Iraqi Kurdistan and rely on the oil rentier economy

10-04-15

When I met in 2005, Mr. Prime Minister of the Kurdistan region of Iraq, and there was talk of economic and social development proposed can not promise him a working paper on the theme of development the region has committed itself to do so.

It has been examined with a friend Fadil Dr. Jafar counting rich and I have prepared a draft for this purpose and then we met together in Berlin and completed a working paper on the general and basic development lines region and the Federal State, as projects are supposed to be held by the region and the other by the federal government and the coordination and integration between them. The working paper provided free of charge. And while I have not received any answer from the arrival inquired answer came after six months received Yes and no where until Thanksgiving.

After years and while talking about the development with a senior official in the Kurdistan Democratic Party pointed out that they received the paper but they are working the other point of a certain sense it is useful to them. We have certainty to me that the majority of politicians influential region in the KDP and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, if I did not say all of them, and perhaps in other parties also, that development for them are limited to the extraction and export of crude oil and the use of resources in the import and in construction projects, city beautification, real estate and away from manufacturing or modernization of agriculture or development of traditional small craft industries Region. The Telmust this directly through correspondence or meetings with some officials, and the form in front of them are the United Arab Emirates is not.

We have emphasized in the paper we worked on the Iraq experience does not allow relying on oil income alone, since the oil is subject to many factors, and in particular in our political state and regional factors, although the oil rentier economy makes the country exposed on the outside and are manipulated his future and the lives of generations, though It is the duty of the Federal Government and the Government of the Territory is to go towards national development, towards diversifying the composition of the national income and channeling financial oil resources towards industrialization and modernization of agriculture and development sources, any building material base currency of comprehensive development and the provision of Investment Enterprises Hardware & Operating productive and get rid of the burden of open and disguised unemployment.

The manufacturing and development of the agricultural sector valid basis provides, and through the coordination and integration with the federal development plan, to increase the national income and maximizing national wealth and provide economic security, not food alone and take advantage of the region capabilities including available from primary ores and land suitable for agriculture and groundwater or eyes and rivers and rain. If the successive governments in the region have been since the formation of the unity government (formal) in the 2005/2006 year has not committed to paper Ajia but the actual point of development, not reconstruction, combined with corruption and mismanagement ... etc., what happened the region, as well as Iraq in general, such as in This sorry state where they left off construction projects and scarce investment and increased unemployment and worsened liquidity and the number of the needy.

In one of the few in my lectures Salahaddin University in Arbil put forward ideas about the reality of the Kurdish economy and the need to change the approach and to refrain from dumping of imported and devote tendency consumption and extravagance, and orientation towards development and manufacturing. Economics professors have supported me at the university, without exception, but kick me from a political party is supposed to be aware of these issues Anaakecna not it better to import cheaper goods rather than produce expensive goods. I was forced to put my vision of this ancient set and how it sought opponents industrialization in developing countries to convince our people that the consequences of this trend in terms of the survival of the rentier economy and drain our money and our oil and the worsening of unemployment, poverty and underdevelopment, in addition to what arises from the reality of the rentier economy from growing mental tyranny in governance and dominate the community.

The industrial and agricultural development does not help to change the rent structure of the economy alone and diversify sources of income and employment and maximize the national wealth and the face of the economic and food security, but also contribute to changing the structure of society class toward growth and the growing number of members of the working class and the bourgeoisie national in industry and agriculture, two Alraftan Alflitan with intellectuals of the community civil, democratic governance and removal of the role of clans and mental peasant or feudal sovereignty in the community, it is the way for civil society, democratic, modern and awareness of the importance and the necessity of the rule of the principles of freedom and human rights and the peaceful transfer of constitutional and democratic authority and the separation of powers and the separation of religion from the state and governance.

What suffers from the Kurdistan region, it suffers from the whole of Iraq, which is linked to the ruling elites that do not learn until now that the people are the source of authority and that this people need to be productive development and services and to work and live in dignity and freedom and the life of a constitutional democracy. They need to educate or leave the stage for others.

Professor Kazem Habib / for civilized dialogue

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