Thread: Archive News - Iraqi Dinar Think Tank - 24/01/201 - 23/07/2011

Citizens Demand Lower Salaries … for Politicians

Aswat al-Iraq reports that citizens from Baghdad have called on public representatives to take salary cuts, as Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has done, to show their good will towards the poor. This comes as parliament prepares the federal budget draft law of 2011.

As unrest sweeps the Middle East, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said he would give up half his $30,000 monthly paycheck in a possible bid to head off simmering discontent, and called for a two-term limit to be placed on his office.

Iraqis have held sporadic protests against food, power and water shortages and their plight acquired particular attention this month as a wave of anti-government protests rocked the region.

For Abu Zaid, 61, from al-Shurta neighborhood, southwestern Baghdad, it’s the time for lawmakers and ministers to decrease their salaries, in addition to decreasing the post-retirement wage from 80% to 30 or 20% like other citizens, including civilians and military men.

“The decision taken by the premier to give up 5% of his salary will not be useful, unless other senior officials in the country take the same step,” he added.

“We support all initiatives of members of the parliament to allocate 15-20% of the budget to support all citizens, mainly the poor, and we encourage officials who decrease their salaries as a step to show solidarity and to boost trust between citizens and officials,” Milad Saad, 30, said.

“Al-Maliki’s decision is not enough. All officials have to do the same as there are so many people in the society need to be supported,” she added.

“Demonstrations in Iraq are useless, we have staged several protests calling for improving living conditions and incomes, but nothing happened, just the same promises,” Thu al-Faqqar Ali, 25, told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

http://www.iraq-businessnews.com/201...r-politicians/

Financial Kurdistan resume the distribution of advance real estate

An official source in the Kurdistan Regional Government, on Tuesday, to resume the distribution of advance construction of the homes in the province, indicating that the amount of distributor there has been no change.

The finance minister said the provincial government, Baez, Talabani, the Kurdish news agency (Rn), that "after the cessation of the drug distribution advance for a period of time, to reorganize the affairs of the ministry, it was decided to resume distribution."

Talabani added that "the value of the advance has remained what they were, the 15 million Iraqi dinars (about 12,500 U.S. dollars)," adding that "this amount is not intended for city dwellers, but also includes the districts and areas as well."

It is said that the Kurdistan Regional Government, granted $ 15 million Iraqi dinars as an advance property, to help citizens and an end to the housing crisis in the province, to be returned to government in 15 years.

http://www.aknews.com/ar/aknews/2/216764/

Maliki: the electricity crisis will end by next winter

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said Tuesday that Iraq will witness an improvement in the production of electricity next summer, stressing at the same time that the electricity crisis will end in the country with the onset of winter 2012.

Iraq has suffered from a severe shortage of electric power, and continues to the national grid is unable to supply electricity to more than a few hours a day and come frequent interruptions in electricity at the top of citizen complaints.

Maliki said during a press conference held at the Ministry of Electricity in Baghdad, and was attended by the correspondent of news agency Kurdistan (Rn) that "the provision of electricity today has become a dangerous business because it is a vital artery to all expectations, even in the field of oil," noting that "the government is serious to find out what the rest of prevent problematic starting point for the provision of electric power in the country."

He emphasized that the "next summer will see the development in the production of electric power until the end the electricity crisis in the winter of 2012."

"The unstable security conditions previously hampered electricity projects," adding that "security and political stability today helps a lot to make an extraordinary effort to provide electric power."

The prime minister said "We need an exceptional effort and the decision and the establishment of timetables by betting the problem is solved if completed," stressing that "the government has worked to develop the Ministry of Electricity in budget priorities."

He said Maliki, saying, "If only the Ministry of Electricity of allocations from the budget, we may have to withhold funds from the budget of other ministries."

Swept into the mass protests a number of Iraqi cities during the past summer, to condemn the lack of electricity, which prompted the Minister of Electricity, then, Karim Wahid to resign. According to government figures, the energy available to Iraq of around 9 thousand megawatts of energy, while the list of 11 thousand to 12 thousand megawatts. The estimated demand of up to 14 thousand megawatts during the summer when temperatures exceed in many cases 50 degrees Celsius.

The Deputy Prime Minister for Energy and Electricity Minister agency, Hussain al-Shahristani, told the conference that "the real obstacles that were encountered and the Ministry of Electricity, and there was delay in the implementation of contracts for power plants," pointing out that "Some projects have been processed by the working group for the maintenance and maturation of these contracts".

He said the "quantities that will be provided by citizens next summer will not be sufficient to cover requirements if there is no rationalization in the consumption of electric power."

http://www.aknews.com/ar/aknews/2/216750/

Licenses to establish $1.9 billion houses in Najaf

The Najaf Investment Commission approved 17 investment licenses to set up 19,000 houses in Najaf at a cost of $1.9 billion, according to chairman of the commission.

