Abadi: Iraqi officials reject 'reform'

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi said on Monday that high-ranking state officials have rejected the cabinet’s decision to cut their salaries in an effort to reduce the disparities between the salary scales in government jobs.

In remarks at the First Conference of coexistence among young people, held in Baghdad, Abadi said that “the steps taken towards reform are rejected by state officials.”

He explained that officials in the parliament, the presidency and the government refused the government’s decision to cut their salaries and to include their homes in the programmed electricity cuts.

The Iraqi cabinet decided on 21 July to reduce by half the salaries of officials in the government, the presidency and the Iraqi parliament.

The government took such step in an endeavour to contain the popular resentment against poor services and corruption in the country and to reduce the wide gap between government salary structures.

Abadi said that the biggest waste of wealth comes from bad planning and absence of organisation in the implementation of projects.

Referring to officials, the prime minister spoke about the necessity of activating the “Where did you get this?” principle. “The Commission of Integrity should form special teams to investigate the source of funds,” he added.

Iraq is ranked among the most corrupt countries in the world by Transparency International. In the past few weeks, most of the country’s provinces have witnessed protests against poor services, especially the frequent power cuts.

Abadi warned in a televised speech on Saturday that the wave of popular protests taking place in various provinces are a “wake-up call” to the state. He instructed officials in his government to act quickly in order to meet the needs of citizens.

Iraq has been suffering from a financial crisis following the decline in oil prices in global markets and the increase of state expenditures, especially on the military. Hundreds of service-oriented projects have been halted, and the government declared its inability to pay about $7 billion debt owed to companies and contractors.

The suffering of ordinary Iraqis has only increased as a result of the recent heat wave that has hit the country, with the temperature exceeding 50 degrees Celsius in southern areas. Power outages have persisted for many hours both day and night.

Most of Iraq’s provinces are complaining of the decrease in the number of hours during which electricity is supplied, especially during periods of very high temperatures, which has pushed residents to organise protests demanding that local authorities and the federal government improve services.

Iraq has spent about $40 billion over the past 12 years on electricity, but the provinces are still supplied with electricity at a rate of only 12 hours a day.