Are You Part of the Solution?
Over the past week, Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has declared that he will take a 50% cut in salary, and will not stand for a third term of office; the general consensus is that this is an attempt to head off any possible popular uprising against his rule. As we pointed out last week, […]
Iraqi Cabinet Ramps Up Spending as Oil Prices Rise
Iraq's government submitted a revised draft budget to MPs for approval on Sunday, raising projected public spending as oil prices have increased, government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said. The new spending programme estimates overall expenditure at $81.86 billion, or 96.6 trillion Iraqi dinars, while income will be $68.56 billion, leaving a shortfall of $13.3 billion-- about […]
Licences to Build $1.9 Billion Houses in Najaf
The Najaf Investment Commission approved 17 investment licences to build a total of 19,000 houses in Najaf at a cost of $1.9 billion, according to the chairman of the commission, Wafi al-Bahash. Aswat al-Iraq reports that the Commission has recently approved more than 125 licenses in all fields, including 17 to Iraqi and foreign companies […]
Construction Starts on $135m Hospital in Diwaniya
AKnews reports that an Australian company has started construction on a new 400-bed hospital in Qadisiya. The five-story hospital, costing about $135 million, will be built on an area of 6,648 square meters by the Australian Construction Company (ACA) over a period of 33 months in the provincial capital, Diwaniyah. The hospital is divided into […]
Potato Crop Down 8% in 2010
A spokesman for Iraq's Planning Ministry has blamed neighbouring countries for the decline in the country's potato crop. Iraq harvested 200,000 tons of potatos in 2010, compared to 223,000 tons in 2009 - a drop of almost 8%, Abdul-Zahra al-Hindawai told AKnews. He related the decline to the drop in the level of rivers flowing […]
Iraq Demands $114m Refund of Jordanian Oil Credit
Asim Jihad, a spokesman for the Iraqi Oil Ministry, said the Iraqi government has demanded Jordan pay back a credit of $114m for purchasing Iraqi crude oil during 2003-6, adding Jordan has demanded to increase Iraqi crude oil import to 30,000 barrels per day (bpd). According to the report from AKnews, during the period from […]
ManTech Wins $488m Vehicle Contract
ManTech International said on Monday that it won a $488 million, 11-month, contract from the U.S. Army's TACOM Contracting Center to continue providing logistics sustainment and support for the U.S. military's MRAP Family of Vehicles. The company will manage, monitor and sustain equipment operational readiness for MRAP FoVs. In addition, it will provide rapid assessment […]
Iraqi Banks Urged to Merge
Abdul Hussein Al-Anbuge, an Iraqi government economic adviser, has urged the country's private lenders to merge in order to strengthen their capital and provide stronger support to the banking sector, AK News has reported. The total capital of Iraqi private banks rose from $30m in 2004 to $1.6bn now, not including what is owned by […]
Iraq to Recruit 285,000 This Year
The head of the finance parliamentary committee has said that the Iraqi government will recruit 285,000 people to the public sector this year. Haidar Abadi told AKnews that they would start filling the jobs following the finalisation of the budget, which he expected by mid February. Some 115,000 recruits are from 2010 applicants, Abbadi added. […]
Iraqi Import Tariffs Rise Sharply from March
AFP reports that Iraq will sharply raise tariffs in March in the first major reform of its customs regime since the US led coalition that ousted Saddam Hussein slashed duties. The new tariffs were detailed in 794 page document published by the Iraqi finance ministry's public commission of customs and will come in to effect […]
Citizens Demand Lower Salaries ... for Politicians
Aswat al-Iraq reports that citizens from Baghdad have called on public representatives to take salary cuts, as Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has done, to show their good will towards the poor. This comes as parliament prepares the federal budget draft law of 2011. As unrest sweeps the Middle East, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said […]
Marine Corps Officer Jailed for Iraq Fraud
A U.S. Marine captain who last year pleaded guilty to skimming nearly $1.7 million from government contracts in Iraq was sentenced to six years in federal prison on Monday. Eric Schmidt, aged 40, of the First Marine Division, pleaded guilty in May to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and filing a false tax return with […]