Thread: Archive - Latest News Think Tank - 15/01/09 - 04/05/09

Prime Minister instructed to prepare a plan for the advancement of oil extraction

Recommended to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to draw up a plan to address the problems and obstacles facing the advancement of the oil sector and mining, with the formation of a committee of experts from the field to follow up on violations, which is facing this sector.

Stated that the "morning" an official source at the Oil Ministry, said that Maliki was held over the past two days several meetings and meetings with officials and advisers in the oil sector, and discussed with them ways of raising the relevance and importance of investment in the oil wealth as the best. The source added that the Prime Minister during the meetings in overcoming the obstacles facing the advancement of this sector, especially the area of extraction and increase the volume of production, and to set up a committee led by a specialized field tables given broad powers to address any imbalance in the work.

The ministry has ambitious programs seeking to implement both the allocation of funds or other investment plan and the Prime Minister pledged more funds for the development of this sector. The source also quoted Maliki reiterated the need to call upon Arab and international companies to invest in Iraq, as well as companies rely on Iraqi oil, noting that some fields it is possible that the national effort to invest. He said he was also discussion of the importance of the contracts with international companies in this area on the basis of transparent and maintain the sovereignty and achieve higher income and be on a competitive basis, and revealed that it was agreed to hold a seminar end of February with the participation of Iraqi and foreign experts to discuss

Ways to advance as quickly as possible, the oil sector.

The Maliki said during a meeting with officials in the oil sector on Thursday that Iraq depends heavily on oil wealth as it is at the heart of the Iraqi economy, stressing that the preservation of all this wealth, saying: that all of the talk about the reconstruction and development of the economy are betting on the efforts of workers in the Ministry of oil. "He added, according to a statement issued by the Information Office of the Prime Minister," after that if security is established, the country is moving towards building and improving the level of services because the reasons that she was standing in front of the development of the economy and the administration of construction and reconstruction projects have been ... and you still increase your .. In turn, we will provide all the resources and facilities that help to make your work. "

He continued: "The citizens want us to offer the best services, and we have to respond to his request, especially after the successes achieved and security, which helped to provide the right atmosphere to move toward the construction and reconstruction," he said companies began racing for work and investment and contribute to the construction and reconstruction projects after the were to refrain from working in Iraq as a result of the previous security conditions.

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Shahristani: Iraq the world's largest reserve of oil

The Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani said Iraq has huge oil wealth more than the oil reserves of countries in the world at large.

Shahristani said in an interview with regard to the site of the N "that Iraq possesses (400) complex geology has not been discovered until this time, indicating that it is expected to be found in large quantities such sites and discovered that others will raise Iraq's oil reserves exceed rates in the forefront of global reserves,".

The Minister of Oil, "The race for investment in Iraq's oil wealth to Atwther on the reserve because the total amount currently estimated and detected in the amount of (115) billion barrels if the measured levels of current production, it will be enough for more than (100) years to come."

The comments came as oil minister, Hussein al-Shahristani, the background of his visit to the holy city of Karbala on Saturday morning (14/2/2009) For the conduct of the plan developed by the petroleum ministry to serve Mawakeb Husseinieh.

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Zubeidi discuss the reform of financial management with representatives of World Bank

The Minister of Finance Bayan Jabr importance of the draft (PFM) and private financial management reform in Iraq .. This came during an expanded meeting organized by the Ministry of Finance with representatives of the World Bank and the Foundation of the British international aid (DFID) and the U.S. Treasury, the European Union and the United Nations Development Program and representatives from the embassies of the United States of America, Britain, Australia and Denmark and the U.S. aid (USAD) .. According to a statement issued by the Information Office at the Ministry received a copy of the long: Zubeidi pointed to improved sources of funding and directed towards the planned objectives and the development of endogenous capacities of the organs of the Ministry of Finance and the various ministries.

Praising the role of the World Bank and the British institution of international assistance (DFID) and the U.S. aid (USAD) and the European Union and the U.S. Treasury Department to support this vital project because it is one of the priorities of the Plan of the Ministry of Finance in 2009 and urged donor countries to contribute to the organization of the work plan for the reform of financial management that have been reached it with the World Bank.

The statement pointed to the remarks of the representative of the World Bank, which pointed out that this important meeting aimed at coordination between international donors to improve the quality of the performance of financial management in the preparation of the budget and capacity building of high quality, especially economic and project contributes to the provision of technical assistance for the implementation of the budget and the payments system and the system of the Treasury and the Audit and internal audit in addition to assistance in the area of supply (procurement).

