|
Corruption rampant in oil-rich Kurdistan
3.7.2009
By Reese Erlich in Sulaimaniyah |
|
|
July
3, 2009
SULAIMANIYAH,
Kurdistan region 'Iraq', — Oil companies are
cautiously gearing up to tap Kurdistan's massive oil
fields. But they could hit some roadblocks from the
country's high-level corruption, which is
commonplace. Reese Erlich reports
Kai Ryssdal:
Later this month Iraq's northern region of Kurdistan
is going to hold parliamentary and presidential
elections. The Kurds have been largely independent
since the Iraqi Army was basically forced to
withdraw after the 1991 Gulf War. The region sits on
billions of dollars worth of oil and natural gas. So
there's keen interest in who wins those elections.
But Reese Erlich reports from the city of
Sulaimaniyah in Kurdistan that not everything seems
to be on the up and up.
|
Kurdistan's massive oil fields |
REESE ERLICH: For centuries, they
fought off outside powers. Now finally,www.ekurd.net
they are running their
own affairs in Northern Iraq. But critics of the
autonomous regional government say corruption is
rife; the ruling parties are ripping off hundreds of
millions of dollars from a system intended to
provide legitimate political funding. I asked
Kurdistan Democratic Party leader Mohammad Qadir how
much his party gets from the government.
MOHAMMAD QADIR:
I don't know. I'm not in charge of financial matters
in the KDP.
So I asked Fuad Hussein, chief of staff to
Kurdistan's President Massoud Barzani.
FUAD HUSSEIN: I
don't know. Ask the parliament.
But the information isn't exactly secret. Opposition
leader Mohammad Tofiq read it in an investigative
newspaper a few weeks ago.
MOHAMMAD TOFIQ:
The speaker of the parliament confirmed that it's
true KDP and PUK each receive $35 million.
That's $35 million a month. The Kurdish government
gives the parties $840 million in subsidies every
year. Tofiq says the money is used to build fancy
homes for party bigwigs. It also pays for the
parties' employees, TV stations, newspapers, private
militias, and even their own security services.
Tofiq: To
maintain control, they interfere in the market; they
interfere in the companies; they interfere in
contracts.
Asos Hardi
 ,
who heads an independent newspaper company, says
party officials also make big profits from
government contracting. He says they frequently
insist private companies take on a sham partner who
puts up no money but receives half the profits from
government contracts.
ASOS HARDI: If
you are not ready to do that, you will not get that
project. Or you will get it,www.ekurd.net
but they will make
problems for you, and you can not finish it. And you
will lose money; maybe you will be bankrupt.
The president's Chief of Staff Fuad Hussein admits
corruption is a problem in Kurdistan, where the vast
majority of the population is Kurdish and where
bonds of friendship and clan have always meant a
lot. He says change won't come quickly here or in
any other part of Iraq.
HUSSEIN:
Corruption in Iraq was part of the culture. When
there are wars, of course, you try to survive. Any
ethics will disappear. To fight the corruption is
not so easy.
The Kurdish government has asked the International
Monetary Fund and an American accounting firm to
help curb corruption by implementing stricter
controls and electronic record keeping. The
opposition Change List hopes to win parliamentary
seats based on its anti-corruption platform. But
analysts here say the two major parties seem likely
to maintain control.
In Sulaimaniyah,www.ekurd.net
Kurdistan, Iraq, I'm
Reese Erlich for Marketplace.
Copyright, respective author or news agency,
publicradio org
Top |
Kurd Net
does not take credit for and is not responsible for the content of news
information on this page
|
®