However there’s also no doubt that cancelling the system outright as proposed last week, would have lead to further problems. Various reports from as far back as 2004 have concluded that scrapping the ration card system would lead to lower living standards in Iraq in general. There are a large number of food-insecure individuals in Iraq – early estimates range from between 11 and 16 percent of the population – and analysts have suggested that that number could double or even triple should the ration card system be scrapped.
So for the time being, the Iraqi government, having rescinded its earlier decision to get rid of the system altogether, has decided that citizens may now have a choice – choose the ration card which allegedly supplies around IQD12,000 worth of goods or a cash payout of IQD15,000 per month.
Of course there are no guarantees that the cash will be used by the needy to buy the food they need and there’s obviously still plenty of room for social welfare fraud and for corruption. Only one thing seems certain when it comes to the ration card: with elections coming up in Iraq soon – they’re planned for early 2013 - it also seems highly unlikely there will be any further major “improvements” made to the ration card system in the near future.
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