The representative of the British institution of the international aid (DFID) of the importance of working with the Ministry of Finance and international donors in the sector because of its fundamental importance as the project has reached into effect after the completion of the research project focused on the importance of the role of the British international aid (DFID) to support the project and review the preparation of the budget strategy, stressing the importance of initiating the formation of a working group to develop a strategy for the 2010 budget, and communication among the group to work through periodic meetings weekly, which contribute to the maturation and access to the desired results in addition to the formation of the Main Committee of the project to develop a mechanism for cooperation with the Minister of Finance instructed the formation of the working group headed by Dr.. Kazim, Director General, Economic Department in the Ministry.

The representative of the U.S. Treasury Department: The Department of the Treasury has allocated an expert to support the project in the area of budget and financial planning medium-term referring to the fruitful cooperation with the Ministry of Finance of Iraq's accounting system and the system of charges and release of the audit of funds and the balances in the system of cleaning the Central Bank of Iraq has reached an advanced stage.

The representative of the United Nations and representative of the European Union and the representative of the Australian embassy in Iraq on this project and support it for the advancement of financial and economic reality in Iraq, pointing out that the Ministry of Finance of Iraq has witnessed a significant development in the area of work.

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an Iraq policy in the financial and monetary

One of the most important criticism of the economic policy adopted by the official economic team, in coordination and guidance from experts, money and finance in both the International Monetary Fund for Reconstruction and Development and the World Trade Organization, is the lack of consistency and balance of the monetary and fiscal policy, and the lack of consistency Inzeraly this:

1 not be adopted and the resolution of a system of general distribution: the distribution of burdens and resources, despite the passage of more than 5 years on this subject go to the link distribution in kind or cash to strengthen the macroeconomic fundamentals, and only in the census only concerned the advantages and disadvantages of each of the two systems, despite the clarity of the negative effects of the system cash distribution, which resorted to by the previous governments and regimes since 1959 when all the increase in crude oil revenues and rising costs of living of the disadvantaged majority of low-income,

For access to certain political gains, and this practice has been followed until the present day, to the ease of making such a decision at the political consideration, and the calm and calming of the potential clashes constantly deteriorating economic conditions, rather than building relationships based on economic and scientific balance between commodity flows and cash flows.

2 failure to achieve price stability:
a direct objective of monetary policy, financial and general objective of economic policy and represents the price of a key role in economic growth, (from the producers and consumers, investors and employees, as well as financial and banking institutions) and the outline here given the economic weight of the tools of monetary policy and exchange rate and interest rates, savings and investment as key management to reduce inflation.

We make sure that the Iraqi official Frdipalvriv economic), which claims that the ((support)) and intended to support the petroleum products and basic consumer goods and services "led to excessive and wasteful consumption has weakened public investment and increased the deficit of the sector and weaker private investment and increased the volume of inflation

3 inefficiency of financial institutions operating conditions, if the quality of financial institutions:
- The safety of the foundations of the building
- Efficient management of expenditure and income
- The efficiency of the budgeting system in which they operate
- The principle of transparency and financial accountability

We need to recognize the fact that this lack of efficiency due to the policy of cumulative half-century ago. In this context, Mr. Said Aboud Samurai in writing) in modern economic development of Iraq (1975 - the following: that the financial policy in Iraq and has been since the revolution of July 14, 1958 to increase public expenditures for the regular budget, without much interest in the provision of adequate coverage as costs have continued general been increasing year after year without being accompanied by similar or comparable increase in public revenue, and this led to increased reliance on oil revenues in financing the public budget deficit financing to increase year after year until the total remittances and treasury bonds, the Iraqi government about 108 million dinars in 1941, after the limits of 11 million dinars in 1958 - p. 241 were oil revenues represent 87% of general revenue to rise by 93% and where many people claim to use fiscal policy as an instrument to stabilize the economic cycle, and Rabat, which links the economies, each has double, when recession, Europe would prevail, as happened in the early nineties, the United States also Ttoek. verse today and do the contrary, the U.S. economic stagnation, which is being talked about today, the European economy, as is well known that the financial policy of the government consists of purchases of goods and services and taxes and payments processing, the government can determine how many of the gross domestic product N_D_P should be split between private consumption and public consumption and investment spending and imports, and how should the division of the burden of the shipment of goods and services between the public and benefit the people, that if we know that the financial authority of the government through their financial institutions and this determines the efficiency of expenditure and revenue management, transparency and accountability) of a major impact on the business cycle of short-term production, employment and prices

