8 months after the formation of local governments.. Have they achieved what they promised?

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[size=52]8 months after the formation of local governments.. Have they achieved what they promised?[/size]

[size=45]About 8 months have passed since the formation of local governments, but the services file still faces several “obstacles” and criticism, while no evaluation of the governors’ work has been conducted yet.[/size]
[size=45]The central and southern governorates are witnessing a decline in services, which prompts residents to demonstrate from time to time in protest against the poor conditions in the cities.[/size]
[size=45]Where are the election promises?[/size]
[size=45]“The infrastructure is dilapidated, and services are almost absent,” says Ali Muhammad, a resident of Diwaniyah, adding: “The local government has not been fair to us yet, in terms of services.”[/size]
[size=45]While Firas Al-Samawi, a resident of Muthanna, fears winter, saying, “Winter is a punishment for the people of Muthanna... rain floods the streets, and there are no sewage projects in the governorate.”[/size]
[size=45]As for Karar Diaa, a resident of Baghdad, he confirms that “most service projects are halted in the capital, Baghdad,” noting that “water projects and paving roads east of the canal are witnessing a delay after the provincial council elections.”[/size]
[size=45]“What the members of the provincial council and members of the House of Representatives promised during their candidacy for the elections was not implemented,” Diaa recalls, adding: “Everyone promised a different program and optimal services, but they did not believe it even once.”[/size]
[size=45]Last August, the Parliamentary Services and Reconstruction Committee confirmed the existence of coordination with local governments in all governorates, with the aim of improving the reality of services, noting that coordination is ongoing and continuous between representatives, members of provincial councils and governors, and all of this is with the aim of providing the best services and trying to overcome obstacles facing any government effort.[/size]
[size=45]Parliamentary committees identify some failures[/size]
[size=45]In this regard, Mahdia Al-Lami, a member of the Parliamentary Services Committee, said, “The government’s slogan since its formation is that it is a government of services, but after that, there was a delay in this file in some cities, especially after the formation of local administrations.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Lami added, "There are locations in Baghdad that are witnessing a significant deterioration in infrastructure, especially with regard to water," noting that "there is a delay in the service effort in many areas of Baghdad and the governorates."[/size]
[size=45]“We receive many complaints from residents about service projects being abandoned in the middle of the road and not being completed,” Al-Lami says, adding that “local governments must play their role in providing services to citizens, as they are primarily responsible.”[/size]
[size=45]The member of the House of Representatives pointed out that “the Parliamentary Services and Reconstruction Committee is working on a permanent evaluation of the performance of services, and hosts, from time to time, the Baghdad Municipality, members of the governorate, officials in the Ministry of Reconstruction and Housing, and the service effort.”[/size]
[size=45]The scope of work of the Baghdad Municipality is within the capital only, while the governorate is responsible for its outskirts, and the responsibility for the service effort is the slums, encroachments, and agricultural lands, while the Ministry of Construction and Housing is responsible for providing services from the municipalities to the governorates and Baghdad, according to Al-Lami.[/size]
[size=45]The member of the Parliamentary Services Committee confirms that “the reality of services does not meet the citizen’s aspirations and has not reached the required level yet.”[/size]
[size=45]The decline in the level of services in most cities in the Middle Euphrates and the southern governorates, and the lack of real city components in most of them, has led to a new wave of migration towards the capital, Baghdad, especially after the relative security stability it has enjoyed since the end of the war on ISIS.[/size]
[size=45]In July 2023, a few months before the formation of the current local governments, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani called on the House of Representatives to evaluate the governors in 13 governorates, and it was expected that al-Sudani would request that the same procedure be repeated with the new governors.[/size]
[size=45]“The Prime Minister has no right to dismiss governors.”[/size]
[size=45]Ayad Al-Anbar, a professor of political science at the University of Baghdad, believes that “Al-Sudani’s promise to evaluate the governors was a kind of violation, as it is not within the Prime Minister’s authority to dismiss a governor.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Anbar added, “The governor is elected and held accountable by the provincial council,” adding, “If we wanted to take stock of the Prime Minister’s statements regarding holding accountable those who are negligent in the service sector, we do not see anything like that on the ground.”[/size]
[size=45]The professor of political science points out that “the poor services in the governorates are not the responsibility of the governor alone, and there are accumulations, but the governor bears the responsibility of determining the vision and having future prospects.”[/size]
[size=45]“The division of governorates was the share of the ruling authority forces represented by the majority of the Coordination Framework, and this authority is subject to the Prime Minister and not the other way around,” according to Al-Anbar.[/size]
[size=45]So who is responsible for the conservatives?[/size]
[size=45]For his part, legal researcher Ali Al-Tamimi says, “Article 51 of the Non-Regional Governorates Law No. 21 of 2008 requires that before any exemption or dismissal of heads of administrative units, there must be an interrogation of the person to be exempted or dismissed.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Tamimi states that “Article 7, eighth, of the above law stipulates that the request for questioning must be from one-third of the members of the local council, for one of the reasons including lack of integrity, negligence, loss of membership requirements, and violation of the constitution and law. Then, in the event that the simple majority is not convinced by the answers of the questioner, a new session is set. If the vote of the absolute majority is accepted, the question is dismissed.”[/size]
[size=45]He points out that “the dismissed person can appeal the decision to dismiss him before the Federal Court within 15 days of notification, and the court will decide on the appeal within 30 days, and he, the dismissed person, will be in charge of daily affairs until the appeal is decided by the Federal Supreme Court.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Tamimi continued: “After the Federal Supreme Court approves the dismissal and the integrity of the procedures, the Council President will open the door for nominations for anyone who wants to fill the vacant position, i.e. the position of head of an administrative unit, and after receiving the response from the relevant authorities: accountability, justice, criminal evidence, and the university.”[/size]
[size=45]The candidates are voted on by the council, and whoever gets half plus one of the council members’ votes is the winner. If no one gets one, we face a round between the top two winners, and the one who gets the highest number of votes is the winner and takes the oath before the council, according to Al-Tamimi.[/size]
[size=45]The legal expert confirms that “the House of Representatives has oversight over the provincial councils according to Articles 20 or 21 of the Law of Non-Regional Provinces 21 of 2008, and the House of Representatives has the right to dissolve the councils that violate the constitution and the law by an absolute majority at the request of one-third of the members of parliament, and the governor calls for new elections in the province.”[/size]
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