Corruption the growth industry of new Iraq

[Denarius]

Corruption the growth industry of new Iraq

Over lunch on a sultry Baghdad day, Iraqi businessman Mohammed Jawad talked camels and corruption.
"Iraq is like a camel," he said. "If it is healthy, no one can kill it. But when it is sick on the ground, the camel dies by a thousand knives." The knives are wielded by corrupt ministers and their cronies - tribal and family - who force contractors to inflate tender bids for contracts worth billions so they can gouge millions for themselves.

The new Iraq receives foreign aid worth close to $US100 billion ($A126 billion) and the corruption watchdog Transparency International says it could become "the biggest corruption scandal in history".

Jawad taps into the economy at various levels - he's an engineer and builder, he supplies government departments and he represents foreign companies. He said: "After I went to the Transport Ministry with a proposal for flights to Iraq from Scandinavia, I had a call from the minister's cousin to say that there would be no deal unless I paid a bribe of $US500,000."

Transparency International's Global Corruption Report 2005 criticises international donor countries in Iraq, of which the US is the biggest, as a dismal example of an absence of transparency and accounting that leads to great waste and fraud.

...."But Jawad, a Shiite with no brief for his former leader, said: "I'd say that about 10 per cent of business was corrupt under Saddam. Now it's about 95 per cent. We used to have one Saddam, now we have 25 of them."
"When asked to give their views on the birth of the new Iraq, the probability is high that Iraqis will refer not only to the widespread looting by 'Ali Babas' but to the looting by
Iraq's new democratic leaders."

http://www.theage.com.au/news/Iraq/Corruption-the-growth-industry-of-new-Iraq/2005/05/01/1114886247810.html?oneclick=true

[Denarius]

By: Muhammed Abdul Jabbar-al-sabbah

Despite that public polls say that maintaining security is the key task for Ja'ferri's government, rebuilding state and authority and achieving reconstruction drive on right bases require combating corruption that causes many waste in money allocated and lead to abortion to construction drive.Let us talk on the story from the beginning; Iraq is suffering of high percent corruption and part of it was inherited from the past regime as huge part was clear currently.It is clear in many images, like presenting routine applications in official departments which need bribes to achieve them.Some of civil service posts are offered for sale likewise contracts dealt by state companies. During the governing Council era many government posts were offered according to family relatives, groups or party links rather than quality and other conditions.An Arab businessman described status quo in Iraq commenting that every thing in Iraq is impossible, yet it is possible since you can pay.So, reconstruction and political build up can not be achieved as long as corruption controls the country. It is necessary to build up the country to combat corruption which is as dangerous as terrorism.The government is the key role of facing up corruption following making sure that it has not infiltrated in its departments as Abdul Kareem al-Inizi stressed that it is one of the government's conditions is its capability.One of its conditions is its capability of confronting corruption by enforcing the Integrity Commission's role and keeping it aside off government's control so as to maintain its independence.


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Combating corruption in Iraq is a key factor in relation to value of the IQD

Why? because it is a big factor that is relative to how foreign world investors view Iraq, and the IQD's progressment to a hard currency (traded currency)

"A 'Hard currency' one in which investors have confidence, such as that of an economically and politically stable country."

Jake