Thread: Archive Latest News - Think Tank - 01/01/08 - 14/04/08

Iraqi MP: US Undersecretary of State will Visit Baghdad

In an exclusive statement to PUKmedia, Ali Husain, MP and the head of Oil-Gas Committee in the Iraqi Parliament said that Robert Jeffery the US Undersecretary of State for Oil Affairs will visit Baghdad soon push the Iraqi Government to approve the Oil-Gas Law.

Husain al-Shahristani, Iraqi Oil Minister will visit Kurdistan Region to discuss the oil contracts signed by KRG with the foreign oil companies, the Iraqi MP added.

PUKmedia :: English - Iraqi MP: US Undersecretary of State will Visit Baghdad

Series of govt.-backing talks to be held next week – MP

Talks would be held early next week among a number of political blocs in a bid to reach agreement over several pending issues and support the efforts of the Iraqi government, an MP from the Shiite Unified Iraqi Coalition (UIC) said on Friday.

"Next week will see a series of intensive talks grouping several parliamentary blocs and powers with the aim of pushing forward the political process and find a way out of the country's political stalemate," Hamid al-Maala told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).
Maala's UIC is the largest bloc in the Iraqi parliament with 83 out of a total number of 275 seats.

An Iraqi legislator had said that the political process will see in the year 2008 concordance over many bones of contention including article 140 of the constitution pertaining to Kirkuk, article 115 regarding powers among the provinces and the central government, article 41 on personal status and an article on the powers of the president of the republic.

Aswat Aliraq

Iraq Parliament…stalling and delaying

It seems that the political dilemma taking the upper hand in Parliament on pending issues between the different political blocs is paralyzing the Parliament’s capacity to decide on major issues including the work of the normalization committee in Kirkuk, the Justice and Accountability Law and the constitutional amendment committee. Parliamentarian blocs that have agreed on items 7, 8 and 28 of Justice and Accountability Law have backtracked their stands opposing them anew after they were passed to parliament. Head of de-Baathification committee in Parliament Fallah Chanchal justified the Sadrist bloc opposition to Article 8 saying that this article allows reinstating baathists while baathists who used to work during the former regime of Saddam Hussein should not be engaged in state institutions in order not to be violated again. However, Iraqi List MP Moufid Al Jazaeri considers that the law has failed with Baathists who have committed crimes against the Iraqi people while non-guilty people should not be accounted for others’ acts.

The normalization committee of Kirkuk spurs the same differences regarding Constitution Article 140 which is considered by some parties cancelled since the end of its deadline to complete its work by December 2007. Still, Kurdistan Alliance MP Mahmoud Othman accused political parties of blocking the work of the committee for more than three months after committee chairman, former Justice Minister Hashem Al Shibli was ousted.

Moreover, the constitutional amendments committee is still stalling due to disputes over some points that require amending. Hanine Qaddo, a member of the committee said the committee might require extending its work for another legislation round at least. In case of failure, he added, it ought to ask from Parliament to be disbanded.

In consequence, Accordance Front MP Salim Abdullah considers that Iraqi Parliament has turned into a parliament of delayed and blocked laws because of lack of responsibility from the part of certain lawmakers.

Alsumaria Iraqi Satellite TV Network | Iraq News | Iraq Parliament…stalling and delaying

Hamudi: Iraq National Unity Government fails

Head of Foreign relations committee in Parliament MP Humam Hamudi announced that the national unity government has failed. Though it appears as if it represents all parties but in fact it is unlike that. Hamudi affirmed that some lawmakers hope the government fails and wish for the democracy to stumble in Iraq noting that Parliament committees are ineffective for more than one reason mainly the non-interaction between the government and the parliament, as well as complications in the monitoring mechanisms of the government in addition to the difference of views thereof. As for Awakening Councils, Hamudi considered that the Awakening councils in Diyala have emerged from political visions and interferences that have confused their work.

Alsumaria Iraqi Satellite TV Network | Iraq News | Hamudi: Iraq National Unity Government fails

2008 Iraq Budget includes no allocations to cover law of amending salaries

2008 Iraq budget does not include allocations that cover the law of amending salaries that has been announced lately, since the Iraqi government has not passed it to Parliament till now, a parliament source said. He added that the law should be passed to Parliament before voting on the budget

Alsumaria Iraqi Satellite TV Network | Economics News | 2008 Iraq Budget includes no allocations to cover law of amending salaries

Kalimat Telecom awards Huawei a $275m contract - Iraq

In the near future, Kalimat Telecom, Iraq's national telecom network that was launched as the first national fixed ******** local loop (WLL) telephony and data provider aiming to serve 26 million Iraqi citizens, plans to handle the voice traffic and data transfer needs of the Iraqi consumers in different regions of the country.

