Thread: Iraq/Dinar News. 09/05 to 01/14/07

Baghdad mayor says more than one thousand billion Iraqi dinars spent on projects in 2006

Saturday, December 30th 2006
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Baghdad Mayor Dr. Sabir Al-Isawi has declared that this year the Baghdad mayoralty signed and referred projects worth more than a thousand billion Iraqi dinars (ID).

Isawi said: "The mayoralty has set a plan for the upcoming next years that includes projects that are worth 1,000,181,000,000 ID: 180 billion will be provided by Ministry of Planning allocations, 600 billion by Bagdad Council and the rest will be provided by Iraqi budget reserves."

The Mayor added that the projects include expanding potable water Djilas project in addition to building three water tanks and other projects such as remanufacturing wastes and stations to collect garbage in Rusafa and Karkh.

Next year will witness the establishment of 15 recreation grounds such as Zawara Park, according to Isawi.

Vol XXIX NO. 286 Sunday 31st December 2006

Iran vows $1bn Iraq loan

TEHRAN: Iran is set to loan $1 billion to Iraq for reconstruction of the war-torn country, the official news agency Irna reported yesterday. "The Islamic republic will give Iraq a $1bn loan for reconstruction of this country," Economy Minister Davoud Danesh Jafari was quoted as saying by the economy ministry's public relations department.

"The Iraqi side has committed to using Iranian contractors and experts for the infrastructure projects that will be defined through co-ordination with Iran," Jafari said, without giving details on the conditions of the loan.

Iran has signed an agreement with a visiting delegation headed by Iraq's Finance Minister Bayan Baqer Jabr Al Zubaidi to this end.

"We are very happy to have signed this agreement only a few days after submission of the budget bill to the Iraqi parliament," Al Zubaidi was quoted as saying.

The loan would be allocated for construction and completion of power plants, roads, hospitals and schools, the Iraqi minister said.

Iran and Iraq fought a war between 1980 and 1988 but ties have warmed considerably since the fall of Saddam Hussein, with Tehran becoming one of the closest allies of the Shi'ite-dominated government in Baghdad.

Iraq's $20bn reconstruction process has been hampered by violence, corruption and bureaucratic red tape, with nearly $9bn going unaccounted for, according to US federal agency monitoring the work.

Earlier this year, Stuart Bowen, the special inspector-general for Iraq's reconstruction, was quoted as saying the money was missing because of almost "non-existent oversight" by the Coalition Provisional Authority.

The entity governed Iraq in the aftermath of the March 2003 invasion.

Voices of Iraq: Baghdad-Newspapers
Posted by: nadioshka on Sunday, December 31, 2006 - 11:54 AM

Baghdad-Newspapers
Baghdad without newspapers this week
By Adel Fakher and Hamed al-Hamarani
Baghdad, Dec 31, (VOI) – Newspapers disappeared from news stands in Baghdad for the second day running on Sunday and the Iraqi capital looked set to remain without papers until next week.
Officials at the Iraqi dailies Al-Siyadah, al-Bayyina al-Jadida, al-Manar al-Yom and al-Mada told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI) their newspapers would reappear on Sunday next week, citing this week’s Moslem Eid al-Adha holiday and the Army Day on Saturday.
An editor at the official Al-Sabah daily said the newspaper would reappear on Saturday.
Dozens of newspapers sprang in Iraq after the downfall of the former regime in April 2003 along with magazines and television channels.

Baghdad-Newspapers :: Aswat al Iraq :: Aswat al Iraq

سكانهاPlanning Minister confirms the arrival of oil Enactment of the final stages of the distribution of proceeds to the governorates according to the number of residents

.The government allocated a sum of (10) billion dollars from the budget next year for the implementation of investment projects in the provinces and territories to promote the development by provinces, which suffer from insecurity and deterioration of services and widespread unemployment. This was announced by the Minister of Planning and Development Cooperation on Papan through his workshop held by the ministry said the presence of a number of representatives of ministries and provinces and companies to discuss ways and formulas to expedite the process of the implementation of investment projects and curriculum development of the Territories, noting that the security situation will improve only the return of the national economy to its usual through the implementation of investment projects and services in the provinces. And many of the ministries of the State failed to implement the Platform of investment projects for only a very modest achievement rates reached 10% of the overall achievement of the project until the end of the year, aggravating that this matter can not be ignored and that the ministry is determined to solve this problem, to reduce rampant unemployment and raise the standard of living of the citizens and provide services. He explained Papan that there are numerous reasons formed entirety obstacles to the implementation of projects investment the most important of the deterioration of the security situation and stoppage of the production process and deficiencies in the State organs and administrative and financial corruption which struck the State and disrupted her efforts and everybody confront him, in addition to widespread unemployment and administrative matters including the instructions the Ministry of Finance and the granting of allocations in times of late in the year and other reasons, affirming that the ministry would put the plans and proposals appropriate, after discussion with the ministries and State departments involved, governorates and the relevant authorities and sent to the government to resolve all the problems and obstacles that impede the implementation of those projects for the advancement of the national economy. He added that the ministry prepared a new mechanism for the implementation of investment projects, the development of the Territories in a timely manner, he said, pointing out that the implementation of these projects will help a great extent on the improvement in the security situation through the creation of employment opportunities for the unemployed to combat unemployment and improve the standard of services and raising the standard of living of the individual to achieve their welfare as it is between the minister that the Energy Commission in the Council of Ministers and arrived in the final stages of legislation oil law, which provides for distribution of oil proceeds to the governorates according to number of residents, conveying that the enactment of this law will help boost oil and the distribution of ITS IMPORTS to citizens, in addition to the unification of the people and the preservation of wondrous.

