Eurasia Press & News
Recently, the president of the Kurdistan Development Corporation and the representative of the symbolically united government of Southern Kurdistan appeared on NBC-Canada, advertising the “friendly†environment of Kurdistan for investments. I refuse to mention the name of the representative, but the individual is, along many other officials, the product of nepotism of the “democracy†built by the two mountain establishments.
As the officials of the two parties waste no time to advertise the systems they have built and suggest them as an examples to be followed for the rest of Iraq, it would have taken any person with average mind to realize the truth when the NBC anchorperson wondered about Kurdistan’s GDP. The representative’s answer was very simple: “I’m afraid we don’t have data like that.†I could be wrong, but many officials of the two parties would fail to understand the meaning of GDP and other economic terms such as unemployment and inflation rates or average income per capita, let alone providing a value. Such an answer, though, is an indication of the existence of unqualified government personnel in the concerned field.
The complication of calculating such a value, GDP, in Kurdistan can be understood. It possibly requires advanced, accurate and rigorous data gathering methods, as in everywhere else. Also, to this day, the same government is failing to provide the basic services of living, such as electricity and clean water (e.g., one can notice the reasoning behind the recent demonstrations in Kurdistan), let alone having the ability to calculate the GDP growth of the region. Though, how could a foreign investor risk his/her capital to be invested in this region without foreseeing the future consequences? How could our politician think that Kurdistan would be a “commercial gateway to the rest of Iraq†if they lack a clue about the region’s GDP?
It is in fact a shame for the government of a region that has been out of Iraq’s administrative control and being functioning independently for a decade but has absolutely no clue about the GDP of Kurdistan. It is a shame for the same government to have the ability to track online Kurdish writers, kidnap them when visiting their nation, Kurdistan, and sentences them to 30 years imprisonment but has no clue about values correlating to such economic terms in Kurdistan. Is it possible for the two parties who control the region on their thumbs not to realize the importance of such matters? The answer to this question will perhaps be very disappointing.
The two administrations, or the “united†administration, can be forgiven. The three liberated provinces of southern Kurdistan constitute a huge region, which is difficult to administrate effectively. The 42 (notice the number ‘42’) ministers cabinet, approved by the two “National Security Council(s) of Kurdistan†(i.e. the political bureaus of the two parties), is short-staff. It needs more ministers, so the finance minister(s) of the “united†cabinet return back to their ordinary work.
