BAGHDAD: Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi has sacked a number of electricity ministry officials, his office said Thursday, in the latest attempt to quell public anger at chronic power cuts.
Four directors have been dismissed and a number of others moved “in order to reorganize the operation of the ministry in the service of the country,” the prime minister’s office said in a statement.
Those sacked were in charge of investments, contracts, distribution and administration at the ministry.
The decision follows the dismissal last month of electricity minister Qassem Al-Fahdawi “because of the deterioration in the electricity sector,” the premier’s office said at the time.
Iraq has been hit by more than a month of protests which erupted in Basra and quickly spread to other southern cities, as well as reaching the capital Baghdad.
Demonstrators are angry at the dire state of public services, with regular power cuts offering little respite from sweltering summer temperatures.
With the national grid providing just a few hours of electricity per day, many Iraqis are forced to pay to use generators through the private sector.
Protesters have also rallied against water shortages, unemployment and graft in a country where citizens argue they fail to benefit from the country’s oil wealth.
Officially $40 billion (34 billion euros) has been allocated to the power sector over the past 15 years, but a substantial slice has been siphoned off by corrupt politicians and businessmen who have fronted fake contracts.
Iraq’s anti-graft Commission of Integrity said Thursday it had succeeded in “recovering and preventing the waste” of public funds to the value of $322 million in the first six months of the year.
The commission said its investigations had allowed the judiciary to issue 1,071 arrest warrants, including against nine ministers and 21 senior officials but without naming them.
Iraqi PM overhauls electricity ministry after protests
Iraqi PM overhauls electricity ministry after protests
- Four directors have been dismissed and a number of others moved
- Those sacked were in charge of investments, contracts, distribution and administration at the ministry
Iran’s president says rioters must not disrupt society
- Pezeshkian accused the US and Israel of “trying to escalate this unrest with regard to the economic discussion and solutions we are working on”
TEHRAN: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Sunday said “rioters” should not be allowed to disrupt society, in his first remarks after three nights of intensified protests against the country’s authorities.
Pezeshkian, in an interview with state TV on Sunday, said “protesting is the people’s right,” but echoed authorities in drawing a line between outcry over Iran’s dire economy and “rioters” they allege are backed by the US and Israel.
“The people (of Iran) should not allow rioters to disrupt society. The people should believe that we (the government) want to establish justice,” he told state broadcaster IRIB.
Pezeshkian called on Iranians to “come together and not let these people riot” on the streets.
“If people have a concern, we will hear them. It is our duty to hear them and solve their problems. However, our highest duty is not to allow rioters to come and disrupt society,” he said.
Pezeshkian accused the US and Israel of “trying to escalate this unrest with regard to the economic discussion and solutions we are working on.”
“They have taken some people here inside and abroad and trained them. They brought terrorists in from abroad into the country,” he said, calling those who had set the mosque on fire “not human.”
State TV has aired images of buildings, including a mosque on fire, with authorities saying members of the security forces have been killed.
US President Donald Trump has said his country “stands ready to help” demonstrators and threatened new military action against Iranian authorities “if they start killing people.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that he hoped Iran would soon be freed from what he described as the “yoke of tyranny.”