4 linked to the Iraqi dinar is pegged to the U.S. dollar:
This is the procedure within the new monetary policy that was implemented after 2003, after the value of the dinar to its lowest levels, after it was ascertained that the size of the monetary mass in circulation has almost 5 trillion dinars, without appropriate attribution of hard currencies and gold. It can not be trusted to economic stability in terms of the stability of the dinar against the dollar at the moment of the vast differences between a nation's economy between the dollar and the economy of the State of the dinar because both currencies is derived from measuring the medium term at least the power, size and strength of its economy and other factors, many hard to mention now, the opposite of what you think the Iraqi monetary policy change the interest rate or a target to reduce the advance rate of 40% during 2007, with a promise of a formal post-political, not economic improvement of the purchasing power of the Iraqi dinar against the dollar, an increase of $ _ and make this promise, whether the study was its effect on the Iraqi economy on the one hand that all the income will decrease the size of the promised increase of the value of the dinar against the dollar?

This fact does not need mathematical equations or complex economic order to be understood that the error in the current monetary policy in addition to another error which is associated with the stop and the weakness of the productive sectors in industry and agriculture, the Iraqi economy, a strong push towards the brink of continuing to fill the needs of private and public consumption by import the U.S. dollar, which has been bought in the Iraqi capital markets creates a circumstance appropriate to speculate in the stock market for foreign currency Dinaramam strong, the same fault system for the disbursement of investment and interest on dollar deposits in the Central Bank of Iraq for the purpose of preventing the transfer of Iraqi funds to the dollar, and this measure of the survival rate Iraqi dinar exchange rate against the dollar any erratic raise the value of national currency (the dinar) through monetary support only, which in turn raised the cost of products from developing the national industry-based sources of imported raw materials or non-natural) and its inability to compete with imported goods and commodities, individual flood the local market of goods and services so bad, authorized such a policy would cause imports to increase, and if we know that the percentage of the adoption of the Iraqi economy needs to bridge the private and public more than 90% are aware of the impact of monetary and fiscal policy on imports of foreign goods to the consolidation of the risk of distortion and imbalance in the structure of the Iraqi economy ( the so-called Dutch disease.

5 The breakdown of oil revenues between investment and consumption and import:
_ neglected development strategy and economic policy guided by the criteria of sustainable development based on the ideal proportions in the distribution of revenues between public investment and private consumption and imports in the last five decades and for some of the reasons:
- The difficulty and complexity of the policy of balanced economic growth in the sectoral and geographical. Easy compared to the individual and the political decision to devote the operational spending policy.
- The primacy of political considerations into account in the early economic gains in the political quick to circle the broad masses of poor, through increased salaries and wages for low-income, in the absence of the possibility of an increase in purchasing power .- internal and external wars and their impact on the scattering of funds outside the scope of development.
- the lack of strategy and economic policy, even after a permanent constitution dependence on monetary policy and financial-based benefits of freedom achieved by the uncontrolled flow of various commodities of foreign trade, and the long wait for the flow of foreign capital, while ignoring the fact the role played by the accumulation of Ctattiyat (surplus) of foreign currency from the sale of crude oil Basarh the current high exchange rate to support the Iraqi decision and in advance, and rely on this policy, only to be able to convert the increase in imports.

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Shahristani: reserve discovered in Iraq, covering the need for 100 years

Said Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani said Iraq has reserves of about 400 geological installation has not been detected so far, indicating that the newly discovered reserves in Iraq, covering the need for 100 years.

He said al-Shahristani told a news briefing on Saturday during his visit to the city of Karbala, said this makes the wealth of Iraq has oil reserves of more than all the oil countries in the world.

He said if it was detected more sites of oil, the oil reserves will increase and Iraq will be in first place worldwide.

He noted that the quantity of oil discovered in Iraq, up to 115 billion barrels, indicating that the investment companies compete for oil investment in Iraq.

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British company planning to resume tours to Iraq

British resumed travel planning tourist trips to Iraq for the first time in more than 6 years.

The Sunday Telegraph newspaper said that four Britons had gone to Iraq next month.

She explained that those four Britons would not be a military force within the security Oomanmp as in the former, but part of the first group of Western tourists travel to Baghdad for six years.

Attached to the paper and realized in a large show of romantic sunset moment in Baghdad, away from the scenes of murder and destruction.

She said that Western tourists will spend two weeks traveling throughout Iraq in which a small bus takes them to 12 different locations in Baghdad, Basra and Babel.

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Training course on economic reform and economic policy

The Institute of Economic Policy in the Fund and the Institute for International Monetary Fund, under the program of joint regional training session in 2009 "financial programming and macro-economic policies"

Devoted to economic decision-makers in the Iraqi Abu Dhabi. An official source at the institute, said the course aims to deepen understanding of participants in the design of financial policies and the college and its implementation in light of the experience of the International Monetary Fund to monitor economic performance and the design of financial programs, and attended by 29 experts and officials, and will last for 12 days. The Director-General, Chairman of the Board, Jassem Al, in a speech opening the session, was delivered by the Director of the Economic Policy Institute Saud Albraikan that the theme of this session for the Iraqi cadres of the utmost importance to deepen the understanding of macroeconomic management.

