Al-Kazemi topples four prominent officials in the ports of Basra
Shafak News / A source in the Prime Minister revealed, on Wednesday, that Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi decided to fire four prominent officials in the southern Basra ports.
The source said to Shafaq News, that Al-Kazemi dismissed Hamid Hussain Ali, director of the Umm Qasr Al Shamali Center, Alaa Abdul Moneim Dawood, director of the Umm Qasr Al Janoubi Center, Abdul Jalil Subhi Jassem, director of the Umm Qasr Al Awsat Center, and Muayad Yassin Abdul Jabbar, director of the Basra Gate customs.
Al-Kazemi is expected to appoint replacements for the dismissed officials.
This decision comes within Al-Kazemi’s efforts to fulfill his pledges to fight corruption in state institutions and bring those involved to justice, as Iraq is among the most corrupt countries in the world over the past years.
The decision also comes hours after Al-Kazemi arrived in Basra with his government ministers and held a cabinet session there.
During his visit, Al-Kazemi toured the northern port of Umm Qasr, as part of an anti-corruption campaign at the border outlets, according to a statement of his office.
He directed the Prime Minister to “protect the customs sanctuary in ports by military forces and prevent any force or entity trying to enter it by force,” and directed “to reduce complex routine procedures and work to rotate employees to reduce corruption.”
Al-Kazimi vowed to be involved in corruption, saying, “Everyone is under surveillance, and we have information about the corrupt people in the ports that will be prosecuted.”