Translated version of http://www.wifaq.com/

Voices of Iraq: Saddam-Ramadi
Posted by: nadioshka on Sunday, December 31, 2006 - 01:11 PM

Saddam-Ramadi
Ramadi residents protest against Saddam’s execution, call for revenge
Falluja, Dec 31, (VOI) – Hundreds of Iraqis took to the streets in the restive western city of Ramadi on Sunday to protest against the execution of former president Saddam Hussein with some calling for revenge, witnesses said.
About 400 people carrying pictures of Saddam and Iraqi flags marched from the Sofiya district in eastern Ramadi, the witnesses told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).
Some carried placards offering condolences while others denounced the government for carrying out the death sentence on the Moslem Eid al-Adha (Bairam), they added.
The protest lasted one and half hours and ended about noon, with demonstrators calling for revenge.
Saddam was hanged at dawn on Saturday after he was convicted of killing 148 people following an attempt on is life in the village of Dujail in 1982.

Saddam-Ramadi :: Aswat al Iraq :: Aswat al Iraq

The dollar exchange rate is stabile for the first time in two months
31/12/2006
Source: Translated by IRAQdirectory.com

The dollar exchange rate stabilized against the Iraqi dinar at the conclusion of the Iraqi Central Bank sessions last Thursday for the past week, recording 1325 dinar, which is the same exchange rate last Wednesday, for the first time in more than two months.

The demand for the dollar recorded a slight fallback, hitting six million and 665 thousand dollars against seven million and 300 thousand dollars last Wednesday.
The purchase orders distributed between five million and 925 thousand dollars in cash and 730 thousand dollars in the form of remittances to abroad; the bank fully covered them at an exchange rate amounted to 1325 dinar.
On their part, the six banks participating in the auction made offers to sell the dollar hit 730 thousand dollars bought by the bank in full at an exchange rate reached 1323 dinar.

The economic and industrial expert, Abdul Razzaq Sadiq Al-Abayachi, described in a statement the stability of the exchange rate as a positive indication that will allow the market to restore its health and mend the damages caused by the daily and frequent drop of the exchange rates which caused transactions to lose credibility. Are they talking about the decline of the dollar rate? I don't recall any recent declines in the dinar rate--why would a decline of the dollar rate cause the transactions (auctions) to loose credibility?
Al-Abayachi pointed out that the long holiday the auction will have for more than a week because of Eid Al-Adha, will allow much of the smooth circulation, without risks of the decline of the currency, and the settlement of a number of trade deals.

http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=2859

An Iraqi tendency to extend the contracts of communications companies for security reasons
31/12/2006
Source: Translated by IRAQdirectory.com

It has been known that the supervisory body for organizing mobile communications in Iraq tends to extend the contracts of three mobile companies in Iraq: mtc, Al-Watnia for communications and Orascom Telecom for an indefinite period because of the difficult security conditions in Iraq now.

A well-informed source pointed out that this tendency comes after the Iraqi Communications Body extended, mid this year, the contracts of the current operating companies for six months, the brochure of the new contracts will be put for discussion among international companies for four licenses operate in Iraq without regard for the current geographical aspect which divided Iraq into three geographical regions, each is specified for a company to work within. But the worsening security conditions in various governorates makes it difficult to put new licenses to investors; consequently, it is better to extend the contracts of the current companies in Iraq pending an improvement in the security situation there.

The source reported that the Iraqi Communications Body dose not to have any radical comments on the work of the current mobile companies, especially after opening the borders of the three networks among the Iraqi regions and the participation of the companies in developing the infrastructure of the communications sector in Iraq, particularly in the area of networking, services, equipment, as well as gaining public clients and developing the technical systems, and these steps are praised by the Iraqi Communications Body being the governmental observer over the operating companies.

