Baghdad (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Whilst political parties and factions continue talks to form a new government seven month after parliamentary elections, the Iraqi population is running out of patience. People need new sewers, drinking water, electricity, health care and the reconstruction of buildings going to ruin from neglect. Seven months after Saddam Hussiein was ousted by war and 66,000 civilian dead (according to Wikileaks’ latest revelations) later, Iraqis want the huge profits from oil sales and foreign aid (from countries like the United States) to be spent on people’s real needs rather than fall into the pockets of corrupt officials.
Where does reconstruction money go? “The government is too busy with other things. Some buildings have collapsed because of neglect," not bombs, said Shihab Ahmed Khammas, who runs a tailor shop. "When a country gets high oil revenues, infrastructure has to be a priority, but . . . this is not happening," he added, because "They are too busy stealing money."
The United States has spent US$ 54 billion in relief and reconstruction efforts since the 2003 invasion. US and Iraqi authorities have spent billions more in Iraqi money, but ordinary people have seen little improvement.
The Iraqi government, which gets most of its US$ 72 billion budget from oil revenues, says it is committed to improving basic services but progress is painfully slow.
Open-air dumps in the cities According to the United Nations, 83 per cent of sewage is being discharged untreated into waterways. Sewage treatment plants and pipes have not been renovated for 15 years. Government estimates a quarter of Iraqis have no access to safe water. Garbage collection is haphazard.
In the southern oil port of Basra, streets get flooded with sewage water during the winter rainy season, and many canals criss-crossing the city have turned into rubbish skips.
At present, everyone is waiting to see when a government is set up. Meanwhile, the authorities focus on an ambitious plan to give Baghdad's dusty skyline a bit of a facelift ahead of the Arab League summit in 2011, the first major event Iraq is to host since the invasion.
Restoring major hotels will not however change the big and small tragedies Iraqis have to put up with every day. And many are not taking it anymore. Protests flared this summer over power shortages, a worrying sign as Iraq struggles to restore normalcy. (LYR)