A $1 billion consortium of specialist vendor, Kalimat Telecom aims to provide its services to every home, business, and governmental and non-governmental institution in Iraq.

The consortium won the 10-year ******** license from Iraq's Communications and Media Commission in September 2006. Kalimat Telecom awarded a $275 million infrastructure contract to Huawei Technologies.

Huawei, a global leader in telecom network solutions, will execute the project in four phases, which is already under way since September 2007.

The Chinese technology vendor will supply and provide deployment services for CDMA base stations and help create a top-of-the-line all-IP network infrastructure.

Wilson Varghese, president and CEO of Kalimat Telecom, said: "Huawei's technology will enable significantly faster and more cost-effective services.

This is the first time Iraq is witnessing a full-scale deployment of fixed ******** technology across the country, not just in urban clusters but in remote areas as well."

MENAFN - Middle East North Africa . Financial Network News: Kalimat Telecom awards Huawei a $275m contract - Iraq

Originally Posted by Seaview

Iraq Parliament…stalling and delaying

It seems that the political dilemma taking the upper hand in Parliament on pending issues between the different political blocs is paralyzing the Parliament’s capacity to decide on major issues including the work of the normalization committee in Kirkuk, the Justice and Accountability Law and the constitutional amendment committee. Parliamentarian blocs that have agreed on items 7, 8 and 28 of Justice and Accountability Law have backtracked their stands opposing them anew after they were passed to parliament. Head of de-Baathification committee in Parliament Fallah Chanchal justified the Sadrist bloc opposition to Article 8 saying that this article allows reinstating baathists while baathists who used to work during the former regime of Saddam Hussein should not be engaged in state institutions in order not to be violated again. However, Iraqi List MP Moufid Al Jazaeri considers that the law has failed with Baathists who have committed crimes against the Iraqi people while non-guilty people should not be accounted for others’ acts.

The normalization committee of Kirkuk spurs the same differences regarding Constitution Article 140 which is considered by some parties cancelled since the end of its deadline to complete its work by December 2007. Still, Kurdistan Alliance MP Mahmoud Othman accused political parties of blocking the work of the committee for more than three months after committee chairman, former Justice Minister Hashem Al Shibli was ousted.

Moreover, the constitutional amendments committee is still stalling due to disputes over some points that require amending. Hanine Qaddo, a member of the committee said the committee might require extending its work for another legislation round at least. In case of failure, he added, it ought to ask from Parliament to be disbanded.

In consequence, Accordance Front MP Salim Abdullah considers that Iraqi Parliament has turned into a parliament of delayed and blocked laws because of lack of responsibility from the part of certain lawmakers.

Alsumaria Iraqi Satellite TV Network | Iraq News | Iraq Parliament…stalling and delaying

just a comment here....first of all,good job for all you do Seaview....I for one appreciate all the work that you do...all the security,and i do mean all the security change for the better is being wasted because of a CORRUPT and LAZY and ON THE TAKE GOI[government of iraq]...it has become apparent to me a long time ago what the problem in Iraq is....CORRUPTION....so much so that the GOI does'nt care if their people ever get any benefits or better way of living.....delays after delays after delays....same ole same ole every time an important vote or votes come up....delays......even their own people are growing tired and restless of all the corruption and delays....its time for a change....or its time to take action and and pass these laws.....the U.S. needs to step in and give Maliki an ultimatum....in my opinion thats the only way anything will get done.....thanks.....Pat

Completion of a number of projects for the benefit of the Directorate of electricity worth 47 billion dinars

The Directorate General of the Electricity Distribution Euphrates East on the implementation of a number of projects in the field of electricity cost amounted to about 47 billion dinars confirmed by the director general distribution of the Euphrates East Rahim al-Jaafari pointing out that the whole project was confined to the electrification of new neighbourhoods and switching networks of cities and expansion projects and the development of distribution networks and projects lighting in the streets of the provinces of Karbala and Najaf, explaining that it had not covered the provinces of Babil and Diwaniyah lighting projects mentioned. 2007

Iraqi Media Net

Parliament and the government reached an agreement to keep the same vocabulary ration card quantity and quality

First Deputy Parliament Speaker Sheikh Khalid al-Attiyah warned that the presidency of the Chamber of Deputies and political blocs held a number of meetings with the Economic and Finance Committees in the cabinet, which was to discuss important set of observations Sttdmnha 2008 budget, including a new salary endorsed by the Council of Ministers, which will include three billion dollars of the budget for the application. Add to that second point, which received agreement is assembled to keep all items that the ration card and work on their delivery to the citizens on time, Attiya pointed out that article will be developed within the budget provides insurance expenditures for processing items of the ration card in 2008

Iraqi Media Net