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Iraq: prime minister cancels licences for investment projects

April 22, 2021 at 9:29 am

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi in London, UK on 22 October 2020 [Dan Kitwood/Getty Images]

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi cancelled the licences for 1,128 investment projects on Wednesday due to their low completion rate, Anadolu has reported. Al-Kadhimi gave the order for the move during a visit to Iraq’s Investment Authority.

“All licences for projects with a completion rate of between 0 and 35 per cent and which have failed to meet deadlines have been cancelled,” said the prime minister’s office.

Al-Kadhimi took the opportunity to explain to investors that he will adhere to the provisions of Article 28 of the Investment Law which stipulates the sending of warning notices regarding unfinished projects. He directed the National Investment Commission to supervise and follow up the implementation of all such procedures.

Transparency and anti-corruption bodies believe that the low completion rate in these projects is down to years of financial corruption.

According to Transparency International’s 2020 Corruption Perceptions Index, Iraq is among the most corrupt countries in the world. Fighting corruption is the foremost demand raised by the popular protests which have been taking place in the country since October 2019.

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