A corrupt political class has led a 13-year pillage on public money in the pursuit of power. As oil prices fall, further jeopardising the country’s revenues, there is little hope that governance will improve.
Iraq’s anti-corruption chief sat in his office, waving his hands in exasperation. “There is no solution,” he said. “Everybody is corrupt, from the top of society to the bottom. Everyone. Including me.”
Coming at the start of a conversation about Iraq’s ailing governance, and what was being done to turn things around, Mishan al-Jabouri’s admission was jarring. “At least I am honest about it,” he shrugged. “I was offered $5m by someone to stop investigating him. I took it, and continued prosecuting him anyway.”
Jabouri heads one of two anti-graft agencies tasked with protecting public monies in post-war Iraq. Both have more work than they can ever hope to deal with – even if they wanted to.
Now, with plunging oil prices leaving Iraq’s revenues in more jeopardy than at any time since the US invasion, attention is shifting to what the custodians of public funds have done over more than a decade with tens of billions of dollars that could otherwise be a buffer from such a budget shock.
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WNU Editor: The Iraqi government .... and one can say Iraq society itself .... are completely dependent on oil revenues. With prices now at a fraction of what it use to be .... I can easily see a free-for-all occurring ..... and soon. My hat goes off to Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani who understands how dangerous this is .... but when it comes to money and/or listening to the senior cleric saying not to do it .... money wins most of the time.
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