More Iraqi News Monday PM 1-4-20
More Iraqi News Monday PM 1-4-20
TLM724 Administrator BondLady’s Corner
The Baghdad Post Monday, January 04, 2021 01:01 AM
The sea of corruption in Iraq ... 20 ministers and 333 high-ranking officials The question: Where is Nouri al-Maliki? Where corruption of the criminal crowd?
Al-Kazemi - Iraq
Observers: Millions of Iraqis support Al-Kazemi in the battle of corruption, provided that he is serious and that his battle is with whales and young children in the midst of the security chaos that strikes Iraq during the past years. There is overwhelming economic chaos, and in the expectations of many, if the various forces did not join forces to save Iraq and enhance its resources. It may suddenly fall into bankruptcy, similar to what happened in Lebanon due to the gangs of the Wali al-Faqih.
In the same vein, the full story of the looting and corruption projects seems to be the biggest story in Iraq. Especially after Al-Kazemi announced that he is serious about tackling corruption. The Prime Minister, Mustafa Al-Kazemi, had pledged to push ahead with reforms in Iraq even if that cost him his life, according to his speech hours ago, indicating that his government will reveal "major facts" about corruption during the new year 2021.
Al-Kazemi said that his government had submitted a draft of an "ambitious" financial budget that included economic reforms, which put it in the crosshairs of "stabbings and auctions," as he said.
He added: I have always confirmed that I have come to reform, the auctions and the shows will not stop me even if it cost me my life.
In the same context, Al-Kazemi pledged, during the formation of his government, to fight widespread corruption in the joints of the state, which made him exposed to a fierce campaign by influential parties and blocs supported by Iran.
And he continued in this regard: We have established the Committee to Combat Corruption and Exceptional Crimes, and for the first time large heads find themselves in prison that are not protected by a party or influential people, and they continue to do so. Al-Kazemi added, according to what Al-Arab newspaper monitored from his statements, his pledge that 2021 will be the year of uncovering the major facts about corruption that affected the economy and development.
What is the story of corruption? Is there a real project to eradicate corruption and the corrupt in Iraq? Then why does he turn a blind eye to the great corrupt, with the testimony of 40 million Iraqis ?!
A member of Parliament revealed that the Integrity Commission had referred 333 former officials, 20 of them with ministerial rank, to the judiciary with "corruption charges." Member of the Integrity Committee, MP Jamal Al-Muhammadawi, explained that 4 former ministers and 7 general directors have been convicted of cases related to corruption files of the Ministry of Electricity, without details of the investigation with the rest of the accused officials.
Parliament's Energy Committee said that every billion dollars spent on the electricity sector was enough to produce a thousand megawatts of energy, according to the standards of the producing companies.
According to previous data of the Public Integrity Committee, corruption in electricity projects amounts to billions of dollars.
The fight against corruption was at the head of the demands of massive protests that Iraq witnessed over a whole year starting from October 2019 when the government of former Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi, in partnership with Iraqi militias affiliated with Iran, was involved in killing about 700 protesters and wounding about 20 thousand others, in order to protect The system of corrupt religious parties in the country.
According to his perception, Al-Kazemi said that in the past 6 months, the state has regained its health and confidence in its capabilities, pointing out that the security forces have become more confident and solid and have restored their relationship with the people, and the army has become more harmonious today, and it is ready at any moment to protect the people against any danger.
At the level of foreign relations, the Prime Minister said that 6 months of the work of this government was enough to ensure that Iraq enjoys the strongest system of regional and international relations and confidence in it and its government that it has not witnessed for many decades, indicating that all our neighbors and the whole world seek to support Iraq and cooperate for its rise from its slump.
According to well-informed sources, Al-Arab revealed that Al-Kazemi had formed a special committee headed by a senior officer, to track down and arrest corrupt employees. The commission tried to operate outside the known routine restrictions that allow the accused to regularize their situation before arresting them.
It indicated that the Al-Kazemi office had prepared a special detainee at Baghdad airport, to complete investigations with officials who were arrested for their involvement in corruption cases, including Shaker Al-Zamili, head of the Baghdad Investment Commission, Ahmed Al-Saadi, director of the General Retirement Department, and others.
