WORLD> Middle East
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WORLD> Middle East
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Iraqis have money but lack know-how in spending it
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-10-25 12:00 The postwar Iraqi government inherited an old-fashioned, paper-based system. Violence also has taken its toll, with insurgents frequently targeting government employees.
Wearing a black skirt and sequined headscarf, Nasser said she has worked with feasibility studies for nine years but never really knew how to do them. "We didn't have clear guidelines or methods ... because of the gap between Iraq and the international community," she said. Instead, the orders generally came from above and needed only to be implemented. Prices also were fixed under Saddam, aiding cost estimates. "It was easier before the war. It was more stable," she said. "The decision tree actually probably applies more in Iraq now because there are so many different variables here." Sattar Hussein, a 42-year-old instructor for Tatweer, which means development in Arabic, said the key is training Iraqis in how to choose the best projects. "They have the money, but they don't understand how to invest the money to help the people," the Fallujah native said during a class break for coffee and cookies. "The idea is to prepare these people for the future because they will be the decision-makers." The Finance Ministry has been preparing to present a $79 billion budget for 2009, with $19.2 billion of that for reconstruction. That would be a record sum after this year's $70 billion budget, including $10.1 billion for reconstruction. Those figures could be whittled down because of falling oil prices, which have plunged from a summertime high of $150 a barrel to less than $70 this week. Next year's spending plan was based on oil prices remaining above $80. Wall, the US Embassy's economics transition chief, said the Iraqis could feel the hit but predicted their surplus will protect them. "There is a cushion, but it's not going to be as large as many expected," he said Wednesday during an interview in his office, a former kitchen in Saddam's Republican Palace. Critics say it's time for the US to force the Iraqi government to step up its own spending. "If you look at the capacity of the Iraqi government, I think basically it's really the question of will, not capacity," said Lawrence J. Korb, a military analyst at the liberal Center for American Progress. "Right now they can sit back ... and not make the hard choices. We do it for them." Korb said the government has ignored a pool of experienced bureaucrats because they had belonged to Saddam's ousted Baath Party. He also noted Iraqis spend heavily on operating expenses such as government salaries instead of reconstruction. "The percentage going to current operating expenses is going up every year as opposed to making the people's lives better in the future," he said. |
