Gharraf residents renew their refusal to privatize electricity

Gharraf residents renew their refusal to privatize electricity


 Dhi Qar / Hussein al-Amel

Hundreds of residents of Gharraf district (30 km north of Dhi Qar province) renewed their rejection of the decision to privatize electricity, stressing the importance of fighting corruption and launching appointments for graduates and unemployed.
"The people of Gharraf district demonstrated against the privatization project of electricity which the Ministry of Electricity is trying to impose on the province," said Abu Ali al-Khafaji, one of the participants in the mass demonstration that began in the Gharaf district and was attended by hundreds of residents and civil activists.
Indicating that the privatization project targeted the segments of the poor and low-income is an escape from the problem of chronic electricity and an attempt to cover the contracts that are suspected of corruption in the electricity sector.
Al-Khafaji pointed out that "the privatization of electricity adds financial burdens to the poor and burdens them and does not aim to develop the electricity sector and the production of electric power."
"The demonstrators also stressed the importance of fighting corruption and the launch of appointments for graduates and unemployed and the replacement of corrupt and incompetent officials of honest and independent people are not controlled by party quotas and political interests."
The Dhi Qar police headquarters announced that an armed group of eight people attacked the headquarters of the company investing in the privatization of electricity in the district of Shatrah (45 km north of Nasiriyah) without causing the loss of human lives, while confirming the adoption of precautionary security measures and opening an investigation into the incident.
The commander of the police Dhi Qar, Major General Hassan al-Zaidi, "the range," that "the commander of operations Rafidain Major General Ali Ibrahim Dabun and police chief Dhi Qar moved to the headquarters of the Directorate of electricity distribution north of Nasiriyah, after masked gunmen dressed in military uniforms today attacked the circle in the city of Shatrah light weapons Without casualties, "noting that the gunmen fired at the generator and caravans belonging to the company invested in the field of electricity, which is located inside the Directorate of electricity distribution north of Nasiriyah.
Stressing the taking precautionary measures and encircling the area and closing the roads leading to the electricity distribution department.
The police chief pointed out the formation of a working team that included intelligence officers in the operations of Rafidain, the Directorate of Intelligence, Federal Investigations, National Security, the Shatrah Police Directorate, the Criminal Evidence and the relevant departments to open an investigation into the incident and gather intelligence information about the perpetrators of the attack to arrest them and bring them to justice.
Adding that the power of the electricity police station was strengthened by the Directorate of Energy Police, which is charged with protecting the district with additional force from the 4th Dhi Qar police emergency battalion and providing protection to the investment company.
Zaidi pointed to the formation of an investigative council against the force charged with protecting the distribution of electricity in the north of Dhi Qar for neglect in their duty and to know the reasons for not to address or prevent the militants from entering the
circle.
It is noteworthy that dozens of people in the province of Dhi Qar are still continuing their demonstrations every Friday and several months in the courtyard of the province of Dhi Qar to express their rejection of the decision to privatize electricity and other issues of demand.
The media reported that the contracting company with the Ministry of Electricity started to implement the privatization project by working in the project in a number of areas of Nasiriyah and Shatrah, which provoked the people in the district who decided to expel the company and not allow its owners to implement the project paragraphs.
The Department of Dhi Qar province, announced on Tuesday (27 December 2016), the transfer of electricity distribution in the province to investment, noting that the Chinese company Himalaya will take over the implementation of the project, which includes the collection and rehabilitation of the electricity network, while the Directorate of Electricity Distribution of the South that the wages of collection Will be in accordance with the pricing approved by the central government.


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