Parliamentary Economy: $ 20 billion value of the grant aid given to Iraq


2015/12/30

BAGHDAD / Noor Ali
Announced for the economic and investment commission in Parliament, on Tuesday, that the value of grants and aid obtained by Iraq so far amounted to $ 20 billion since 2004. As confirmed that the state lacks transparency and equitable distribution among the provinces, called experts economy to take advantage of the state of austerity adoption of Government the real resources instead of external borrowing.
She said a member of the economic and investment commission parliamentary Najiba Najib, in an interview for the "long", that "the value of the grants and aid obtained by Iraq from 2004 to 2015 amounted to $ 20 billion from a number of donor countries, either loans obtained from some countries include conditions and benefits be given a specific time duration, and the State to pay these loans in accordance with the conditions set. "
"The Japanese loan to Iraq amounted to $ 5 billion has been allocated for development projects, provided that the donor state oversees these projects according to priorities set by the Ministry of Planning, Ksaanh hospitals and the Ministry of Health as well as the Baiji refinery, and other projects, as well as the Italian loan, which was a few benefits and in accordance with the Terms specify the projects to be covered with a follow-up to exchange money directly. "
Najib noted that "the IMF loans, the World Bank estimated at $ 7 billion since 2007, some of them to support investment projects and others to cover previous budgets and subsequent deficits."
It showed that "Iraq lacks legislation of the Federal Revenue Authority Act and the government were not serious legitimizes over the previous years, and in accordance with Article 106 of the Constitution, which stipulates the need to establish a body with transparency and justice in the distribution represented by loans and grants foreign state resources, and internal and include the collection of money from taxes and various fees in accordance with the principle of equality in the distribution, emphasizing the lack of transparency and fairness in the distribution of grants and loans between the different provinces. "
She noted that "grants, loans and aid as well as oil revenue should fall within the Federal Revenue Authority Act, but the state lacks the strategic planning process in the distribution of the money is to establish a special system puts the urgent needs first."
And it increased by saying that "the loans obtained by Iraq in 2015 is just to cover the fiscal deficit in the budget, because of a lack of revenue and increased expenses, so the government is in dire need of these loans at this time."
And Finance Minister Hoshyar Zebari on Monday (28 / December / 2015), that Iraq has revived a plan to sell bonds in the budget of two billion dollars in 2016, as pointed out that liberalization of Ramadi, the Iraqi government will strengthen the position and facilitates the confidence of international institutions.
Zebari said in an interview with "Reuters" seen by "long" that "the budget in 2016 allows the government to sell bonds two billion dollars if lacked sources of funding for the targeted spending project," adding that "the government hopes to conclude a better deal if you decide to resort to the bond market in 2016 with Armed Forces achieve victories on Daash and continuous support of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to the government's financial center. "
Zebari said that "the confidence of international institutions in the country will facilitate the issuance of sovereign bonds process", believing that "the liberalization of gray will strengthen our position."
And it was suspended bond sale plan, the first of its kind offered by the Iraqi government in the international market, for about ten years, in October as investors demanded a yield of 11 percent.
Iraq in 2006 and sold bonds worth $ 2.7 billion worth in 2028, and received on Iraq -B rating agency Fitch Ratings in August.
Oil prices have fallen to less than half in the last eighteen months, which is what the government trimmed crude sales, which make up 95 percent of it in income.
In turn, the economic expert, Mohammed Abdul Latif Al-Ani said in an interview for the "long", that "Iraq received large sums of money through foreign loans and from several countries to help in the construction of infrastructure facilities and the rehabilitation of the affected institutions after 2003".
He added: "Unfortunately, the successive governments did not invest the money properly in accordance with the economic plans, but most of them went in corruption and embezzlement of large without the presence of final accounts for it."
He said al-Ani said "donor countries give money according to reports reaching them by the government and determined by the Ministry of Planning and include the necessary and the ruling sectors and are mostly service and economic."
And that "Iraq is passing through a severe financial crisis due to low continuous oil prices as the reason for the lack of financial resources for it so he veered to borrow from several points of the most important IMF, which impose unfair conditions in return for giving the government a loan not only fills only 2% of the deficit budget for 2016".
Ani said, "and stressed the process of austerity characterized by the adoption of the government on the real resources without approval of the budget of the fake does not fit with the reality of the country's economic, so foreign loans are considered new burdens on future generations even though it does not represent a solution to the large budget deficit."
The Parliamentary Finance Committee confirmed, in the April 30, 2015, they are passed to the government borrowing to fill the budget deficit and meet the essential needs in light of the state of war with "terrorism". And as pointed out that Iraq will receive a value of three billion and 400 million dollars from the International Monetary Fund and World Bank loans, it revealed a tendency to privatize the stalled government projects are viewing investment.
The World Bank has revealed, in the April 29, 2015, about his quest to finance development projects in the areas of restored Iraqi forces from militants (Daash), it returned to economic growth as an important part of the political solution to the problems "have plagued the region."

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