According to the source, the extension for an indefinite period can give the operating companies in Iraq an opportunity to establish its presence in the work and gain more customers, pointing out that the number of mobile subscribers in Iraq now amounts to four million, and could reach about 11 million subscribers by the year 2010, which indicates that the feasibility of investment in the communications sector in Iraqi is higher than any telecommunications market, taking into account that the current companies are still in the process of delivering the basic services and has many other services that can be presented successively in Iraq.

http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=2861

Medications trade in the streets of Baghdad aggravate day after day
31/12/2006
Source: Translated by IRAQdirectory.com

Various types of medications are sold Openly, now, on the streets of Baghdad. It is a kind of trade that draws its sustenance from the citizen's health. Citizens who despaired of finding certain treatments turn to the street hoping to find them, especially those with chronic diseases.

Dr. Mustafa Ali, internal diseases specialist, said that "The sale of various medications on the streets and sidewalks in this form is a serious problem. The control agencies in the Ministry of Health ought to pay attention and control it because of its negative effects on social life".

He added: "The government must curb this phenomenon, which began to aggravate day after day; through following-up the leakage of medicines".
He pointed out that "The control agencies in the Ministry of Health must subject private medicine stores and non-governmental pharmacies to strict laws and punish the traders in these medicines".

The Ministry of Health had issued an order to shut down and withdraw the license of any pharmacy or private medicine store that import medicines without an import license from the Ministry of Health.
Dr. Mustafa Ali added: "one of the reasons behind the emergence of the sale of medicines on the pavements and the high price of rare medicines is the inadequate treatments supplied to governmental hospitals".

He said that "this encouraged the private sector to import these medications, especially narcotic drugs which are usually used in surgical operations, which lead to the destruction of the lives of thousands of young people and lead to the deviation of many of them to various crimes".

Meanwhile, a source at the Ministry of Health, who requested anonymity, said that "the ministry has a plan to fight this trade but administrative corruption in some health institutions stands in the way of this plan".

He pointed out that "most vendors on the pavement obtain medicines through making agreements with staff of pharmacies in governmental hospitals".

In the same context, Ahmad Mohammad Dawoud, a pharmacy owner, was concerned about the weak control procedures imposed by Iraqi government on Iraq's borders, which was exploited by the some to bring large stockpiles of types of medicines that are not subjected to control and scrutiny".

He added that "medicine dealers try to buy cheap treatments, which may contain infectious viruses in order to reap maximum profits at the expense of the citizens' health".

Dawoud pointed out that to "the fact that large part of the medicines sold on the pavements are leaked from government institutions by some employees of the Health".

Abu Hamza, one of the medicines vendors on the pavement at Shorja Market, said:" I deal with a group of governmental pharmacies staffs who supply me with different medicines at reasonable prices".

He added: "I obtain part of these medicines from some governmental medicine stores, also".

On the nature of dealing with the uses of these medicines, he said: "the pharmacist who supplies me with these medicines tells me how to use each type of them".
On his part, the citizen, Qassim Hassan, said he buys medicines from public streets because" "they are not found in governmental hospitals and pharmacies," explaining that "his need for these medicines forces him to buy them from there".

He added: "Some governmental hospitals themselves ask the citizens to buy medicines from public places because they ran out of them, like anesthetics and arteries coloring treatments needed by specialists in heart operations".

http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=2860

Excellent Article!! Talks about the budget in terms of TRILLIONS of dinar...looks like they'll have to release everything they took out and print some more...or reval!!!

Iraqi Minister of Planning: The budget does not meet the aspirations of development
31/12/2006
Source: Translated by IRAQdirectory.com

The Minister of Planning and Development Cooperation, Ali Ghalib Baban, said in a press conference that the annual allocations proposed for the 2007 budget amounted to 12 trillion and 565 billion dinar (10 billion dollars).

The proportion of the deficit in the new budget amounted to 10 trillion dinar, but "it is more a theoretical deficit than realistic because the State has some cash reserves in the Development Fund for Iraq", expressing his dissatisfaction with the budget, which "is not up to the ministry's ambitions" at the level of development.

He pointed out that three trillion dinar were allocated for projects of the Ministry of Oil (69.23% of the total allocations) and is aimed at rehabilitating the oil sector and enabling it to increase its capacity to produce and export, while the allocations of the Ministry of Electricity were about one trillion and 745 billion dinar (78.13% of the total) allocated for projects to improve and develop the networks of generating and transmitting electric power in which Iraq suffers from a big shortage.

He revealed the allocation of 430 billion dinar to the Ministry of Health, 425 billion to the Ministry of Municipalities and Public Works, 422 billion to the Ministry of Construction and Housing, and 336 billion to the Ministry of Education. He also referred to the allocation of 259 billion dinar for rehabilitating existing schools and building new ones (2.05% of the total allocations), while the Regions Development Project received a considerable support reached to two trillion and 602 billion dinar.

Baban said that there were a number of considerations that have imposed themselves in this budget, like the very high expenditures allocated for security and defense, estimated at 10 trillion dinar, and the high costs posed by the ration card insurance, estimated at about three trillion dinar.

http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=2858

The above price represent reference rate and does not from any commitment on the Central Bank of Iraq

Remember this line from cbi folks, i think this is why i suspect those forex sites know what's going on, or at least have an idea