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Iraq

Answer

Corruption poses a risk to the momentum of recovery and reconstruction in Iraq. The US Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) reports that corruption costs Iraq US$4 billion per year. At the moment, the Iraqi Commission of Public Integrity are pursuing more than 1,400 cases involving US$5 billion in suspected fraud and other criminal activities. It is essential that the Government of Iraq, supported by the international community, is able to take the lead in tackling this issue.The UK, with the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and other donors, continue to work with the Iraqi Government to improve accountability and transparency in Iraq’s public finances at both national and provincial levels. The Government of Iraq has announced plans to establish a Joint Anti-Corruption Council (JACC), the purpose of which is to advise the Prime Minister on anti-corruption policy and to improve co-ordination among the different bodies and institutions covering the rule of law, transparency and governance. In late July, the World Bank hosted an anti-corruption workshop in Dubai that brought Iraqis and donors together to examine how the Bank and others can more effectively assist in the fight against corruption.DFID has reporting arrangements in place for each of our own projects, which means that the funding is tracked and monitored throughout the process. All of DFID’s funds are subject to rigorous internal controls and the National Audit Office audits DFID’s accounts on an annual basis. Our 2005-06 audited resource accounts are available at"http://www.dfid.gov.uk/aboutdfid/resource-accounts.asp"

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

108737; 454 c1462-3W;454 c1464-5W

Session

2006-07

Subjects

Development aid Iraq

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk