KRG Minister: Our Problem With Baghdad Lies in the Budget
The Kurdistan Regional Government’s reconstruction minister talks about the ministry’s plans to revitalize the housing sector and notes that the region’s problems with Baghdad center on budget allocations, writes Abdel Hamid Zebari.
Minister of Housing and Reconstruction in the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Kamaran Ahmed, complains that the central government has shown a lack of earnestness when it comes to disbursing the KRG’s budget share. This share amounts to 17% of the total general budget and will be used to move forward with the reconstruction projects.
Ahmed believes that the region has accomplished a great deal of reconstruction with little money, stressing that security and stability have positively impacted urban development in the three major Kurdish cities of Erbil, Sulaymaniyah and Dohuk. In an interview with Al-Monitor, Ahmed affirmed that his ministry has succeeded in accomplishing 70% of the reconstruction plan. Below is the text of the interview:
Al-Monitor: How far have reconstruction efforts gone in the Kurdistan region of Iraq?
Ahmed: The reconstruction process is comprehensive and does not only comprise one field; it includes electricity, water, sewage systems, roads, bridges, hospitals, universities and schools. If we compare the current situation with that of the past, we will note that, in comparison with 2003, we are going through a new phase and we have accomplished 70% of the plan on all levels.
