However, only (11.6) billion dollars of the foreign debts have been quenched as a first stage, and this only makes (7.8%) of the foreign debt. It is a small percentage in return for submitting to the conditions of the economic reform policy, which include:
1- raising support for the prices of fuels and other services.
2- Canceling the ration card.
3- Privatization of the public sector and transfer most of its business to the private sector.
However, the application of these procedures in light of the current circumstances of the country and this speed has serious negative repercussions on the Iraqi society who is suffering already. It is unreasonable to convert a centrally planned economy based on the absolute leadership of the public sector for four decades into a liberal economy based on free market economy, overnight. After the events of 9\4\2003, Iraq suffered from political and economic shocks that are intolerable for a developing country like Iraq.
According to the latest statistics of the Ministry of Planning and Development Cooperation in Iraq, (60%) of the citizens are below the poverty line. So, if the ration card is abolished and subsidies on fuel prices and services are removed, how many will their percentage be? Moreover, the unemployment rate was between (40% - 50%), when taking these measures, the increase would amount to more than that; this means that poverty line will increase and thus increasing rates of crime and corruption since Iraq is considered one of the young population nations whose population pyramid has a broad base and unemployment are concentrated in the younger ages, that (3) out of (4) Iraqis under the age of 25 are unemployed. The concentration of unemployment in this group of age had very dangerous political and social consequences since unemployment is considered a fertile environment for the growth of crime, extremism and violence which emerged strongly to the surface in Iraq, particularly after the events of 9\4\2003 and left serious negative effects on Iraq. There are many examples for such dangerous consequences, like: (the revolution of bread in each of Egypt and Tunisia, and the revolution against raising fuel prices in Yemen, etc.).
Despite all this, we believe that Iraq can achieve benefits when joining the IMF and the World Bank. There will be a genuine development, as the case now in some Gulf countries, Emirates for example, through encouraging investments in vital and important sectors, such as the agricultural, through many inducements like the granting of loans and tax exemption etc... The remaining investments are left free to supply and demand. Since Iraq has natural resources of cheap prices, surely the costs of production will be much less than other countries; therefore, it is possible to manufacture materials then export them. Thus, why do we, now, import cement of bad types when we already have the fine raw materials for manufacturing this material? รถ Another benefit of the accession, is that we will get cheap raw materials to help our industry, and we will also import expertise and technology to create developed industry and agriculture.
But what is happening in Iraq now is that some places are built and others are demolished. Therefore, Iraq is at an important crossroads that requires from everyone, especially economic policy-makers in the country, to review the ideological basis and economic theories which they use to form the policies and the applications should be compatible with the concepts of modernization and reform promoted for, and this is one of the biggest economical challenges that we face today.
Thus, the deteriorating reality between the suffering of the society and with the requirements of the economical policy of the State, raise a question: what do we do to walk out of this crisis without a flaw negatively affecting the economic process of the citizen and the state as well?(Source)AlSabah
