WOTS WED May 26 21
These are the articles I discussed on the My FX Buddies Podcast
A deputy calls for the parliament to withdraw confidence from 4 ministers and the governor of the Central Bank
link
Representative Manar Abdul Muttalib called, on Wednesday, the House of Representatives to question 4 ministers in Mustafa Al-Kazemi's government, and to withdraw confidence from them.
"The ministers of finance, industry, electricity, interior and the central bank governor must withdraw confidence from them, as a result of their negligence in the tasks assigned to them," Abdul-Muttalib said in a statement to the agency.
She added, "The Minister of Interior in his capacity is responsible for security in the country, as well as the Minister of Finance as he is responsible for raising the dollar exchange rate and increasing poverty and unemployment, as well as the governor of the Central Bank in addition to the accountability of the Minister of Electricity and Industry."
And considered that "the electricity and industry of the ministries of the most waste of public money over the past years."
And Abdul-Muttalib stressed, "The need for the parliament to take its real role in holding the official accountable, regardless of his job grade."
Sulaymaniyah and Erbil exchange accusations after a financial and administrative dispute
The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan denied, on Wednesday, that the Sulaymaniyah governorate administration refused to hand over its financial resources to the Kurdistan Regional Government, while accusations escalated between Erbil and Sulaymaniyah regarding the revenues, at a time when some party parties close to the Kurdistan Democratic Party accused the Union of seizing customs capabilities In Sulaymaniyah.
In a report reviewed by the information, the National Union website quoted a member of the parliament of the Union bloc, Sarko Azad, as saying that “the statements made by some parliamentarians about not handing over the Sulaymaniyah governorate's imports to the Kurdistan Regional Government are false and that the statements made by some parliamentarians about the incomes of the Sulaymaniyah Governorate are not correct".
He added, "The imports of the border crossings and the rest of the departments are received by the Ministry of Finance, and there are government institutions that receive these sums, and there is no party that controls imports in Sulaymaniyah province, as some parliamentarians claimed."
He explained that “the imports enter into the account of banks and government institutions and are sent directly to the treasury of the Ministry of Finance.
The head of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan bloc in the Kurdistan Parliament, Ziyad Jabbar, announced that the Sulaymaniyah governorate will hand over more than 571 billion dinars from the province’s revenues to the Kurdistan Regional Government’s treasury within 4 months.
Ziad Jabbar said, "The governorate delivered 161 billion dinars to the government’s treasury during the first month of this year, and the same amount was delivered in the second month, which is from the governorate’s revenues."
He added that "the province handed over 133 billion and 400 million dinars of its revenues to the government during the third month, and it also handed over the fourth month's revenues, which amounted to 116 billion dinars."
According to the head of the National Union bloc in parliament, "Sulaymaniyah will thus have delivered 571 billion dinars to the treasury of the Kurdistan Regional Government during the four months of this year, which is the revenues of Sulaymaniyah Governorate."
Kurdish delegation will visit Baghdad next Sunday to present data for the region's employees
A spokesman for the Kurdistan government, Gutiar Adel, confirmed, on Wednesday, that a delegation from the region will visit Baghdad next Sunday to present all the data of Kurdistan employees.
Adel said in a press conference, "A delegation from the region will visit Baghdad next Sunday to present all the data of the Kurdistan Region employees."
He added, "Prime Minister Masrour Barzani sent on April 15 a letter to Baghdad informing them of the approval of the implementation of the budget," indicating that "the regional government is obligated to pay the salaries of all employees in the region."
He pointed out that "the salaries of employees will be distributed to all ministries in the coming days."
And on the agreement between Baghdad and Erbil on military operations rooms, Adel commented, "The agreement between Baghdad and Erbil regarding filling the gaps between the border areas has begun to be implemented, as well as the start of work in the military operations rooms between the two parties
Iraqis launch a campaign against the United Nations mission and Blashardt: 'UNAMI is the partner of the killers'!
this is a twitter campaign that is going on in IRaqi
On Tuesday, Iraqi bloggers launched a campaign against the United Nations Mission in Iraq, accusing it of "collusion" with the existing regime in the country and its "participation in murder and corruption."
The tag "UNAMI, the partner of the killers," (26 May 2021) was issued on Twitter for Iraq, against the background of the violent incidents that affected the demonstrators in Tahrir Square, leaving two victims and dozens of wounded and detained.
Reactants published the mission’s logo upside down, expressing their "condemnation of the mission's stances identified with the power parties and militias."
One blogger wrote, “The blind world organization about what happens in the killing of Iraqis by a repressive political regime,” while another said that “the international community that recognizes the democracy of this government is a partner in this blood that fell in Tahrir Square.”
The violence and repression of demonstrators in Tahrir Square, on Monday evening, left at least two victims and dozens of wounded and detained.
The Central Bank of Iraq announces additional profits from negotiations on interest rates
The Central Bank of Iraq announced, on Wednesday, the achievement of additional returns in the first quarter of 2021, citing the reason for adopting the principle of self-management of investments.
A bank statement said, "Nas" received a copy of it (May 26, 2021), that it "achieved additional returns in its investments during the first quarter of 2021 compared to the fourth quarter of last year," adding that "this came as a result of adopting the principle of self-management of investments within His efforts in adopting international best practices in investment management that allow greater flexibility and control, benefiting from the electronic trading platforms owned by this bank, and training specialized technical cadres to work on them.
The Central Bank confirmed that "working according to the above mechanisms and practices achieved additional returns resulting from the difference in negotiating interest rates with correspondents, at a rate of more than 1% of the total returns achieved on this bank's investments for the first semester of 2021."
A “major” split hits Maliki’s coalition
A representative source in the State of Law Coalition revealed, on Wednesday, the defection of ten deputies from the coalition led by former Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
The source said, to Shafaq News Agency, that "10 out of 25 MPs decided to defect from the State of Law coalition."
The source pointed out, "These representatives have formed different electoral blocs of their own, according to the multiple electoral districts to participate in the next House of Representatives elections."
The Parliamentary State of Law Coalition includes 25 members in the Iraqi Council of Representatives, in addition to its leader, Nouri al-Maliki.
The "state of law" is an Iraqi political alliance led by Nuri al-Maliki, which split from the Iraqi National Coalition, which was gathering all Shiite forces.
The next elections are scheduled to be held on October 10, according to what the Iraqi Council of Representatives voted to set a date for in a session held on January 19, 2021, amid government pledges to hold fair elections away from the power of weapons.
Al-Fatlawi: The government bears the responsibility of besieging the people economically
On Wednesday, Fadel Al-Fatlawi, the representative of the Al-Fateh Alliance, held the government responsible for the deterioration of the people's economic situation after the decisions it had made regarding the dollar and the curfew, pointing out that Parliament is currently moving to ensure the improvement of the economic situation and the elimination of poverty.
"The government bears responsibility for what the people suffer from a great deterioration in the living situation, especially after the measures it has taken regarding the comprehensive curfew during the past days, as well as raising the dollar exchange rate," Al-Fatlawi said in a statement to Al-Maouma.
He added that " Iraq needs an economic rescue plan to improve the level of per capita income, eliminate unemployment, and reduce prices to an acceptable level, which is what the government must do."
Al-Fatlawi explained, "There are moves within Parliament in order to ensure a change in the citizen's economic reality, and to improve the living situation in line with the requirements of the stage."
The Daily WOTS "Word on the Street" report is here
The exchange rates of the dollar in the local markets on Wednesday (May 26, 2021), according to the monitoring of specialists.
Baghdad - Al-Kifah Stock Exchange
149,150
....
Price in exchange (approximate)
148,500
149,500
————————————————
Basra / Stock Exchange
149,250
——————————
Erbil / Bursa
149,075
——————————
Mosul / Stock Exchange
149,200
the exchange rates of the dollar in the local markets on Wednesday, according to the monitoring of specialists.
Price in exchange (approximate)
149,750
148,750
Basra / Stock Exchange
150,000
149,000
Erbil / Bursa
149,750
148,750
DISNEYLAND to charge $100 for sandwich...
Billionaire's Fishing Lodge Faces Seizure in Record Tax Case...
DOLLAR DOUBTS: BIG SPENDING THREATENS TO UNDERMINE RESERVE ROLE...
Russia deploys nuke bombers to Syria...
Biden, Putin set meet in Geneva...
Mysterious air base being built off Yemen...
Positive Pot Tests Up Among Workers...
Super flower moon dazzles...
Bible prophecy predicts disaster...
CBI Update: Just a note:
including $7,750,000. CASH
ISX Update: Shares Traded: not updated for todayValue Traded: not updated for today
5-25-2021 Intel/Newshound Guru Holly I am told today should also be a day when things start. ...We are in the window. I’m told from all sources this week will be a great week. Many are not talking which is a great sign.
5-25-2021 Intel Guru Sheila [via MarkZ] I believe that between today and Saturday this will all be over. Our new banking system is ready to go officially on June 1st.
