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Basra governor speaks about corruption, security challenges

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Basra governor Majid al-Nasrawi spoke about corruption and said the city has hired a British security consulting firm to advise it on contracts.
Men walk past a sign in al-Toraba area near an oilfield of West Qurna-2 in Basra, 420 km (261 miles) southeast of Baghdad, October 26, 2013. After struggling for decades from sanctions and wars, most recently the U.S.-led invasion from 2003-2011, expectations run high among the 150,000 tribesmen living on West Qurna-2, the world's second-largest undeveloped oilfield. Their sheer number leaves Lukoil with a far tougher challenge than rival firms operating the huge but sparsely populated fields nearby. Pictur
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BASRA, Iraq — In an interview with Al-Monitor, Basra governor Majid al-Nasrawi confirmed that his city had contracted a British security consulting firm (whose name he would not disclose before the completion of the contract) to oversee Basra's security contracts and provide studies in this regard. Nasrawi noted that corruption is pervasive in all parts of the Iraqi state, which operates according to outdated standards and mechanisms. He confirmed that the US company Hill International had prepared Basra's 2040 Strategic Plan, which would include all of Basra's projects until that date. He revealed what he dubbed the "KMK phenomenon," which involves local companies linked to political parties that operate in the name of foreign companies in the city. Here is the text of the interview:

Al-Monitor:  You took office as governor of Basra four months ago. Anyone who returns to Basra after some time away sees it as a "tired" city. How do you see it?

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