He added that the second goal is to familiarize participants with the stabilization policies and structural reform in practice, within the framework of the preparation of an integrated program of financial and policy analysis of the effects of these selected balances internal and external growth objectives, operation and stability. The session focused on several axes, the President, including features basic calculations used in the various macro-economic analysis "of national income and balance of payments and the expense of public finances and the cash account," The interrelationship between these accounts and forecasting methods for each sector and diagnosis of macroeconomic performance and analysis of the effects of macroeconomic and structural policy variables such as GDP, prices, balance of payments and preparation of program policies the overall economy."

He explained that the session is to prepare a financial program, aimed at strengthening economic stability, and the intensification of structural reform on the economy, together with the study of macroeconomic policies, including fiscal, monetary, trade and exchange rate.

He pointed out that the economic stability on the improvement of the macroeconomic balance, both domestic and external, that "the balance of supply and demand in the economy", and balance the government budget and balance of the external sector. He emphasized that the correction on the structural changes in the economy, would raise the efficiency of resource allocation, increased efficiency and productivity for the purpose of increasing economic growth and prosperity.

He added that he would focus on the integration between the policies of macroeconomic stabilization and structural reforms and the importance of policy coordination for growth, adding that the course is rich in concepts, themes and practical applications, and is closely linked to the work of the Fund and its activities in the area of lending to the Member States, supported the programs stability and correction structural.

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To reduce public expenditure

As is well known for all the financing of the general budget of the country in these difficult times is a result of the decline in world oil prices and the adoption of the country largely on oil imports

Therefore, there were proposals to reduce the salaries of public sector employees on a temporary basis pending the rise in oil prices and the income of the State Ttenct again. Therefore, as an Iraqi citizen I would like to make some proposals, we hope that these suggestions will help the State to address the problem of low oil prices, without prejudice to the salaries of public sector employees.

First: Trchiq Iraqi government ministries to cover only about 20 ministries and thus the state budget has been eliminated from the salaries and allowances and privileges of the approximately 12 ministers in addition to the salaries of their assistants and the protection of knowing that the abolition or merging of some ministries would not affect the level of services provided, but will help the State in reduce the level of hidden unemployment.

This requires
- Integration of the Ministry of Transport and Communications Ministry to become the Ministry of Transport and Communications Ministry and the one dealing with the transport and communications sector.
Integration of the Ministry of Culture with the Ministry of State for Tourism and Antiquities to become the Ministry of Culture and Tourism Ministry and the one dealing with cultural affairs and tourism sector.
Integration of the Ministry of Health with the Ministry of Environment to become the Ministry of Health and the Environment Ministry and one dealing with health and environmental sector in the country.
The solution included the Ministry of National Security and its responsibilities to the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Defense.
Solution and the Ministry of State for the annexation of the provinces and their responsibilities to the Ministry of Municipalities and Public Works or an adviser or assistant head of the State Council of Ministers.
Solution and the Ministry of State for civil society and the formation of the Office of Civil Society Affairs is headed by a director general is linked to the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs.
Solution and the State Ministry for Women's Affairs and the formation of the Iraqi Women's Affairs Office is headed by a director general is linked to the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs.
Solution and the Ministry of State for Human Rights and the formation of the Office of the Iraqi Human Rights headed by a Director-General level is linked to the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs or the Ministry of Justice.
Solution and the Ministry of State for the Marsh and the formation of a national center for the rehabilitation of the Marsh is headed by a director general is linked to the Ministry of Agriculture or the Ministry of Water Resources.
Solution and the Ministry of State for Parliamentary Affairs and the Council of Ministers included the responsibilities of an adviser or assistant head of the State Council of Ministers or the Ministry of Justice.

Second: reduce the pensions of Members of Parliament and members of provincial assemblies and municipal councils from 80 percent to 50 percent of the last salary of the recipient. As is well known that the salaries of members of parliament and provincial assemblies are very high compared to the salaries of salaries of public sector employees and are a heavy burden on the state budget and if we take into account that the parliamentary work is the work of voluntary and that all the countries in the world would be allocated pension to a member of Parliament, therefore, reduce the pension of a member of Parliament or a member of the Provincial Council will contribute to reducing public expenditure.