Al-Kazemi went on to say, "Our people were affected a lot by the financial crisis, just as the world was affected by the economic crisis resulting from the Corona pandemic, but its impact on Iraq was more difficult ... and unfortunately previous governments did not plan for such crises."
Experts say that no one can fight Al-Kazemi's steps or criticize them if they are directed at corruption. On the contrary, everyone is on her side and supports her. But the issue is: does Al-Kazemi only chase after the young, corrupt, while protecting or frightening the whales ?!
Where corruption and files Nuri al-Maliki? Where is the corruption and the popular crowd files?Communal ?! And the Iraqis all know the truth about the corruption of Nuri al-Maliki and the corruption of the leaders and members of the terrorist crowd.
And they stressed the need to apply a single standard of integrity, transparency, and reliance on the strength of the state in this battle if he wants to succeed. LINK
The Most Prominent Economic Achievements In 2020 Rolling Eyes
Monday 04 January 2021 61 Baghdad: Al-Sabah: Iraq has achieved a set of the most prominent achievements during the past year 2020 in various economic, production, financial and other sectors, arranged according to the months of the year, respectively. The Iraqi News Agency (INA) stated that in January 2020, the Ministry of Electricity signed a contract with the Gulf Cooperation Council to establish two transmission lines Energy, while the Ministry of Industry called 36 international armament companies directly to establish their factories in Iraq, and Iran also reduced the supply of natural gas to Iraq from 25 million to 4 million m3.
February
In February 2020, the Ministry of Transport laid the foundation stone for the Silk Tunnel project in Khor Al-Zubair, and the Investment Commission offered 4 investment opportunities for military industries, and the fifth for food industries, while the Ministry of Planning announced a decline in poverty rates in Iraq to 20 percent.
March
This month, the Oil Ministry reported that associated gas production has reached 2,875 per day, and the United States exempts Iraq from 45-day sanctions to import Iranian gas, and the Economic Ministerial Council is discussing mechanisms to reduce the crisis of low oil prices, while former Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi confirms that the price collapse Oil does not mean that Iraq has become bankrupt. The governor of the Central Bank says: Iraq's external debts are about 23 billion dollars, and the internal debts are 40 trillion dinars.
April
The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank confirm their readiness to help Iraq to meet its needs to combat Corona, and the government is moving to stop the collection of the external debts owed by Iraq, and the arrival of medical aid planes to Baghdad International Airport from China.
May
Iraq begins measures to reduce crude oil production in compliance with the decisions of (OPEC) and its allies, and the Ministry of Planning expects an increase in the rate of poverty in the country due to the Corona crisis and the decline in oil prices, while the Ministry of Oil announced the suspension of gasoline imports, and its efforts to add units to sumo for all Iraqi refineries, and a statistic for Sumo showing the loss of Iraq About 11 billion dollars within 4 months.
June
Retirees are surprised by the deduction of a percentage of their salaries without prior announcement, and the Parliamentary Finance Committee and the Council of Ministers confirm the return of the deducted money, and the American General Electric announces the addition of 1000 megawatts of electricity to the national grid, and Al-Kazemi directs the Ministry of Finance to quickly release the salaries of employees, and the Central Bureau of Statistics reports that the per capita share of The gross domestic product reached 1,100 dollars.
July
Iraq and Jordan agree to increase international Internet capacity through the Trebil port, and the Ministry of Agriculture announces the granting of licenses to export 3 crops to the Gulf countries.
Father
August saw the signing of agreements with General Electric to boost the electric power infrastructure.
September
In this month of last year, the Kurdistan Ministry of Finance announced the distribution of employees ’salaries for the month of April, with a deduction of 18 percent of those salaries.
October
The Minister of Agriculture has directed to facilitate procedures for the process of exporting dates to countries of the world, and the Minister of Transport announces agreement on the final form of the contract for the implementation of the Grand Port of Faw with the Korean company, and the Kurdistan region agrees to reduce oil production provided the center secures the region’s dues for oil revenues, and Iraq obtains approval from (OPEC) and its allies to extend the compensation period for reducing oil production, and the Ministry of Finance announces that there is no choice but to resort to short-term loans.
