Thread: Archive News - Iraqi Dinar Think Tank - 08/09/09 - 09/01/10

Presidential Republic of changing the election date from the sixth to the seventh of next March

The Electoral Commission said on Tuesday that the Presidency of the Republic requested to identify the seventh day, instead of the sixth of March next year's official date for parliamentary elections to come.

The Office of the Spokesman for the denominator bonded to Kurdistan News Agency (AKnews) that "the Presidency of the Republic requested by telephone by Naseer al-Ani, head of the presidency switch on election day of the sixth to the seventh of the same month."

He pointed out that "changing the election date, which came shortly after we left the Presidency without knowing the reasons."

The Presidency of the Republic have been identified in earlier during a meeting with a delegation of the Electoral Commission for the sixth of March in 2010 as a deadline and officially for the next parliamentary elections.

http://translate.googleusercontent.c...h6sUbQozPBvPtA

Dollar sales slightly up on Wednesday

The Central Bank of Iraq’s (CBI) dollar sales went up slightly to $155.251 million in its daily auction on Wednesday, compared to $154.285 million during the previous session.

“The demand hit $10.470 million in cash and $144.781 million in foreign transfers outside the country, covered at an exchange rate of 1,173 Iraqi dinars per dollar,” according to a CBI news bulletin received by Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

None of the 16 banks that participated in today’s session offered to sell dollars.

http://en.aswataliraq.info/?p=123224

Japanese delegation in Basra to negotiate projects

A Japanese economic delegation has arrived in Basra to discuss the mechanism for conducting projects for the Southern Cement Company, according to a local official.
“The delegation included representatives of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Japanese embassy in Baghdad,” the director of the company, Mahdi Salem, told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

The delegates also discussed a project to establish an electricity station and another to renovate a production line at the cement company, Salem added.

http://en.aswataliraq.info/?p=123244

Presidential Board OKs Electoral Law

The Iraqi Presidential Board (PB) has approved the amendment to the election law no. 16 of the year 2005, a presidential statement said on Wednesday.

During an emergency session convened 10 minutes before a midnight deadline on Sunday (Dec. 6), Iraqi parliamentarians approved the first amendment to the country’s election law, increasing the number of seats to 325 in next year’s election.

The vote followed intensive talks with political bloc leaders and meetings with the U.S. ambassador in Baghdad, Christopher Hill, and United Nations officials.

Political bloc heads were seeking solutions to the controversial electoral law in an attempt to appease all parties.

On Nov. 23, the Iraqi Parliament voted in favor of two proposals that had been submitted by political bloc leaders.

The first proposal stipulates that voters outside Iraq should be able to vote for candidates in their own provinces, as if they were still at home.

The second states that populations in Iraqi provinces, which act as constituencies, should be based on food ration data from 2005, when the last polls were held. An increase rate of 2.8 percent per year will be added.

Efforts by the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) to hold the election on January 18 were hampered after Sunni Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi had vetoed the law, ordering it back to the Parliament.

http://en.aswataliraq.info/?p=123235

Bolani: The problem in Iraq is political, not security

Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani he wants a parliamentary questioning public to reveal the realities of the security situation to the Iraqis.

Polanyi noted in a press statement received by the independent press (Iba) copy to the origin of the problem in Iraq's political, not security, rejecting accusations hacked Baathists formations and his ministry.

He strongly denied that his ministry had imported Israeli weapons, adding that the Interior Ministry had informed the Baghdad operations command responsible for the security of the capital, the existence of information on the implementation of new explosions near, and the internal balance for next year, ranging between 4 and 5 billion dollars.

Bolani said, that the repercussions of the bloody attacks that hit Baghdad that the assumed security responsibility for Baghdad Operations Command, which grants the commander of the armed forces Nuri al-Maliki, commander, Lieutenant General Abboud Qanbar wide powers to act are broader than those enjoyed by the Ministers of Interior and Defense.

He explained that the intelligence agency and the Interior Ministry had told the Baghdad command information on the terrorists to blow up the ripening of selected areas of the capital, where swift action was taken and spread of the forces ..

"But the problem in such cases, the perpetrators of the suicide bombers who are not facing the security forces and have targeted innocent civilians."

On the invitation of the House to question him tomorrow with Prime Minister General Commander of the Armed Forces, Nouri al-Maliki and Defense Minister Abdul-Qader al-Obeidi's interior minister said he believes the role of parliament and is ready to attend to him, because he wanted to be a public hearing seen it all Iraqis and the media to be able to which illustrate all aspects of the security situation and the disclosure of all facts relating to it and the terrorist operations carried out against citizens.

