Corruption allegations
The recent fast economical development also brought corruption allegations against the Kurdish authorities. Critics against corruption were one of the main reasons for the recent protests in the Region. According Haider Mustafa Said from KRG BoI: "The corruption index of Transparency International for 2010 puts Iraq on the fourth place among the most corrupted countries in the world and Kurdistan Region is not exempt from this negative picture existing in the whole the Middle East. Corruption in Kurdistan is not more than a quarter of the Iraqi corruption".
However, Mr. Said underlines the efforts made by KRG to improve the situation. The BoI has contract with PriceWaterhouseCoopers, one of the world’s leading financial and accounting consultancy firms, to monitor and evaluate the government procedures and operations and to fight against corruption. The Kurdish Parliament has also Integrity committee to monitor the corruption and the misuse of funds. The KRG Council of Ministers has recently endorsed a draft law establishing a Transparency Commission to stop corruption and promote good governance, and has introduced a Code of Conduct for public servants.
Youths are priority
The good governance is also matter of education of the young generations. In 1991 there was only one university in the Kurdistan Region – Salahaddin. Today there are 7 universities, as well as many private institutes and colleges. The American University of Iraq - Sulaimani and the British Royal University are among the prestigious foreign educational institutions in Kurdistan. Kurdistan region has very young population with more than 50 % under 20 years old and the investment in the education is one of the priorities according the government. The KRG has launched a $100 million Human Capacity Development Program, which provides scholarships for students to study Master’s and doctoral degrees at renowned international universities.
The growing number of young university graduates and the lack of regulation of the labour market is also a reason for social tensions in the modern Kurdish society. The university students were among the most active demonstrators in Suleymania at the end of February 2011. This young generation born in the post-1990s era have been brought up without having to learn Arabic history or language. They have witnessed the process of political, social and economical construction of the Kurdistan Region. They have grown up with the Kurdish flag on every administration building or public place. They have also experienced the arrival of the globalisation in Kurdistan - the big shopping centres, the modern attraction parks, the opening to the world. This young generation knows the burden of the past, but it could also bring a new fresh vision of the future development in Kurdistan Region. Perhaps precisely this new young generation will help the young Kurdish democracy to achieve its maturity?
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