Summary of article:
The World Bank is giving Iraq a $500m loan for reconstruction which will presumably be used to provide the country with the water and electricity that they never did manage to install. The US is obligated to fund the reconstruction of Iraq under international law and has been accused of witholding the funds pledged. Halliburton, the biggest corporation for reconstruction in Iraq, has also been accused of over $1billion fraud and Paul Wolfowitz, the president of the World Bank has been accused of giving exclusive reconstruction contracts to Halliburton without seeking bids from any other potential contractors.
By Guardian Unlimited
Republished from Guardian Unlimited
Iraq to get loan for reconstruction
The World Bank agreed today to lend $500m (£285.2m) to Iraq for reconstruction – its first loan to the country since 1973 – as aid donors to the devastated country met in Jordan.
The soft loan for infrastructure projects was announced as donors urged Iraq to provide a list of its most urgent rebuilding projects in an attempt to speed reconstruction.
Staffan Demistura, the UN secretary general’s deputy special representative in Iraq, told the Reuters news agency that the international community wanted a “clear idea” from Iraq of its priorities.
“The next six months are critical. We aim at concrete, immediate impact. Donors will be more receptive if they hear that Iraqis have come up with top priorities and they are doable and concrete,” he said.
Donors gathered as Iraq experienced some of its worst violence in months. Over the weekend, more than 100 people were killed in the latest wave of suicide bombings. Given the worsening security situation, donors are unlikely to heed calls from Baghdad to set up offices in Iraq. “The future of Iraq rests in the balance. What the future holds depends on how we act at this critical time,” Iraq’s planning minister, Barham Salih, told the meeting.
It could not “be business as usual like the way we have been operating,” he said, a reference to alleged corruption and mismanagement.
Today’s conference, organised by Canada, the UN and the World Bank, is a follow-up to meetings in Madrid and Tokyo over the last two years that resulted in aid pledges of around $33bn. But only a small amount of the money pledged – $1bn – has been spent amid concerns over corruption and security.
The chief economist at Iraq’s central bank, Mudhir Salih Kasim, said basic services, such as water and electricity, are in their worst state in decades. Iraq has the world’s second largest oil reserves, but its infrastructure and living standards have been decimated by UN sanctions from 1990-2003 and three wars in the past 25 years.
Iraq presented the conference with an updated version of the projects it hopes to finance in a document called the national development strategy, an overview of the most pressing needs.
“The conference will accelerate the flow of funds from the donors and make sure that the commitments they have made in Madrid are kept,” the country’s finance minister, Ali Allawi, told Reuters.
The World Bank is giving Iraq a $500m loan for reconstruction which will presumably be used to provide the country with the water and electricity that they never did manage to install. The US is obligated to fund the reconstruction of Iraq under international law and has been accused of witholding the funds pledged. Halliburton, the biggest corporation for reconstruction in Iraq, has also been accused of over $1billion fraud and Paul Wolfowitz, the president of the World Bank has been accused of giving exclusive reconstruction contracts to Halliburton without seeking bids from any other potential contractors.
By Guardian Unlimited
Republished from Guardian Unlimited
Iraq to get loan for reconstruction
The World Bank agreed today to lend $500m (£285.2m) to Iraq for reconstruction – its first loan to the country since 1973 – as aid donors to the devastated country met in Jordan.
The soft loan for infrastructure projects was announced as donors urged Iraq to provide a list of its most urgent rebuilding projects in an attempt to speed reconstruction.
Staffan Demistura, the UN secretary general’s deputy special representative in Iraq, told the Reuters news agency that the international community wanted a “clear idea” from Iraq of its priorities.
“The next six months are critical. We aim at concrete, immediate impact. Donors will be more receptive if they hear that Iraqis have come up with top priorities and they are doable and concrete,” he said.
Donors gathered as Iraq experienced some of its worst violence in months. Over the weekend, more than 100 people were killed in the latest wave of suicide bombings. Given the worsening security situation, donors are unlikely to heed calls from Baghdad to set up offices in Iraq. “The future of Iraq rests in the balance. What the future holds depends on how we act at this critical time,” Iraq’s planning minister, Barham Salih, told the meeting.
It could not “be business as usual like the way we have been operating,” he said, a reference to alleged corruption and mismanagement.
Today’s conference, organised by Canada, the UN and the World Bank, is a follow-up to meetings in Madrid and Tokyo over the last two years that resulted in aid pledges of around $33bn. But only a small amount of the money pledged – $1bn – has been spent amid concerns over corruption and security.
The chief economist at Iraq’s central bank, Mudhir Salih Kasim, said basic services, such as water and electricity, are in their worst state in decades. Iraq has the world’s second largest oil reserves, but its infrastructure and living standards have been decimated by UN sanctions from 1990-2003 and three wars in the past 25 years.
Iraq presented the conference with an updated version of the projects it hopes to finance in a document called the national development strategy, an overview of the most pressing needs.
“The conference will accelerate the flow of funds from the donors and make sure that the commitments they have made in Madrid are kept,” the country’s finance minister, Ali Allawi, told Reuters.