November
The Minister of Transport confirms that negotiations are continuing with the Korean company Daewoo to complete the construction of the large Faw port project, and the Ministry of Agriculture announces that 80 percent of the citizen's food basket has been achieved from local crops, and that the quantities of exported dates within two months will reach 130 tons, and the House of Representatives votes on the deficit financing law Financial, and the US State Department extends to allow Iraq to import gas from Iran for 45 days only.
December
The Ministry of Electricity announces the advancement of electrical interconnection projects with neighboring countries, and Germany allocates 324 billion euros for the reconstruction of Iraq and the return of the displaced, and the launch of import licenses through the Arar border crossing, and the Central Bank decides to adjust the exchange rate of foreign currency for the public to 1470 dinars per dollar, and the Cabinet Votes on the draft federal budget bill for the fiscal year 2021. LINK
Parliamentary Integrity Estimates The Amount Of Money Smuggled Out Of Iraq
Pratha News Agency91 2021-01-04 The Parliamentary Integrity Committee announced, on Monday, that the volume of money smuggled outside Iraq is estimated at 350 trillion dinars.
Committee member Taha Al-Dafa'i said in a statement carried by the official news agency, that "the government formed a committee to combat corruption, and this committee worked during the first days in a clear and significant way, but it retreated during the recent period due to political pressure, as it was accused of various types of accusations." "The continuation of its work, and the investigation of more important cases such as corruption files that are rampant in some ministries."
He pointed out that "the money spent after the year 2003 is estimated at a thousand trillion, and it includes the budgets of the operational and investment ministries, as huge sums of money were wasted in contracting cases, as well as the corruption that was rampant in most of the contracts contracted by the ministries and governorates."
He continued, "We did not touch any clear project that was completed in Baghdad or the provinces, and most projects were referred to impeccable companies, and they were dealt with at the worst commissions, so the works were not completed, and the money remained on simple projects, but we did not see strategic projects as main roads and fast bridges."
He pointed to "smuggling of up to 350 trillion dinars outside Iraq during the past years, all of them through fake receipts," stressing that "most of the money smuggled out in this direction outside Iraq, with much of these commissions that some officials were getting." http://burathanews.com/arabic/economic/383795
Al-Kaabi Reveals His Financial Assets And Calls On Mps To Expedite The Disclosure Of Their Financial Assets For This Year
Monday 04, January 2021 14:14 | General Views: 191 Baghdad / NINA / The First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Hassan Al-Kaabi, revealed today, Monday, his financial disclosure for the year 2021, where he received an official receipt to receive the disclosure form for this current year, audited by the Federal Integrity Commission.
Al-Kaabi disclosed his financial assets before the end of last year, to send it to the Integrity Commission, according to the attached book, calling on members of Parliament to expedite the disclosure of their financial assets for this year.
Al-Kaabi was the first to disclose his financial receivables related to previous years, starting with his swearing-in of the constitutional oath as a deputy in the Council, and up to this year. / End 5
https://ninanews.com/Website/News/Details?Key=879923
Expectations Of A Barrel Of Oil Reaching $ 65 Next Summer
Mazhar Muhammad Salih, Financial Affairs Adviser to the Prime Minister
The advisor to the Iraqi prime minister for financial affairs, Mazhar Muhammad Salih, expected that oil prices would continue to rise to higher levels of up to $ 65 a barrel by next summer, and that transportation restrictions would be lifted after the global situation improved from the Corona virus.
He pointed out that the recently approved increase in oil production amounting to 500 thousand barrels per day indicates an increase in global demand for oil.
He stressed that the poverty rate in the country reached 30%, and that that percentage of them were old displaced and unemployed, in addition to the fact that there were more than two million families, added to the percentage as a result of the new Corona virus (Covid 19), adding that the deficit can be addressed by many paragraphs. The current year budget. https://www.radionawa.com/all-detail.aspx?jimare=22911
Sumo: The Rentiers Of The Iraqi Economy Affected Our Negotiations With OPEC
Energy Economy News – Baghdad The deputy director general of the Iraqi Oil Marketing Company (SOMO) Ali Nizar said that the sponsorship of the Iraqi economy weakened the Iraqi negotiator during his negotiations with OPEC at the beginning of 2020.
Nizar said in a statement reported by "Iraq 24" satellite channel and seen by "Al-Iqtisad News", that "the rent of the Iraqi economy and its dependence on oil revenues weakened the Iraqi negotiator and set him in the direction of not refusing to enter the agreement on reducing oil production."
