"Tidbits From TNT" Monday Morning 3-20-2023

Mar 20

TNT:

CandyKisses: Al-Sudani: Economic reform must be accompanied by firm measures in the fight against corruption

Al-Sudani participates in a dialogue seminar within the activities of the Baghdad International Dialogue Conference

Al-Sudani talks about the government's vision in the fields of economy, foreign relations, service provision and government priorities

Al-Sudani shows the most important general lines that Iraq pursues in the file of international relations and balance in them

Al-Sudani: Economic reform is an approach to progress and growth and achieving the requirements and needs of citizens

Al-Sudani: Economic reform must be accompanied by firm anti-corruption

Tishwash: this is from Kurdish news

Central Bank: We have more than 70 trillion dinars outside the banking system for circulation

Today, Monday, the Central Bank of Iraq confirmed that bank lending represents a basic pillar in the work of the banking sector, pointing out that it was a pioneer in stimulating the lending capabilities of the banking sector.

"We will soon work on developing a national strategy for lending," said Central Bank Governor Ali Al-Alaq, noting, "We are now in the process of evaluating these initiatives and benefiting from lessons and putting them in the right directions."

Al-Alaq added, "Our focus in the next stage will be on financing small and medium enterprises, and the banking sector has reached the highest ceiling for lending."

And we have more than 70 trillion dinars outside the banking system for circulation, and this is a very large amount and represents a high percentage of the gross domestic product, according to Al-Alaq, who indicated that "we have completed the development of a comprehensive plan and a broad strategy for electronic payment."

He explained, "We will monitor banking services in the field and the extent to which they comply with standards, and we will submit a project to establish a company to guarantee loans," noting that "the banking sector needs more geographical spread, and we commend some banks that have expanded into wide networks."

And Al-Alaq said, “Within Iraq, we call on other banks to promote this spread in the regions of the country,” noting that “lending related to the sectors of agriculture, industry, and services is still at its lowest levels.”

He stressed, "We need to build a national strategy for bank lending led by the central bank."\

the full speech is here speech link

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CandyKisses: Two decades since the U.S. invasion of Iraq. What has changed?

March 18, 19, and 20, all the way up to early April, are unusual for Iraqis, as they commemorate the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq that toppled Saddam Hussein's regime.

What has changed?

The director of the Al-Raffd Center for Media and Strategic Studies, Abbas Al-Jubouri, believes that Iraq witnessed after 2003 a stage of systematic destruction of the infrastructure of cities, as well as the destruction of the industry, agriculture and education sectors, noting that "the US invasion opened the door for the entry of people who occupied the political arena in order to steal the country's wealth at all levels."

According to Al-Jubouri, "Iraq sold oil since its discovery until 2003 for $ 283 billion, while oil sold for more than $ 1310 billion from 2003 to 2021," stressing that "the 5 governments formed during the past 20 years could not build a single new bridge, as destruction and devastation prevailed throughout Iraq."

Over the past years, Iraq has suffered from "sectarian liquidations, wars against al-Qaeda and ISIS, and the spread of armed groups, which resulted in the migration of thousands of young people and families to Western countries in search of security and political stability."

Iraq sold oil since its discovery until 2003 for $ 283 billion, while it sold oil for more than $ 1310 billion from 2003 to 2021

The governments formed after the US invasion of Iraq have left 10 million people below the poverty line, with 43% illiterate, according to al-Jubouri, who pointed out that "US forces came calling for freedoms for the people, but even these freedoms were not implemented, on the contrary, hundreds of people were killed as a result of demonstrations demanding projects, services and job opportunities."

Al-Jubouri told Ultra Iraq that "Iraqis feel sorrow and disappointment for what happened to the country after 2003, adding that "Iraq is now collapsed and suffers from real loss at all levels."

"A successful political system"

Two decades after the U.S. invasion, Iraqis are still wondering about the changes in the country, with some arguing that the last 20 years have been the worst in Iraq's history, while others and others argue that it is better "because they got rid of the former authoritarian regime."

On this matter, Fadel Mowat, a member of the State of Law Coalition, told Ultra Iraq that "Iraqis got rid of a hateful dictatorial regime after 2003 and were able to transform the system into a representative democracy," noting that "Iraqis entered many wars that lasted for years, such as battles with Iran, the Gulf War and others."

Mowat claims that the situation has turned "for the better", as he believes that Iraqis now "enjoy freedoms that they lacked during the previous regime, and the economic conditions for the people have changed," noting that "what hinders the implementation of the new democratic system better, the provision of services and meeting all the needs of the people is the American presence in the country, as Iraq is still an occupied country."

Although "the situation has turned for the better," Mowat said, he does not deny that US interventions "continue under the pretext that they are the ones who rid the Iraqi people of the former dictatorial regime," adding that "there is a declared popular rejection and a real lack of desire for US forces to remain on Iraqi soil."

On the success of the current political system during the past 20 years, a member of the ruling Coordination Framework explained that "the political system after 2003 achieved many successes, while it failed due to foreign interference and dishonest competition between political parties."

Mowat believes that the continuation of external interference in internal affairs will make the country go through "political, economic and even security crises", citing "the importance of Iraq and its position in the region".

"Freedom that did not live up to the required level"

On the other hand, Yassin Aziz, an analyst and political observer, believes that Iraq was better after 2003, because it "got rid of a strong central rule that ruled for decades with all the breaks of the state, describing a change from within as a "fantasy."

Aziz told Ultra Iraq that some stage after the US invasion "witnessed a kind of political openness and political freedom, although it did not reach the level that elevates Iraq to become on the side of advanced democratic countries."

On 20 May 2006, Iraq witnessed the formation of the first Iraqi Government on the basis of "sectarian and component" of the three presidencies (not elected by the people), in what has become a practice and is still in place today, resulting in ongoing political and economic crises that have cast a shadow on the Iraqi street.

Iraq may be witnessing protests against chaos and endemic corruption in the country

In Aziz's opinion, the political process that created the governing authorities during the past 20 years "deviated from the path of the democratic approach that the country was expected to be, and this led to the lack of positive exploitation of the country's enormous wealth due to the great corruption in the political process, and even basic services, including the simplest things such as (electricity, water and other requirements), remained absent from the average citizen and the infrastructure remained dilapidated without real projects, which lost the political process and political parties. Its luster in the Iraqi street."

The October 2021 elections witnessed the largest boycott since the US invasion of Iraq, which for Aziz is "the best evidence of the Iraqi street's rejection of the ruling political class."

Politicians have recently sought to restore confidence in them, Aziz said, "but all the data indicate that the street will not be silent forever and will have a position towards the huge amount of chaos and corruption rampant in the regimes in power."

CandyKisses: LET US WELCOME SPRING