KRG's 9th cabinet puts party first and neglects the people

Kurdistan 06:11 PM - 2022-12-12

KRG's 9th cabinet puts party first and neglects the people

Parliamentarians who represent the people are concerned about the poor governance of the Kurdistan Region and say that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) ignored serving the people while implementing the party's agenda. The KRG's promises to serve the people in this cabinet have remained unaltered and unimplemented.

Bafel Jalal Talabani, President of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), said in his latest interview with the Iraq Oil Report: "But what do you want the government for?" What is the purpose of a government? It's to serve the people; it looks after its population; it's to look after its old people, its martyr families, its students, its religious figures, its mosques, etc. And when the government doesn't do that, you have to ask yourself very serious questions, like why is the government not doing that? "And what benefit is there to such a government?"

The KRG only speaks; it does not take any action

This cabinet bypassed the parliament for major initiatives and carried out a party's wishes.

Yasin Khazir, a Gorran faction representative in the Kurdistan Parliament, told PUKMEDIA that "This government has never satisfied the needs and expectations of the people. The government has words but no action."

He also stated:
"Every area of governance has been a failure." "If we take the ministries of education, health, municipalities, natural resources, electricity, and justice as examples, you can see how much the government has failed and how unsatisfied the people are with us." 

Moreover,  "The government itself does not aim to execute reforms for the people... the budget bill was originally passed in the parliament, but in this cabinet, the parliament has never been heard, while I have requested to bring the budget bill into every legislative session."

The government has taken no stance

In the Kurdistan Region, the government enforces the party's agenda while preventing the parliament from carrying out its responsibilities.
 
Ismail Ali Taha, a representative of the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU) faction in the Kurdistan Parliament, told PUKMEDIA: "We have said dozens of times that the KRG doesn't meet the requirements of citizens and has no stance when it comes to providing services."

He stated: "Reforms are just talked about in the media and are not actual reforms." For instance, the Kurdistan Region has a lot of oil that it even exports, but despite this, its inhabitants pay approximately 300,000 dinars (about $200) per barrel, which is referred to as a bad monopoly policy.”

Furthermore, the government "has failed to meet the people's aspirations and serve the public in all sectors." he added.

Not only does it not serve a purpose, but the government is also laundering money

To sensationalize the historical killings that took place in Kurdistan, the government has a contract with a nonexistent organization.

Karwan Gaznay, a PUK party representative in the Kurdistan Parliament, told PUKMEDIA:
"The corruption of the administration has reached a level where it is laundering and stealing money even in the name of national causes."
 
The three years this cabinet has been in office have demonstrated that the expectations of the public and the parties have not been met by the government.

 
 
Translated from Kurdish and edited by Hiran Halwan, Additional editing by Zareena Younis
PUKMEDIA