Iraq's corruption continues unchecked
Corruption involving public contracts has become prevalent in Iraq since 2003 and is difficult to stop because government officials are benefitting from it.
BAGHDAD — An Iraqi contractor who works on road pavement and sewage projects in the Iraqi capital told Al-Monitor, “Government officials as well as senior contractors related to them have stakes in most, if not all, of Iraq’s construction projects, which are sold to executing contractors at a price that guarantees their implementation with the minimum level of specifications and at the lowest cost.” Speaking on condition of anonymity, he said, “This revelation is not a secret. It is a fact that the people, government officials and the media continuously talk about.” The contractor's assertion was supported by a statement issued by Baghdad province Jan. 19, reporting that 42 people had been referred to the Commission on Public Integrity for corrupt practices involving projects in Baghdad.
Bahaa al-Shammari, a civil engineer who has worked on several reconstruction projects, told Al-Monitor, “It's not just about financial corruption, but administrative corruption and circumvention of the law as well. Officials are resorting to their relatives and friends by registering companies in their names for form’s sake when these companies do not have skilled technicians or mechanisms. With the help of officials, [the companies] sign a contract to rebuild a school, for example, and they carry out the projects either by selling it to another contractor or by recruiting workers and developing mechanisms. This ultimately leads to failed projects.”
In Mahawil city, north of Babylon, a contractor with limited resources was paving a street. He told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, “[I] only got a street pavement contract after hard efforts and after [I] had to offer employees and officials several gifts. I will do my best to do a good job, but the problem is the lack of allocated money.”
Makki Hassan, a member of the municipal council in the western Hamzah area, 30 kilometers (18 miles) south of Babylon, told Al-Monitor, “The money allocated for projects is sufficient in most cases. But passing the money through intermediaries and chain contractors reduces effective spending on the project to no more than 20% of the original amount.”
