Iraqi Factions Debate Transferring Ministerial Powers to Provinces
Iraqi politicians have divided along factional lines in a debate over whether certain ministries should be shifted from federal to provinicial authority, reports Omar al-Shaher.
Amidst the severe political crisis currently rocking Iraq, people have been increasingly calling for the removal of service ministries from the federal government and transferring their financial allocations to provinces. These ministries have failed in fulfilling their duties, according to many observers in Baghdad, and it is important that they be closed.
The ministries in question are the municipalities, agriculture, power, health, education, construction and labor.
Even the most high-ranking officials have joined the debate about removing the ministries in Iraq. While Speaker of Parliament Osama al-Nujaifi, who is part of the Sunni minority, was inclined to remove these ministries, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who is part of the Shiite majority, showed reluctance. Maliki stated, “Iraq’s constitution does not include any indication of the possibility of expanding the privileges of the local administrations in the provinces, and does not allow handing them the powers of the service ministries if removed.”
Maliki believes that removing the service ministries and transferring their powers to the provincial councils is a step that must be preceded by an administrative disintegration of the ministries. This requires time to avoid confusion.