5-25-2021 Newshound/Intel Guru Mnt Goat Article: "THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES RESUMED RAISING THE ISSUE OF RAISING THE PRICE OF THE DOLLAR" ...What they do not tell you in the article is part of this session was a CLOSED DOOR session and they discussed the project to delete the zeros and the rate of a revaluation. The finance ministry wants the rate very low at about 30 cents while the Central Bank has already said they are going to revalue at about 1:1 with the US Dollar. This is the dispute now. The Central Bank would like to get full support from the finance ministry but technically does not need it. We wait to see what happens next.
5-25-2021 Newshound/Intel Guru Petra We study the articles. That's the only resource we have. We dig deep into those articles and pull out what I think are nuggets. And I'm telling you [what] we saw the last several weeks...I honestly thought this thing was happening last weekend. I honestly did. I woke up Sunday morning thinking this is the day and it wasn't. I was thinking...why did I put myself in the position to think that it would happen because we are dealing with a unique entity called Iraq...but I thought about it and thought about it and more articles came out and there was something else that I missed...I do believe we are in the final motions of the CBI. It's evident by what's going on in the world...It's all coming together...
5-25-2021 Intel Guru MarkZ [via PDK] [Do you think we are going by June 1st?] Yes I do…I am still getting a solid steady stream from banking sources…I was told they are sending teams all over the place doing tests on transactions…most are successful...there are still a few glitches but they are busy working through those things…They are expecting things to break loose–tied to another event as a cover…what that is-I don’t know? But, It’s an exciting time to be alive. I am not sharing some things because I was asked not to…buckle up buttercup…we have been leaned on by the banking community to not share many of the details…the last thing we want to do is being responsible for delaying this thing.
5-25-2021 Intel Guru Frank26 I said for me it's less than years, it's less than months, it's less than weeks, it's within days and I still believe that sincerely because everyday that has gone by has been so significant. Everyday that I've said that to you has been filled like a pregnant rhinoceros...I mean this is stuff that's big. Everyday you can see...there is a date when they're going to release the new exchange rate and that date is written in titanium.
5-25-2021 Newshound Guru MilitiaMan Article: "The President of the Republic presents a bill to recover the stolen money and hold the corrupt accountable" Quotes: "...Iraq has lost a thousand billion dollars since 2003 due to corruption"; "...150 billion dollars were smuggled into the countries of the world through corruption deals..." Recovering $1 trillion in stolen money and put back into the coffers will go along way in maintaining the new exchange rate. imo...Even $150 billion would be nice...
According to the Al Mustakilla Research Group (IIACSS)/Gallup International Iraq recent Opinion Thermometer (IOT) poll conducted in April 2021, Iraqi Shia are showing particularly high rates of dissatisfaction, distrust, and unhappiness regarding their political system when compared to Iraqi Sunnis and Kurds.
The IOT is a long-term project to assess the state of public opinion in Iraq towards democracy and governance in the country. The overarching goal of the project is to determine whether the state of public opinion in the country is on a trajectory conducive to sustainable and well-functioning pluralistic democracy. While the first survey in the project was conducted in April 2021, the project will periodically track key attitudes in Iraq in order to better understand the societal foundations of the existing political order.
Though there are no official or undisputed figures on the percentage of the Iraqi population that is Shia, most sources agree that they represent almost half of the population. After the U.S. invasion and the establishment of a new political system, Shia had finally obtained their moment for political ascendance in 2003. The new governmental structure meant that Iraqi Shia became the most powerful political force in the country and gave them the upper hand in political decision making; most of the parliamentary seats, ministers, and the prime minister have been Shia.
As such, and in contrast to Sunni Iraqis, most Shias and Kurds were happy about the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime. Less than one year after the invasion, whereas only 35% of Sunnis said that Iraq was going in the right direction, the majority of Shia and Kurds—65% and 70% respectively—saw Iraq’s direction in a positive light. More than 80% of Iraqi Shia thought that their lives were significantly improved in 2004.
Yet after more than fifteen years, Iraqi Shia have started to look much less favorably toward the current political system. Shia Iraqis started to realize that Iraq’s current political parties had stolen the popular Shia Iraqi dream of good governance with a prominent voice in policy.
This dissatisfaction reached its peak in October 2019, when hundreds of thousands of protesters went into the streets in majority Shia governorates to express their frustration and to call for a complete replacement the current political system. This pressure from Shia demonstrators led the Adil Abdulmahdi government to resign at the end of 2019, and the Iraqi parliament chose a new government in May 2020 in order to placate protestor demands.
Initially, the new government under current Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi was greeted with much public goodwill. Public expectations for Kadhimi’s government were extremely high, and the Kadhimi government enjoyed a relatively high approval rate in its first six months, around 60% in total and around 50% among Shia.