He added that "commitment to the OPEC agreement affects Iraq's oil revenues, but it contributes to supporting global oil prices and enhances its stability, indicating that we are looking for clients who are able to buy our oil at prices that feed the state budget in hard currency."
Nizar indicated that "if Iraq had not adhered to the previous OPEC agreement, its oil prices would have fallen below 10 dollars." Number of observations 112, date of addition: 01/04/2021 https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=23470
Oil Prices Are Rising And Brent Is Above $ 53
Pratha News Agency80 2021-01-04 Oil rose on Monday, buoyed by the dollar's decline before the OPEC + coalition meeting to decide whether it can continue raising production as the escalating coronavirus contagion stifles a recovery in global energy demand.
The OPEC alliance brought back 500,000 barrels per day to the market this month and is meeting on Monday to decide on production levels for February.
And OPEC Secretary-General Muhammad Barkindo said at a meeting on Sunday that expectations for the first half are very different and there are still many downside risks that must be reconciled.
The market is weighing a fragile outlook for energy demand in the short term against a recovery expected later in the year once enough people have been vaccinated. Oil was also supported by the weak dollar, which boosts the attractiveness of commodities denominated in the currency.
West Texas Intermediate for February delivery rose 1.98% to $ 49.47 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 06:40 GMT.
Brent rose for the month of March 2.5% to $ 53.02 a barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange, after closing up 0.3% on Thursday.
Crude oil futures jumped 6.1% to 320.1 yuan a barrel on the Shanghai International Energy Exchange, after falling 2.6% last week.
Delegates said at a meeting on Sunday that several countries, including Saudi Arabia, were cautious about increasing production in February. Russia has said OPEC +, which cut production last year, could add another 500,000 barrels per day next month, while Riyadh has kept its views publicly under wraps.
OPEC production rose by 190,000 barrels per day to 25.3 million barrels per day in December, with Libya posting the gains, according to JBC Energy. Angola, Iran, the UAE, Venezuela and Algeria also boosted the supply. OPEC expects that demand for crude oil will rise to 95.9 million barrels per day this year from 90 million in 2020. http://burathanews.com/arabic/economic/383796
Parliamentary Economic: Iraq Annually Loses About One Billion And 500 Million Dollars As A Result Of Contracts To Sell The Region's Oil
Energy Economy News _ Baghdad Member of Parliament, Representative Mazen Al-Faily, confirmed, on Monday, that Iraq annually loses about one billion and 500 million dollars due to contracts to sell Kurdistan oil.
Al-Faily said in a statement received by Al-Iqtisad News, that "we followed a statement by the director of the National Oil Marketing Company (SOMO), whose heart is in pain and the mind is bewildered by it, as he mentioned that most contracts indicate that the region’s oil is sold at a price less than (6-9). A dollar for the price of oil sold through SOMO, and that the quantities of oil exported from the region through the Turkish port of Ceyhan amount to (430) thousand barrels per day, and we make the following comments:
1. The amount of loss that results from this unconstitutional regional government behavior varies Between (77-121) million dollars a month, and the Iraqi people incur an annual loss ranging from (978 million dollars to one billion five hundred million dollars) as a result of these excessive and wasteful acts of the national wealth.
2. This difference from the amount that Iraq loses is sufficient to rectify it to avoid Iraq entering into contracts for the pre-sale of oil mentioned by the director of the SOMO company, which warns us of its economic consequences, directly or indirectly, as the revenues of pre-payment contracts amount to two billion dollars, while the loss of Iraq amounts to two billion dollars.
From the region's sale of oil at this low price of (5-7) billion dollars during the same period of the pre-sale contracts, and if the region delivers the oil to the SOMO company to sell it at the prices it sells for oil, we would have gained interest with additional revenues and we avoided entering into pre-sale oil contracts and its harmful effects.
3. How does the Council of Ministers vote on a budget that passes and gives legal legitimacy to this waste of public funds for the Iraqis, when the budget included a clause that obliges the region to hand over only (250) thousand barrels and allows it to dispose of the remaining quantity while it sells it at this lower price than the selling price of SOMO for oil produced from Basra And the southern oil-producing provinces. Number of observations 192 Date added: 01/04/2021 https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=23457
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