Home > Iraqi
We Have Found 2 Products for your search of Iraqi.
Displaying Items 1 - 2:
Major Growth in Rebuilding Iraq
by Robert Hoffman
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has built the majority of its large projects, said Ambassador Joseph Saloom, director of the Iraq Reconstruction Management Office.
"It is a shift away from us building large things ... to more working to build their capacity to do things for themselves," Saloom said.
All but 15 percent of the $13.4 billion Iraq Relief and Reconstruction fund has been spent, and that will drop by another five percent by the end of the year, he said.
Saloom said the new focus is on Iraqi "budget execution," or getting the Iraqi government to spend the money it allocates on the projects it designates.
Last year, the Iraqi government implemented only 40 percent of its capital budget, he said.
"They seem to be able to spend money on salaries and so forth, but when it comes to actually channeling their considerable resources to actually build things for the population, that is an area where they need our help and where we are concentrating our assistance," Saloom said.
The United States is helping with both immediate technical assistance and longer-term training, he added.
The Iraqi government has passed its budget and already has distributed 10 percent of those funds to the provinces, he said.
Iraq is endowed in natural resources and he said newly passed legislation should help attract private investors to the region.
Saloom's office coordinates overall U.S. government efforts to promote reconstruction and economic growth in Iraq. He also manages the funds appropriated by Congress for supporting economic and democratic development and reconstruction in the country.
On any given day, the Gulf Region Division of the Corps of Engineers is working on about 1,100 projects.
In the region to date, 976 of 1,045 planned school projects are complete, 154 border forts have been built, 92 of 97 planned fire stations are finished, and 93 of 102 planned railroad station renovation projects are complete.
The Corps of Engineers hired about 30,000 Iraqis to work the construction projects.
The United States has contributed almost $22 billion toward rebuilding Iraq as of 2007. The World Bank estimated that the total cost of rebuilding the country could end up being as much as $80 billion. This is a very conservative estimate.
The Iraqi dinar has seen an increase of almost 174% since the pre war level. The Central Bank of Iraq controls the program rate of the Iraq dinar and has steadily moved up over the past five years.
Iraq and the Iraqi dinar have a lot of work ahead of them but rebuilding is steady and investment is coming into the country.
About the Author
Robert Hoffman is the President of Southern Bike Night,LLC, Mortgage Company Rocks, Inc., Real Estate Company Rocks, Inc., and Dinar Inc.
dinarinc.com
Iraqi Prostitutes - Syria
October 2007
Desperate Iraqi refugees, some as young as 12, are turning to prostitution to survive. Banned from working in Syria, prostitution is one of the few options available to them
"The number of Iraqi children working as prostitutes is very high" states Bassam Al-Kadi. "They are virgins, brought here like an investment and exploited in a very ugly way". These girls often provide the sole income for their families. If arrested and deported, they are often brought straight back to Damascus by organised sex networks.
|
| 
