Iraq cuts ministries to reduce corruption

AUGUST 17, 2015 : AFP
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Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi ordered an immediate
reduction in the number of ministers on Sunday to 22 from 33,
as part of a sweeping campaign to reduce corruption and
mismanagement affecting the highest reaches of government.
The announcement came as Abadi made preliminary moves
toward arresting top officials – including former prime minister
Nuri al-Maliki – accountable for military disasters in the cities of
Mosul and Ramadi, which have been seized by the Islamic State
(IS) group.
Abadi rolled out a reform programme a week ago in response to
popular pressure from weeks of protests against corruption and
poor services, and to a call for drastic change from Iraq’s top
Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.
Parliament approved Abadi’s plan along with additional
measures two days later, but a major gap remains between
announcements and implementation.
Abadi moved to eliminate the three deputy prime minister
positions as well as the minister of human rights, ministries of
state for women’s affairs and provincial affairs, and another
minister of state.
The ministry of science and technology will combine with the
ministry of higher education and scientific research. The
ministries of health and environment will merge. The
municipalities ministry will combine with the ministry of
construction and housing. The ministry of tourism and
antiquities will merge with the culture ministry.
Amid a major heatwave that has seen temperatures top 50
degrees Celsius (120 degrees Fahrenheit), protesters have railed
against the poor quality of services, especially power outages
that leave just a few hours of government-supplied electricity
per day.
Thousands of people have turned out in Baghdad and cities in
the Shiite south to vent their anger and pressure the authorities
to make changes.

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