced last Tuesday, June 30, the formation of a parliamentary parliamentary coalition in the name of (Iraqis). One of its main goals is to "correct the course of the political process, support the state, reforms, implement legitimate demands of the demonstrators, and emphasize the holding of early parliamentary elections, and fight corruption and quotas, and restore The prestige and sovereignty of the state and the establishment of moderation, stability and secularism in Iraq from regional and international conflicts.
The Iraqi alliance, had decided during the first meeting of the General Authority of the Alliance MP naming Hisham al - Suhail , head of the parliamentary bloc, MP Hussein Arab , a spokesman for the coalition , ".anthy LINK
Al-Hamidawi: 250 Billion Dinars Go To The Pockets Of Corrupt People In The Municipality Of Baghdad .. And Reveals The {Fourth Throat} Project
Time: 7/13/2020 21:09:53 Reading: 4,290 times {Baghdad: Al Furat News} A member of the Services and Reconstruction Committee, Ali Al-Hamidawi, revealed that 250 billion dinars went to the pockets of the corrupt people in the Baghdad Municipality.
Al-Hamidawi said (for Furat News) that "the Army Channel project is one of the most dilapidated projects in the Baghdad Municipality, and it was supposed to be completed in 2012," noting that "the idea of establishing the project was for the existence of the Arab Summit at that time, knowing that it is far from the residence of the delegations Therefore, this opportunity was invested as a gateway to corruption. "
"Where more than 170 billion dinars was allocated to this project, and more than 122 billion dinars was spent on it, or 70% of the amounts allocated to the project, and today it has completely disappeared."
Al-Hamidawi pointed out that "the secretariat had to resolve this file in previous years and deal with it in light of the availability of all possibilities for success from excellent funds, huge funds and specialized mechanisms that are not present in other ministries."
He stressed, "The need for the Baghdad municipality to have good management and real support from the prime minister and support from other ministries."
And Al-Hamidawi said, "The revenues of the secretariat reached today 150 billion dinars, and we expected to reach 400 billion dinars; but 250 billion dinars go into the pockets of the corrupt due to manual collection," calling for "activating electronic taxation by creating a department concerned in this regard."
He demanded that the Municipality of Baghdad "emphasize the bandits, and start the project" Fourth Ring "that surrounds the capital after the completion of all its drawings and does not need to be approved. A lot of crowds, "usually returning it as an" important financial resource that can be turned into an investment project. "
On the investigation committee in the contracts of the Ministry of Electricity, Al-Hamidawi confirmed with Al-Aqoul, "Today the committee has started its first meeting, and it is serious about exposing corruption in relation to electricity contracts."
He Hamidawi at the end of his speech that "he was supposed to form this committee in the previous parliamentary sessions as files are dangerous and must reveal to hold negligent" expected " the success of the Commission being includes two sides legislative and executive in addition to the heads of the committees" .anthy LINK
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