Rebuilding in Iraq shifts to self-sustaining Iraqi effort
Sunday, 04 March 2007
WASHINGTON — Rebuilding Iraq is shifting from a U.S.-led “jump start” effort to a self-sustaining Iraqi driven phase, said the director of the Iraq Reconstruction Management Office Saturday.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has built the majority
of its large projects, said Ambassador Joseph Saloom, director of the
Iraq Reconstruction Management Office.
“It is a shift away
from us building large things … to more working to build their capacity
to do things for themselves,” Saloom said.
All but 15 percent
of the $13.4 billion Iraq Relief and Reconstruction fund has been
spent, and that will drop by another five percent by the end of the
year, he said.
Saloom said the new focus is on Iraqi “budget
execution,” or getting the Iraqi government to spend the money it
allocates on the projects it designates.
Last year, the Iraqi government implemented only 40 percent of its capital budget, he said.
“They seem to be able to spend money on salaries and so forth, but when
it comes to actually channeling their considerable resources to
actually build things for the population, that is an area where they
need our help and where we are concentrating our assistance,” Saloom
said.
The United States is helping with both immediate technical assistance and longer-term training, he added.
The Iraqi government has passed its 2007 budget and already has
distributed 10 percent of those funds to the provinces, he said.
Iraq
is endowed in natural resources, Saloom noted, and he said newly passed
legislation should help attract private investors to the region.
Saloom’s office coordinates overall U.S. government efforts to promote
reconstruction and economic growth in Iraq. He also manages the funds
appropriated by Congress for supporting economic and democratic
development and reconstruction in the country.
On any given day, the Gulf Region Division of the Corps of Engineers is working on about 1,100 projects.
In the region to date, 976 of 1,045 planned school projects are
complete, 154 border forts have been built, 92 of 97 planned fire
stations are finished, and 93 of 102 planned railroad station
renovation projects are complete.
The Corps of Engineers hires about 30,000 Iraqis to work the construction projects.
The United States has contributed almost $22 billion toward rebuilding
Iraq. The World Bank estimated that the total cost of rebuilding the
country could end up being as much as $80 billion.