Al-Jourani, of the Communist party, verified this. He knew that, “politicians and officials usually register companies in the names of their wives, cousins or relatives. But the politician takes a certain commission [when a contract is awarded],” al-Jourani explained. “Because they are not registered as owners of the original companies, they can still start another company up and carry on.”
Meanwhile some company owners are blaming the local government for their potential blacklisting. Many of them relied on the official funds that are supposed to be paid to them once they have completed 10 percent of any project. However they maintain, there is often a delay in payment that makes it impossible for them to carry the project through to the next stage.
Umran al-Mayyahi, the owner of one such company, said that he had lost millions of dinars because of the delay in regional budgeting. “And I couldn’t finish the building of a school because of the delay in payments,” al-Mayyahi complained. “Politics and partisan conflicts are the reasons behind failed projects.”
According to local legal expert al-Aberseem, the reasons for the surfeit of companies and for their blacklisting were many and varied. “And we cannot blame it all on Bremer’s laws,” he said. “The misuse of power has also played an important role in creating failed and corrupt businesses.”
The solution, he felt, was to address the situation on both a legal and political level. “Firstly, the legislation should be revised and secondly, the government should try and put an end to this kind of financial corruption.”
Al-Aberseem also pointed out the existence of another list of companies in Basra: a “grey list” rather than a black one. “This list has the names of many more companies responsible for a number of losses, and for the unfulfilled dreams of the local people. They should be held responsible and their names should be published and made known to the public,” the lawyer concluded.
(Source: Niqash)
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Shafaq News / The municipality of Basra revealed on Monday, signing investment contracts between the municipality and investment companies to build apartments and residential units in Basra, indicating that the contracts oblige the conducting parties to plant a green belt of trees around those complexes.
The director of Basra municipality, Abdul Zahra Mohammed Sewede said in an interview with "Shafaq News", that “two investment contracts have been signed between al-Saqer al-Jareh company for real estate investments and investor , Retha Saleh where the first contract includes building 1822 housing units that include 1468 apartments distributed on 84 different residential building. "
He pointed out that " adding a clause to the contract and that the investor must plant green belt separating the two pieces in a duration of implementation of the two projects up to 5 years from the date of delivering the property."
Basra is witnessing since the mid-nineties a housing crisis that has worsened greatly in the past few years as a result of high population growth and escalating immigration from other southern provinces, most notably the repercussions of house prices crisis and residential plots dramatically.
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