“The Najaf Investment Commission has approved recently more than 125 licenses in all fields, including 17 to Iraqi and foreign companies to establish 19487 houses in the province at a cost of one billion and 900 million dollars,” Wafi al-Bahash told Aswat al-Iraq news agency, noting that the projects will be implemented in the coming two years.

“The projects will solve the housing crisis in the southern province,” he added.

http://en.aswataliraq.info/Default1....&id=140890&l=1

ManTech Wins $488m Vehicle Contract

ManTech International said on Monday that it won a $488 million, 11-month, contract from the U.S. Army’s TACOM Contracting Center to continue providing logistics sustainment and support for the U.S. military’s MRAP Family of Vehicles.

The company will manage, monitor and sustain equipment operational readiness for MRAP FoVs. In addition, it will provide rapid assessment and repair of battle-damaged MRAP and Route Clearance Vehicle equipment, and immediate repairs of mechanical failures due to operational damage or system fatigue.

Work will be done in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait and at locations throughout the U.S.
The “mine resistant, ambush-protected” vehicles, or MRAPs, are designed to protect soldiers from armor-piercing roadside bombs.

http://www.iraq-businessnews.com/201...icle-contract/

UAE set to be Iraq’s top Gulf trade partner

The UAE will be Iraq’s primary GCC investment partner once the war-torn country has established economic and political stability, a leading economist has said. John Sfankaniakis, chief economist at Saudi Banque Fransi, told Arabian Business that due to the UAE’s sizable Iraqi community and an interest in trade rather than investment, the country would top its closest competitor, Saudi Arabia.

“The interest in Saudi and other GCC states is in the investment flows rather than the trade flows,” he said. “Going forward I see more trade opportunities. I don’t expect sizable investments will be made.

“Investments will require political longevity and stability to take hold and convince investors that it’s a good move forward. But trade will continue to do well, and if the political situation improves and stabilizes, that will steer greater interest for investors to put their money into Iraq directly.”

Iraq’s cabinet has proposed an $82.6bn budget for 2011, the latest and likely permanent revision after a lengthy haggle with lawmakers amid continuous rises in oil prices. The budget – currently awaiting parliamentary approval – is higher than Sfakianakis expected, largely off the back of those spikes in oil.

“Oil revenues are increasing – so it’s a larger than expected budget,” he said.

For the time being, Iraq’s economic development is homegrown.

“Investments are coming in from Iraqis, from the disapora – though there’s some coming from Turkey over the northern part of Iraq,” he said. “GCC money is of less use” and its involvement in helping Iraq grow “is not expected to be immediate.”

The Opec producer’s deals with global oil companies could raise output capacity to 12 million bpd from the current 2.5 million, which could pit it against leader Saudi six years from now. The Gulf’s involvement will depend on the political situation.

“If the government continues to be stable and levels of ethnic unrest and violence dissipate, that will determine it.”

The budget will “most likely get passed since it’s an expansionary budget. Everyone knows money has to get spent in Iraq.”

The latest budget draft is based on a $76.50 per barrel average for crude, with 2.2 million barrels in daily exports.

http://www.arabianbusiness.com/uae-s...er-379104.html

Deputy for the National: compensation for citizens amounts of money for the ration will hurt them

The member of the Iraqi Council of Representatives for the National Alliance on Wednesday, the Council of Ministers resolution compensation for citizens $ 15 thousand dinars harmful to the citizens that it will work to raise the prices of basic foodstuffs in the commercial market.

Said Abdul Hussein Abtan MP for the province of Najaf to the Kurdistan News Agency (Rn) announced today that "This decision will harm Iraqi citizens as it works to raise the prices of basic foodstuffs in the commercial market," stressing that "any draft resolution did not contain the provision and increase the ration card items is a matter of Denied. "

He asked "the government to provide the distribution of all components of the ration card for citizens," adding that "prejudice or revocation is a red line as it represents the mainstay of food for millions."

Abtan called "to increase the ration and tackle corruption on the country's Ministry of Commerce and bear full responsibility for securing all the food in the ration card," he says.

And on the reduction of the salaries of the three presidencies explained by saying "we demanded from the outset to reduce the salaries of the three presidencies and members of the House of Representatives and converting a portion of the amounts withheld to the social protection network that covered by this network are from the poorer classes in society and widows and divorced women, but a large portion of them Aestelmon more than 100 thousand dinars every two months or three months. "

However, "while the department can take advantage of the other to secure the ration card items and increase as soon as possible and distributed to citizens, especially after the delays in the distribution of materials."

The Iraqi street is witnessing a surge in criticism of the Ministry of Commerce against the backdrop of the gradual decrease in the delivery of the ration card, while there was a proposal from the Presidency of the Council of Ministers to compensate citizens amounts of money monthly, rather than the shortfall to such materials was up to 15 thousand Iraqi dinars for every citizen.

Observers believe that the budget allocations for 2011 show that the amounts allocated to the ration card of 3 billion dollars, which is the same amount in the budget last year, so the suffering will continue as these allocations are insufficient and do not cover the needs of the card items upon which the vast majority of the population with limited income and subtropics the poverty line.

