International analyst: There are no quick reforms to Iraq's economic problems

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[size=52]International analyst: There are no quick reforms to Iraq's economic problems[/size]

[size=45]Translated by Hamid Ahmed
[size=45]Iraqis took to the streets again on another day of protests against high unemployment, a lack of jobs, a lack of public services and accusations of administrative and financial corruption in government institutions.[/size]
[size=45]Some observers believe that the ongoing demonstrations and protests that have left at least 250 people dead in recent weeks could pave the way for real, much-needed reforms in this oil-rich country of nearly 40 million people.[/size]
[size=45]Despite the country's vast oil wealth, many Iraqis live in poverty or have little access to basic services at a time when the country is struggling to recover from the aftermath of years of sectarian wars and battles, most recently the liberation battles against insurgents. ISIS and their expulsion from the country. It is noteworthy that nearly 7 million Iraqis live below the poverty line and the World Bank estimated the unemployment rate among the country's youth at the level of 25%.[/size]
[size=45]Analysts say that economic corruption and mismanagement with waste of public funds have erased and undermined any chance of prosperity that Iraqis had hoped for. Also, any push towards government spending has yet to translate into job creation, although the country's economy is planned to expand by 3.4 percent this year, boosted by increased oil production, after two years of economic contraction.[/size]
[size=45]Economic analyst Anthony Pavaf of the Atlantic Council and the US Army War College tells VOA that there are no quick fixes and reforms to bring the economy back to normal or better services in the short term. "If Baghdad is serious about reform and is determined to make the necessary concessions, it is likely that it will need initial economic assistance from outside sources such as the World Bank, the Gulf states or the United States, as well as the United Nations, to face comprehensive problems," said the analyst.[/size]
[size=45]`` With a little leadership, you can push all these kinds of things that will enhance the stability of the country to provide services to the people, open up the economy, grow it, strip it of government projects, and other things that it needs to achieve diversification of the economic source and give everyone an equal right to the other. These are things that will at least reveal the sincere intention of providing a small hope. But if it stops there, we may return to square one and more problems and protests. ”[/size]
[size=45]Analyst Bafaf says Iraq has started to establish banks through which individuals can get small loans to start businesses, but this development plan was not widespread or known to all. He also urged Iraq to remove barriers to foreign investment.[/size]
[size=45]“Laws related to foreign investment, procedures for obtaining entry visas and the lack of the ability to transfer funds to and from Iraq in a transparent and responsible manner make it difficult for large corporations and large investors to invest in Iraq,” he added. This is just one of the things that they want to take and that these obstacles are removed. They are bureaucratic and dependable to make licensing and other things very difficult. ”[/size]
[size=45]Jihad Azour, director of the International Monetary Fund for the Middle East and Central Asia, said recently that Iraq needs to create more jobs and boost its infrastructure spending.[/size]
[size=45]Earlier this month, the Iraqi government launched a new reform plan in response to the demands of the protesters.[/size]
[size=45]According to a statement from the Ministry of Finance, the memorandum includes cooperation on the implementation of reforms to develop the agricultural sector and food industries through the introduction of modern technology to facilitate access to global markets and facilitate access to bank financing, while developing governance in the field of regulating the gas sector and regulating the work of the private sector in this area.[/size]
[size=45]Moreover, the World Bank announced that the Iraqi economy is recovering slowly during the year 2019, and the World Bank said in its report that Iraq achieved during the first half of 2019 growth in GDP by 4.8% compared with the previous year.[/size]
[size=45]This growth comes as a result of the 6.3% increase in crude oil production and the recovery in non-oil economic activity, an increase of 5.6% in the first half of 2019 compared to last year. The recovery in economic activity is due to improved rainfall and the production of record agricultural crops.[/size]
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