aggiedad77 » November 6th, 2014, 11:29 am
Thursday News Summaries and Commentaries
Things have been a bit slow of late....but this morning is shaping up like it could be an interesting news day in Iraq...we shall see what comes forth for our reading pleasure.
CBI news and Announcements
Leading off with a notice originating from the CBI.....apparently canceling holidays and vacations within the Commerce Department....for "conversion" reasons....this sounds intriguing but needs further perusal and translation....they have a way of not making their announcements easy to get at most of the time.
The ministers of oil, finance and head of the Iraqi parliament visiting Erbil
Yet another early morning eyebrow raiser.....the Ministers of Oil, Finance and the Head of Parliament are seen heading to Erbil to supposedly participate in the ME Forum for Dialogue and Peace...an interesting trio to band together to discuss Peace and Dialogue.....but word has it that the Oil Minister, Mahdi, might be carrying with him a special dossier that could contain the means to dissolve the differences between Erbil and Baghdad pertaining to oil and gas issues.....
Also accompanying Jubouri and Mahdi, is none other than Kurd, Zebari, the new Minister of Finance.....definitely a smooth-talking individual we know from his days as Foreign Relations Minister.....could this be the "Three Henchmen" coming to offer peace to Erbil and all the Kurds...
Offering special concessions to the Kurds for their proactive activities pertaining to their successful oil and gas extraction and pipelining of oil thru Turkey without much of any hiccups....something Baghdad has not been to successful at doing itself. A fly at whatever meetings that transpire might get a belly-full of info out of these three.
Experts are demanding the government banks liquidity support of the public budget for Iraq
Economic experts are calling for changes in banking and how the government supports bank liquidity.....one talking point centers around loans for cars.....former CBI assistant governor Mohammed Selah mentions inequalities between private banks and government banks....the two must come in line in their methods of granting loans to the public...
At this point government banks control approximately 65% of deposits and private banks the remaining 35%.....he says that there needs to be greater support towards purchase of treasury transfers and provisions of soft loans that can assist in dealing with the current Iraqi crisis associated with the sharp drop in oil prices in recent months....
Then there is talk about the 2014 budget and that of 2015...can we say enough already....we know the 2014 budget is only focusing upon salaries of some, weapons, and assisting those who have been displaced.....move on....let's delve into the 2015 budget and see how quickly it jumps up in front of Parliament and what they actually do with it as opposed to the stagnation that occurred in 2014 with a lackluster Parliament...."lame camel" Parliament they were.
Ghaban: card issuing consolidated middle of next year
The new Interior Minister, Ghaban, announced the issuing of a new unified card....his announcement followed meetings in Qatar with Iraqi citizens who have been displaced....who face serious issues without the possession of a workable national unified card for housing and rations....these people have been made promises in the years past by the former regime of Maliki and nothing came from the promises.....they now seek answers and more importantly, actions which Ghaban is pointing towards sometime in the middle of 2015.
Government announces taken several economic and financial decisions that will promote investment and development wheel
From the office of Deputy Prime Minister Shaways, a Kurd by the way, comes an announcement to address the issues of security and economic challenges that Iraqis face as reality....the dropping oil prices are truly hurting them in many ways....the money that has been thrown at security in fighting DAASH is hurting them as well....now is the time to focus on economic development moving forward that will work in the best interest of the Iraqi people. The meeting that Shaways chaired was attended by a large number of high ranking Ministers of the GOI...the "movers and shakers" of Iraq today.....
IMO...given time these people have the capability to make good things happen.....they are wading through the issues of the lack of an organized 2014 budget...one that saw money being funneled into dark holes....never to be seen again....and all the while they attempt to pull together a workable 2015 budget...because all eyes are upon them to see if they are any better than their predecessors....
Yes there was talk in the final paragraph of bankruptcy....due to levels of spending and dropping oil prices....IMO....this won't happen....part of their marching orders is getting spending under control....and becoming better at forecasting oil prices from which they can build effect budgets.
Cancel 2014 budget would cause a financial crisis .. and must reduce the high salaries
Another article from a different economic source that is stating much the same thing.....focus on what was broken....look for long term fixes.....crying over spilled milk isn't going to feed the baby....identify the areas of concern and make quick solid decisions going forward to put a plug in the dike....the powers to be....meaning the new GOI in this case....have the stroke to get productive things accomplished that will see Iraq wade through this current crisis....
Ignoring the issues at hand is not a option.....but I believe they now have a bunch of swimmers and runners....triathletes if you will....that are poised to get the necessary work done....shaking off the sweat and continually looking forward toward the future....refusing to mire themselves down in what happened in the past....
They know they stand poised to lead much of the world in many ways...but it boils back down to Abadi's platform of integrity, honesty, and politics being accomplished in a forth-right manner, above-board, no corruption.
Abadi admits the financial problem and hopes to agree on Kurdistan’s oil
Abadi told a meeting of provincial governors that while Iraq fights a war on terrorism that will not prevent Iraq from supporting and providing services to all Iraqis....putting priorities on stimulating the economy, projects and putting Iraqis back to work....
He sees improvements coming in the area of oil production agreements with the Kurdistan.....he continues to make changes and improvements in the areas related to security for the nation as a whole, centering attention on terrorism and combatting it at the local levels, taking away focus of national efforts.....it seems key though the desire to find an agreement with the Kurds over the oil issues.....
To me an important point here is that Abadi is not at the forefront of the delegation heading to Erbil today to talk about oil and gas issues and potential agreements...this sends a strong message in my mind that he is trusting of his ministers and their efforts....time will tell the story.
Well a quick sort through some of the news today.....interesting most definitely.....news worthy....well that remains to be seen, but I think the Iraqis have some good things in the works today....eyes on Erbil for the time being to see what happens in their discussions on oil and gas issues and agreements.....can you spell HCL?.....to there they must make peace with the Kurds.
Aloha Randy