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said during a press conference held in Baghdad on Sunday, the sixth of February of this that the Council of Ministers seeks to link the distribution of the ration card items and import of provincial council after the government's inability to federal control, stressing that "the provincial councils have the capacity to provide vocabulary ration card."

The federal government last year issued a decision to withhold the ration card items for the owners of grades higher at the time of Iraq relies on the provision of the ration card items to the general citizens since 1991, when it was imposed embargo on Iraq as part of the international sanctions imposed on Saddam Hussein's regime against the backdrop of invasion of Kuwait.

The members of the House of Representatives said that's 130 deputies refused to ratify the budgetary Federal unless allocates part of the Iraqi people, at the time called for the Chairman of the Integrity Committee in the House of Representatives earlier, the independent MP, now Sabah al-Saadi Iraqi government to distribute 25% of oil revenues to people directly.

http://www.aknews.com/ar/aknews/2/216812/

Iraqi Banks Urged to Merge

Abdul Hussein Al-Anbuge, an Iraqi government economic adviser, has urged the country’s private lenders to merge in order to strengthen their capital and provide stronger support to the banking sector, AK News has reported.

The total capital of Iraqi private banks rose from $30m in 2004 to $1.6bn now, not including what is owned by branches of foreign banks operating in the country.

http://www.iraq-businessnews.com/201...rged-to-merge/

Janabi, demanding the re-programming support funds, including the ration card

Accused the Iraqi List, the government is wasteful and non-observance of the vulnerable groups, and called on Iraqi MP Adnan al-Janabi to reprogram funds in support of the Government, including the ration card.

http://radionawa.com/Ar/NewsDetailN....617&LinkID=155

Economists call the Iraqi parliament enactment of a law to fund industrial projects producing

A number of Iraqi economists, on Wednesday, Iraqi Council of Representatives to pass a law to bolster industrial projects produced in Iraq. The adviser said the Arab International Bank, Hamada Radwan, told the Kurdish news agency (Rn) that "the Iraqi Council of Representatives bill to the demands of legislation router that banks lend to government and private factories known."

Hamada added that "the reality of industrial projects produced in Iraq has dropped by studies by 66% for the years before 2003 because of the flow of goods is strange to the capital Baghdad."

He continued by saying that "should the Iraqi Council of Representatives and in coordination with the private sector, to provide a positive atmosphere of the industrial action especially with the imminent activation of the customs law which Sehm in the development of the private sector in the country."

The Ministry of Planning and Development Cooperation of Iraq earlier in the absence of accurate figures on the number of industrial establishments in the country. On the other hand, member of the Organization (SMA) on the development of the industrial reality in Iraq, Ihab Mandalawi's (Rn) that "the Iraqi government dropped its efforts to transform the economic situation in Iraq to a market economy because of lost confidence in the product local."

And fund an organization (SMA) of the Organization of American development. Mandalawi explained that "the organization hopes the legislation of the Act provides protection for the product the Iraqi Council of Representatives also passed a law in the previous session which provided protection for the consumer."

He pointed out that "factories in Iraq caused a decline in disabled more than 13 thousand employees, which confounded the government seeks to transform the Iraqi economy to a free market economy."

It is noteworthy that the Iraqi Finance Ministry warned earlier in the continuation of the "lost" Iraq to the domestic industry, after review the work of factories and laboratories Iraqi state-owned and joint and private sector.

For his part, MP for the National Alliance, Haidar Yasiri's (Rn) that "the House of Representatives would put the law to protect the product in the priorities of the laws of assessments approved, after submission by the Iraqi government and by including the provision of cover legal and legislative process of borrowing producers to finance their industrial".

He noted that the Yasiri "The Iraqi government has to submit a plan in developing the country's industrial upgrading and the reality of living of the industrialists and producers in Iraq in the next stage."

He argued that "I miss Iraq over the past eight years on the foundations of industry support and evaluate the private sector because of the chaos of the free flow of goods and products with Iraq."

According to reports by non-governmental organizations concerned with the economic aspect that Iraq has lost since the last four years more than $ 180 billion because of its reliance on imported goods as a result of the decline in its domestic industry.

The results of the survey recently conducted by the Ministry of Planning and Development Cooperation in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of Iraq, that the unemployment rate among the population aged 15 years and over of 28.1% for both sexes.

The unemployment rate for males stood at 30.2% versus 16% for women.

The Iraqi Council of Representatives its first session had voted on the draft Law on the Council Service Federal Civil aim of organizing the affairs of the public and release it from the politicization and partisanship and build the state institutions and the formation of Foundation mission the development of work in government departments and the development of rules and principles of sound and secure justice and impartiality and to ensure standards of competence in the appointment, reappointment and promotion Applying the Article (107) of the Constitution.

According to a report on the results of a survey of employment and unemployment rate of unemployment in urban areas, 30% versus 25.4% in rural areas.

http://www.aknews.com/ar/aknews/2/216880/