He added that he was ready for confrontation and clarification and open all the files in front of the people "and our desire to be definite in all things clear to citizens in a difficult and complex internal face of external threats."

Asked about his position on the accusations made by Congress on the security services of default and breach by the Baathists over Bolani regretted that the statements of some deputies off from political posturing for electoral purposes at the expense of the blood of innocent Iraqis at a time when the situation requires to circumvent security and cooperation.

Bolani stressed on the fact that the current security "is saved the country from civil war and sectarian violence ravaging Iraq was strongly between 2005 and 2007, when Baghdad was the scene of destruction and war and fire and darkness enveloped the capital, fear and horror as she watches now until the late hours of the night."

http://www.ipairaq.com/index.php?nam...itics&id=18528

Iraq's Shaky Economy Poses Threat To Future

The United States has often proclaimed that a major goal of its efforts in Iraq is to bring about a "free and prosperous" country. But Iraq's economy remains mired in a pattern that is not much different from that of the Saddam Hussein regime.

Most salary-paying jobs in Iraq come from the government, rather than the private sector, and government revenues are overwhelmingly dependent on oil. Iraqi entrepreneurs say red tape and corruption make it difficult to start a private business.

An American economist says that is an unsustainable situation that is driving Iraq's economy to the brink of collapse.

On a recent Monday morning, the trading floor of the Iraqi stock exchange is packed with men watching the progress of their shares on widescreen TVs.

The director of the exchange, Taha Abdul-Salam, is proud of his operation. It remains small, with slightly more than 70 companies traded on volume worth about $2 million a day.

But that is a big leap from the first session in 2004, when about $150,000 changed hands and prices were scrawled on the board by hand.

Abdul-Salam wants to keep up that growth, but he has a problem: It is difficult to bring new businesses onto the exchange because very few are being formed. He says one major problem is unclear and unnecessarily complex regulation.

"How can you invite people to invest in your country? By preparing them very clear regulation," he says.

The process of setting up a business in Iraq requires 11 procedures, at 11 different ministries, says Frank Gunter, a professor of economics at Lehigh University. On average, Gunter says, it takes 77 days and costs about $2,800 in fees alone — and that assumes you have good legal advice.

Gunter studied Iraq's business climate as the senior civilian economic adviser to the U.S. military in Iraq from 2008 to 2009. He cites a recent study by the World Bank that measures the cost and ease of starting a business in 183 countries. Iraq scored close to the bottom, at 153.

Gunter argues that support for private business is a national security issue for Iraq. The Iraqi government now provides jobs, either directly or indirectly, for about 50 percent of the workforce. That was at least temporarily affordable when high oil prices fattened Iraq's revenues.

Now, with prices down, Gunter says the situation will get worse because each year, about 250,000 young Iraqis enter the job market.

"If they don't find jobs, then these young Iraqis, mostly men, mostly young, mostly uneducated, become a recruiting pool for the criminal gangs, for the insurgency, the militias that work for the religious and political groups," he says.

Gunter says Iraq's business climate contributes to its other major problem: corruption.

In a recent survey by Transparency International, Iraq ranked fifth from the bottom, making it one of the most corrupt countries in the world.

"Because the regulatory environment is so hostile, it forces businesses to be corrupt to survive. Some of the survey data we did in Iraq shows that many small businesses pay 20 or 40 percent of all their costs in bribes," he says.

Gunter says a step in the right direction would be for Iraq to adopt a commercial code more like those of Saudi Arabia or Kuwait, which rank in the top one-third of business-friendly countries.

Iraq's planning minister, Ali Baban, says he is not ready to accept Gunter's diagnosis that Iraq's economy is on the brink of collapse, but he admits the situation is dire.

Baban says unless the government hurries to support the productive sectors — industry and agriculture — it will be in a situation that "no one will envy."

Gunter says he is not without hope. His time in Iraq has taught him respect for the country's entrepreneurial tradition.

"I argue that anybody who can survive as a small businessman in the underground economy in Baghdad is the ultimate entrepreneur," he says.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...ryId=121216589

Minister of trade: need for WTO aid to Iraq in the sectors of technical & training

Minister of Commerce Agency Safa net debt "to Iraq that developing countries need technical assistance, training and aid for trade and development of skills related to trade and the infrastructure that is needed to benefit from WTO agreements and expand trade."