However, the recent IOT survey, which was based on a nationwide face-to-face representative sample of 1,200 CAPI interviews, confirms that almost two years after the October uprising, Iraqis in general and Shia in particular are still pessimistic about the direction of their country. In January of 2021, Shia Iraqis’ trust in the government was at 27%, with Sunnis’ trust in the federal government at 46% and Kurdish trust at 55%.
Now, overall trust in the government is at its lowest point ever: 22% of all Iraqis and just 17% of Shia express trust in the government according to the April 2021 IOT poll. This most recent poll also shows that although 75% of Iraqis in general think that Iraq is going in the wrong direction, the percentage among Shia is even worse (80%). This is the lowest rate of optimism about the country seen since IIACSS began polling in 2003. According to the IOT, Shia are showing higher dissatisfaction rates than Sunnis and Kurds by all measures. While 5% of Kurds, and 16% of Sunnis feel unsafe in their cities, the percent jumps to 25% among Shias. This striking number of one in four Shia could be better understood if we consider that 60% of Shias believe that non-state armed groups—in other words, the Shia militias—are stronger than the government.
Likewise, while almost 50% of Sunnis and Kurds believe that they cannot influence decisions made in Iraq, the percent jumps to 60% among Shias. Along the same lines, 60% of Sunnis feel that not all people are treated fairly and equally by the government, while 70% of Shias believe that as well. There is clearly an immense crisis of trust in Iraq when it comes to how the public views the government. As this is most profound among Iraq’s Shia community—the government’s most important group for its political support, this means that the societal foundation for government legitimacy in Iraq is sorely lacking, and this deficiency in societal support could mean further political instability in the country. It also means that much of the Iraqi public views its government more as a cause of problems than as the solution for Iraq’s many economic, social, and political challenges.
One might expect that the coming October election may impact this dire lack of public trust in the Iraqi government, but the data unfortunately does not support this optimism. Fifty percent of Sunnis and 60% of Shia are unlikely to vote in the coming election. Furthermore, based on previous elections, the percentage of Iraqis who state that they are unlikely to vote is likely to rise further as election day approaches.
These numbers reinforce the recent IOT findings, which show that while a small majority of Sunnis (53%) agree that elections and voting do not give them a voice in politics in Iraq, this percentage jumps to 71% among Shia respondents. Accordingly, it is fair to assume that the coming election will witness a low turnout, with the lowest turnout expected in Shia areas. In addition, of those who said that ordinary Iraqis can influence the decision-making process, only 14% of Sunnis, 11% of Shia, and 31% of Kurds believe that voting is the way to do so. Clearly, Iraqis in general and Shia in particular are increasingly convinced that the normal, institutionalized ways of influencing politics and policy in Iraq do not work for them.
While political apathy produces its own problems, such as allowing corrupt politicians to rule unchallenged, this indifference to voting may also signal a much larger problem. Many Iraqis could be turning against their political system, potentially making them more susceptible to radical, non-system oriented solutions to Iraq’s political problems. Looking ahead, all of this data points to the possibility that the next few few months will witness an acceleration in the momentum of different kinds of protests and expressions of popular dissatisfaction, particularly among Shias. In fact, this data may help explain why there has been an increased number of assassinations of Shia political activists in the past few weeks. These activists, who could play a significant role in changing the political game in Iraq, have been targeted in a desperate attempt to stop the momentum of the so-called October Uprising from returning.
Yet these recent assassinations are unlikely to stop the expected acceleration of this popular uprising, focused in Shia areas, in the coming weeks. The most important question for Iraqi politics right now is that with these high levels of dissatisfaction with the current state of politics, whether young, angry Shia will be able to turn the tables on the entire political system in Iraq.
Though the aforementioned scenario is very possible and the door to stopping it is gradually closing, there is still a chance for Kadhimi and his government to fix things. Kadhimi can take advantage of the fact that he is not affiliated with the current political parties and the fact that he is often attacked by some of these parties. Moreover, he gets particularly withering criticism from the parties close to Iran.
To arrest the momentum toward more anger among Shias, Kadhimi will have to complete significant reforms on three fronts: 1. Fighting corruption, and there is good evidence that he has already made significant progress on this front; 2. Improving the economy, and the recent jump in oil prices may help with this; 3. Most importantly, degrading the influence and the power of Shia militias. This last challenge could be the master key for all other reforms as it ensures the possibility of his government regaining control over the state. Regaining control over the state of Iraq will be the top challenge for Kadhimi during the coming few months.
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