Reuters: The Sudanese government’s reform campaign raises optimism among Iraqis
Reuters: The Sudanese government’s reform campaign raises optimism among Iraqis
5-15-2023
Information/translation…
A Reuters report confirmed, on Monday, that the reform campaign undertaken by the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shia’a al-Sudani raises hope with cautious optimism to improve basic services for citizens who are tired of long years of conflicts and neglect of previous governments.
The report, translated by the information agency, stated that “Al-Sudani enjoys the support of high oil prices as well as strong political support, and he is focused on achieving quick gains to appease a large segment of young people who have long organized repeated protests against the deteriorating economic conditions, unemployment, poor services, and financial and administrative corruption.”
He explained, “The new reform package includes improving roads, bridges, and sidewalks, removing security barriers that exacerbated traffic jams, cleaning the facades of buildings damaged by the war, and renovating parks and gardens that embrace the Tigris River that divides the city.”
And the report indicated that “the electricity in the country witnessed a significant improvement, as the daily interruptions were almost absent in the month of May, although it is expected that the interruptions will return in the summer with the rise in consumption and the escalation of temperatures.”
And the report indicated that “in more than twenty interviews, Iraqis said they felt cautious optimism about the future due to the improvement in infrastructure and the recent stability that opened the country to a huge number of tourists, most of them from Arab countries, while many said that these changes were the most important thing they have witnessed since US invasion in 2003, but it remains powerless in a country that generated more than $115 billion in oil sales in 2022 and suffers from endemic corruption that has crippled services.
The report indicated that “one of the main projects that will be opened during the period of Al-Sudani’s rule is the establishment of a 2.5-kilometer-long corniche along the eastern bank of the Tigris, along Abu Nawas Park, one of the largest green spaces in Baghdad, and it was provided with corridors for running and cycling, benches and public bathrooms.” It has drawn crowds of visitors since partially opening earlier this year, but many Iraqis still fear that the relative improvements could be wiped out by violent political divisions, or that the associated economic gains will not reach them in a country where unemployment is high. Officially 16 percent.
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