A statement from the Media Office at the Ministry received by the independent press (Iba) a copy of it on Wednesday quoted the minister as saying during his attendance at the seventh ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO) held in Geneva for the period from 30/11 until 2/12/2009 "Iraq strides rapidly towards the implementation of economic reform for the transfer of the Iraqi market from a centralized totalitarian to a free market economy through the creation of the prospect of free trade and encourage investments and achieve high growth rates since obtaining observer status in the WTO in 2004. "

He said the net: "The reconstruction of political and democratic systems were established in the country through the adoption of the permanent constitution, which laid the legal foundation for the new democratic political system in Iraq, guaranteeing human rights and underlines the modern economic system of free Iraq that can work effectively and positively with the international community and national levels."

It is noteworthy that Iraq is gearing up for the third round of negotiations for joining the organization to put forward a working paper on the various sectors, including transportation, legislation, laws and services, energy and other sectors where the accession and full membership requires time and convinced members of the World Trade Organization.

http://www.ipairaq.com/index.php?nam...onomy&id=18516

U.S. embassy in Baghdad: financial & administrative corruption is a major challenge in Iraq

The U.S. embassy in Baghdad, "the administrative and financial corruption is still a major challenge in Iraq, but that the steps taken by the Government to eliminate this problem recently, will raise awareness of the programs to combat corruption among Iraqi citizens," according to a statement.

And the transfer of the statement received by the independent press (Iba) a copy of it in the words of her spokesman, Philip Frayne, "The U.S. government will support efforts to strengthen accountability and democracy in Iraq following the steps that achieved by the Iraqi authorities on strengthening anti-corruption institutions."

"The Integrity Commission have made significant strides in the detection of unqualified staff working within the public sector in order to obtain statements and financial statements of senior government officials and will contribute significantly to enhancing public confidence in the public sector."

The statement that "Iraq was carried out during the year 2009 awareness campaign to combat bribery and providing hotline which led to a significant increase in the number of cases reported to law enforcement authorities."

The statement said that "judges and journalists practiced capabilities and new freedoms in the face of real threats to their personal safety in many cases, in order to hold those responsible in the courts and the Iraqi media."

The Commission on Public Integrity also increased the number of cases investigated and sent to the investigating judges to investigate in detail in more than 300 cases last year to nearly 1000 case expected by the end of the year.

http://www.ipairaq.com/index.php?nam...onomy&id=18493

U.S. embassy in Baghdad: financial & administrative corruption is a major challenge in Iraq

The U.S. embassy in Baghdad, "the administrative and financial corruption is still a major challenge in Iraq, but that the steps taken by the Government to eliminate this problem recently, will raise awareness of the programs to combat corruption among Iraqi citizens," according to a statement.

And the transfer of the statement received by the independent press (Iba) a copy of it in the words of her spokesman, Philip Frayne, "The U.S. government will support efforts to strengthen accountability and democracy in Iraq following the steps that achieved by the Iraqi authorities on strengthening anti-corruption institutions."

"The Integrity Commission have made significant strides in the detection of unqualified staff working within the public sector in order to obtain statements and financial statements of senior government officials and will contribute significantly to enhancing public confidence in the public sector."

The statement that "Iraq was carried out during the year 2009 awareness campaign to combat bribery and providing hotline which led to a significant increase in the number of cases reported to law enforcement authorities."

The statement said that "judges and journalists practiced capabilities and new freedoms in the face of real threats to their personal safety in many cases, in order to hold those responsible in the courts and the Iraqi media."

The Commission on Public Integrity also increased the number of cases investigated and sent to the investigating judges to investigate in detail in more than 300 cases last year to nearly 1000 case expected by the end of the year.

http://www.ipairaq.com/index.php?nam...onomy&id=18493

Maliki warns Baghdad strained relations with Washington

Nuri al-Maliki has threatened the United States that this relationship will be affected negatively and undermine the basis upon which in the event of a conference sponsored by the Baathists in Washington.

Mr Maliki unveiled in a statement to the National Center for information about a news that the United States under the auspices of the Conference of the Baathists in Washington, the end of next February to bring them back to the political process, explaining that if ratified by the news of the United States sponsored a conference of the Baathists is a violation of the Convention and the context of the work, as they inevitably accuse of being side thought a racist is no less dangerous to the rule, as it is contrary to the Convention (to withdraw troops from Iraq, or strategic framework agreement), it will notify the American position if you like having this conference to have a negative impact in the relationship and undermine the basis on which it was founded.

Al-Maliki added that investigators have the responsibility of Baathist cells allied with al Qaeda, but against her on some of the bombings and the Baath ideology and organization of constitutionally prohibited because it thought workbook racist and accused of terrorism and murder

http://radionawa.com/ar/NewsDetailN....774&LinkID=109