Iraqi's Dissatisfaction with Economy Hits Record High

By: Ali Rawaf

A survey conducted by Gallup Polls shows Iraqis have grown more dissatisfied with the economic conditions of the country.  Between January 2010 and early 2011, the number of Iraqis who think the economy is getting worse has significantly risen to 37 percent, up from 20 percent last year.

Survey results show more than half of Iraqis are dissatisfied with their standard of living. A third of the population struggles to pay for shelter. A UN report also shows that more than half of Iraqis live in slum conditions.

 Iraqis don't see an end in sight. Even though the country's revenue have increased, especially after the rise in oil prices and the increase in the Iraq's oil output, the government has failed to implement policies to incentivise the economy. The private sector remains weak and public sector jobs are mostly given to individuals with connections or party affiliations. 65 percent believe it is a bad time to get a job in cities where they live. 

The Iraqi political elite has failed to enact legislation to provide any form of stability to the economy. The country lacks law to protect the rights of private business and lacks any incentives for foreign entities to come in for investments. Building the infrastructure can provide people with many jobs. Reviving agriculture can provide jobs. Foreign companies can be invited to invest in the country and hire Iraqi people. These are few possible solutions. The political body can do much more to help the economy, if they put their differences aside and work on common interests of the Iraqi people.

Sources: Gallup
http://www.gallup.com/poll/149702/Economic-Negativity-Abounds-Iraq.aspx

Why Reach To Others When We Can Do Better?

It has filled the newspapers and many other media sources that Iraq has a budget surplus of $79 billion . It is logical that a country would give a surplus estimate after providing the general and basic life requirements for its people. As of today, Iraqis don’t have consecutive hours of electricity, drinking water for all the population, and unemployment had reached its highest levels.

Today, the head of the Municipality of Baghdad, Sabir Al-Esawey has reached to the Shura Council of Bahrain to tell its members, “the importance of the participation of Bahraini companies to win investment projects in the country.” He continued by asking Bahraini business men and government officials who work in the field of construction services to visit the capitol, Baghdad and see the projects that the city has proposed to be done in order to rebuild the city.

This has been the reputation of the Iraqi government; its officials have always reached to foreign countries and their companies to invest the country in the same time that Iraq has an 18-30% estimate rate of unemployment in June, 2008 (CIA World Fact Book). Countries like Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, and Saudi Arabia have been, for a long time investing in Iraq but no real results of their work have been seen on the Iraqi streets.

Not to mention that many Iraqi officials are corrupt enough to steal some of the money provided for construction project, contractors of foreign countries too end up stealing big portions of that money. As Ali Allawi, former finance minister stated for ABC News in 2006, "The current machinery of state doesn't have the control or reporting systems to allow for the kind of detailed cost controls and budgetary controls.” About $500 million were stolen from a one billion budget to equip the Iraqi army after the other half of the billion was spent on outdated military equipment. Examples of corruption of Iraqi officials and foreign companies can be endless to mention.

In order to ameliorate the Iraqi economy, the government must look into the Iraqi federal and the private sector to offer them those investment projects. That way, more jobs will be created for many of Iraqis, and more opportunities for establishments of new local companies.

Instead of wasting Iraq’s money, the government should start looking into pumping the surplus money to the Iraqi private sector, Iraq has a very well educated population and hard work is valued in its culture, Iraqis’ money should not be wasted on foreign entities.

Ali Rawaf