Third: the inclusion of the staff of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, the law of the civil service only. As is well known that the employee of the Ministry of Higher Education currently receives salary and allowances in accordance with the Civil Service Act No. 22 of 2008 and Service Act No. 23 of the university in 2008 and this is causing great disparities between the salaries of the staff of the Ministry of Higher Education and the salaries of employees of ministries and the rest of the state, as the form of additional burdens on operational budget of the Ministry of Higher Education and therefore, the operational budget of the country as a whole. Therefore, this proposal will contribute to reducing public expenditure in addition to achieving equality in the salaries of the staff of the ministries of the State.

Note: There is no means a staff member of university professor, who is teaching the university but to the university employee who is the chief factor in the Ministry of Higher Education or one of its institutions who do not engage in university teaching.
Note: the proposal to adopt the second and third, it requires an amendment to the Law No. 23 service the university for the year 2008 and the law of the territory of the provinces, however, regular No. 21 of 2008

IV: activation of the functions of regulatory agencies in the State Financial Control Kdioan and the Public Integrity and the Office of the Inspector General to monitor the administrative and financial irregularities that cause most of the additional burdens of the state budget, the result of the application instructions. According to the instructions of the Ministry of Finance, the degree of a building be limited to the ministries, but we find in some government institutions that a group of staff and the result of an agreement among themselves to have been given this degree and received a salary and thus allocations and privileges are the expert.
And some staff were paid for the financial work extra hours when they are the official working hours only. Others are receiving allocations, while the dispatch of the travel be for the purpose of personal or at the expense of the host country.

V: Work slowly to the principle of self-financing of some government institutions that can depend on imports in the financing of part of the operational budget.
Departments such as nationality, passports and registration tax and real estate can benefit from the fees charged by the citizens in the financing of part of the operational budget.
As well as research centers and consulting offices of the Iraqi universities and colleges can contribute to the financing of part of the operational budget of the universities and colleges. These research centers and consulting offices are being paid was providing services to state institutions but the funds obtained will be shared among teachers who are paid much improved by the application of the Civil Service Act No. 22 of 2008 and Service Act No. 23 of the university in 2008.

VI: Application of the ministries and government institutions to prepare a plan to reduce public spending by reducing unnecessary expenditure, which does not affect the level of service provided does not affect the fundamental rights of the staff as a request to submit plans for any self-financing the preparation of plans of actions that will be taken to bear part of the operational budget .

The best example of this is also done by the three governing bodies to provide eight billion dollars from the operational budget.

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Central sales of the dollar rise to 75 million dollars

the U.S. dollar sales of the Central Bank in an auction for the sale and purchase of foreign currencies, on Monday, to reach 75 million versus $ 41 million and 315 thousand dollars the previous meeting.

The bulletin issued by the Central Bank and the Agency has received (Voices of Iraq) a copy of which was that "the total volume of demand for the dollar stood at 75 million dollars, a stable exchange rate was 1170 dinars per dollar."

The higher the figure the previous meeting, which recorded total volume of demand for the dollar stood at 41 million and 315 thousand dollars at the exchange rate was 1170 dinars per dollar.

The Bulletin that "the demand for the dollar is distributed by 11 million dollars in cash, covered by the bank at the exchange rate was 1176 dinars per dollar, including the central bank and a commission of six dinars per dollar."

According to the bulletin, "the value of remittances outside the country reached 64 million dollars, covered the central exchange rate was 1173 dinars, including the central bank and a commission of three dinars per dollar," did not make any of the 10 banks participating in the auction, offers to sell the dollar.

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Central cut the interest rate to 11% from March

The Central Bank of Iraq, on Monday, reducing the rate of the cash interest rate to 11% rather than 14%, with effect from the month of March in order to maintain growth rates in gross domestic product, which showed markedly grown, according to a statement of the centrifuges.

According to the statement received by the agency (Voices of Iraq) a copy of which was Monday, the central bank announced on "reducing the rate of interest rate monetary policy has adopted, which made 11% a year instead of 14%, with effect from 1/3/2009."

He pointed out that this is "based on the rules of economic stability and its mechanisms adopted by the monetary policy to stimulate activity in the credit level of support for real growth in the country," and to maintain growth rates in gross domestic product, which showed markedly grown, accompanied by a decrease in the actual levels of unemployment. "

The statement added that the downward trend, which signal the consumer price index evaluated in January 2009, "which scored the basis of inflation rate is 11.7%" and will reduce the interest rate monetary policy, "the adaptation of interest rates to the Central Bank of Iraq, according to the fall in interest rate annual. "

The Central Bank of Iraq has reduced the interest rate the beginning of November last to be 15% per year instead of 16%, and then returned to a decrease of 15% to 14% at the beginning of January last.

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