Government appointments: a blessing for the citizen, a curse for the Iraqi economy

Posted on[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] by [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

[size=52]Government appointments: a blessing for the citizen, a curse for the Iraqi economy[/size]

[size=45]The economic file in Iraq remains one of the most complex and ambiguous files at the same time, in addition to the shocking numbers revealed by economic research institutions and the resulting government reactions and measures.
Many citizens in Iraq are largely linked to government jobs as a way out and solution to the unemployment problem. This belief often overlooks the fact that the private sector can be an important source of job opportunities and improving income. It is therefore necessary to rethink the treatments followed and enhance the role of the private sector in employing competencies and strengthening the economy.
While the number of university graduates who have not been able to obtain jobs is increasing; due to the lack of a real vision by the Iraqi state, protests by unemployed youth continue in many Iraqi governorates, reaching the point of closing state institutions and oil company headquarters in southern Iraq, despite the government's pledge to work to reduce unemployment and poverty in the country.
Explosive budgets
Since the fall of the former regime in April 2003, Iraq has witnessed a great focus by young people on trying to be appointed in the public sector. This has been linked for more than two decades to the collapse of industry and agriculture, the slowdown of investment, and the fear of young people of the lack of social and health guarantees outside the scope of work in state institutions.
Earlier in July, the representative of the Fatah Alliance, Mukhtar al-Moussawi, confirmed that there is a surplus in the number of employees in state institutions, amid fears of exhausting the budget with more appointments.
Al-Moussawi said, “There is a large surplus in the number of employees in state institutions. There are thousands of employees without any real work, and without any real production, and despite that they receive salaries, and this is due to the lack of planning for the issue of appointments.”
He explained that “each ministry in the state has thousands of surplus employees, and therefore there is fear and concern about the continuation of appointments, as this will greatly exhaust the budget and increase the deficit in it. Therefore, the private sector must be activated, to be an alternative to appointing instead of state institutions that are truly suffering from a surplus of employees.”
According to the head of the “Iraq Al-Mustaqbal” Foundation, Manar Al-Obaidi, “Iraq is the country with the largest number of government employees relative to the total workforce, based on a study prepared by the International Labor Organization and the foundation’s data.”
Al-Obaidi says that “the percentage of workers in the government sector in Iraq reached 37% among a group of countries included in the study, as the government sector is considered the most pressure on the state’s general budget, which goes entirely to salaries for employees, without any real production that matches these high expenses as a result of not creating an investment environment that contributes to encouraging the private sector and providing job opportunities through it, which increases the pressure on the public sector. The
three-year budget, which includes the years 2023, 2024 and 2025, which is the largest in Iraq’s history, was approved last June by a vote by the House of Representatives after months of arduous labor that witnessed a series of parliamentary sessions to discuss it.
The value of this budget amounted to about $153 billion per year, and it expects a large financial deficit estimated at about $48 billion annually, which is the highest of its kind, and more than double the deficit recorded in the 2021 budget preceding this budget
.
Iraq ranked seventh in the Arab world and 33rd globally in the Global Misery Index for 2023, while 5 Arab countries were among the 20 most miserable countries according to the “Hanke Global Misery Index.”
The index is issued annually by Steve Hanke, a professor of applied economics at Johns Hopkins University in the United States, who prepared a list of 157 countries around the world that are the most miserable based on unemployment rates, inflation, lending rates, and changes in per capita GDP.
According to the index, 16 of the 20 most miserable countries in the 2022 ranking are the same as in the 2023 ranking, with Cuba, Sri Lanka, Ghana, and Rwanda leaving the list, and Egypt, Pakistan, Malawi, and Myanmar (Burma) joining them.
It is believed in some circles that the unemployment problem is one of the most prominent challenges facing our country. However, it seems that the focus in previous years was on appointing the unemployed to government jobs without a clear strategy; This has led to the failure of some efforts to reduce unemployment.
Reviving the private sector
Last May, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani confirmed that his government is following a new approach in its program aimed at activating the private sector in Iraq and achieving equality between it and the public sector in rights and social security.
This came during his meeting with a number of young graduates from Dhi Qar Governorate, as part of his Excellency’s communication with the youth, following up on their demands and listening to their vision, according to a statement issued by the Iraqi government.
At the beginning of the meeting, al-Sudani touched on Dhi Qar’s possession of the elements of economic advancement, human resources and investment opportunities that go beyond its borders, stressing that the government guarantees the right to peaceful demonstration and protects demonstrators on the path of conveying demands and defining rights, in a way that does not negatively affect the work of projects and civil services. He
pointed out that the government is following a new approach in its program aimed at activating the private sector, to create more basic job opportunities in the continuation of economic development and advancement and efforts to attract investments, in addition to working towards achieving equality with the public sector in rights, social security, distribution of residential land and others.
The Iraqi Prime Minister asked the young graduates to present their vision and demands, and propose solutions, especially with regard to the observations regarding youth employment offices; in order to contribute to supporting the stability of the governorate and achieving sustainable and productive development, and attracting employment requests and cooperation in meeting them between public and private sector institutions and investment projects.
Al-Sudani directed the presentation of a special program from the (Riyada) initiative to care for and support youth, allocated to Dhi Qar Governorate, in line with the population ratios; in order to grant loans to emerging, small and medium enterprises, in addition to directing government banks to grant operating loans, and give priority to youth, graduates, qualified people and certificate holders. The
Iraqi Federal General Budget Law for the years 2023, 2024 and 2025, published in issue 4726 issued on (June 26, 2023) of the Iraqi Gazette, stipulates that the number of employees in Iraq is 4,074,697 male and female employees, and the number of employees in the Kurdistan Region was set at 658,189 male and female employees.
The Parliamentary Finance Committee announced that the number of ghost employees reaches nearly 600,000 employees in Iraqi government departments, in addition to 300,000 in the Kurdistan Region, while those who receive more than one salary reach 250,000 employees.[/size]
[size=45][You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]