US report: The quota system Washington established is the root of corruption in Iraq
Information / A report by the American newspaper The Hill confirmed on Saturday that the most debilitating problems of the Iraqi economic situation that hinder the transition of the Iraqi state towards democracy are the established sectarianism and the kleptocratic political system that wastes the necessary resources for the country.
The report, which was translated by the information agency, stated that “corruption is the central issue facing any Iraqi government, and Iraqis denounced the inefficiency and ambiguity of government institutions run by the elite. There were demands for jobs and a broad movement that rejected the status quo.”
He added, “After nearly two decades of turbulent transformation from dictatorship to ambitious democracy, governance remains weak due to endemic financial blackmail despite the enormous oil wealth that can benefit all citizens. The Iraqi state has been designed primarily to launder revenue Oil through an inflated public sector for political parties on the basis of patronage while avoiding any form of real accountability.
He continued that “the spread of the epidemic and the drop in oil prices have caused new pressures on the Iraqi state and revealed the erosion of public institutions, such as medical colleges and hospitals, which is an inevitable by-product of lost revenue. Hospitals and private clinics have overwhelmed the scale of the crisis, the lack of medical treatment supplies and even personal protective equipment for thousands of doctors, nurses and other employees.
He explained that “the inevitable decline in revenues made it impossible for the government to support the remainder of its safety net, and any austerity would ignite anger, given that about half of the Iraqi budget goes to state salaries and pensions, which increases public distrust in institutions Country”.
And “The power-sharing system is the most intractable obstacle. The root of corruption lies in quotas, which was adopted in 2003, prioritizing the interests of parties over technocratic competence. This has led to a political culture that divides government authority among party members who have the authority to appoint around 800 civil service jobs across ministries during cabinet negotiations. ” And with each election, each party used its ministries to employ more and more members and followers. This has expanded the state-dominated payroll, and the payroll has swelled from 850,000 employees in 2004 to more than seven million employees in 2016. ”
The report pointed out that “dismantling kleptocratic networks will require more efforts. Iraq needs a paradigm shift and the realization that these problems are not just structural but also cultural. There must also be a strong spread of the media with convincing data to clarify the scale of corruption and its negative impact and build an enabling environment for change. Ended / 25 z