Home > Iraqis: Corruption Still Exists in Iraq
By RAWYA RAGEH
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Siham Kadhim leaves her gold jewelry at home when she goes to a government office these days; she doesn’t want to tempt the clerks looking for more than just an application fee to process her paperwork.
"I am afraid they will think I am rich and hike up the bribe," the mother of three said, drinking coffee with friends on a recent afternoon.
As Iraq (news - web sites) works to take its first faltering steps toward democracy and transparency, its bureaucracy has become even more riddled with corruption, dishonesty and favoritism than it was under the previous regime.
Much to their dismay, Iraqis are learning that they still need to push recalcitrant clerks to perform their duties, and that "Ikramiya," an Arabic euphemism for bribery, still reigns - and is getting worse.
Under Saddam, fear of the government and its many agents planted in every government department, kept some of the corruption in check. The fledgling interim government does not inspire that same fear.
"It’s been one month now, that I’ve been going back and forth to that office," Umm Ali, 45, sighed, talking about her hours in line trying to get a passport.
Like many Iraqis who rushed to obtain travel documents after years of restrictions under Saddam, Umm Ali was surprised to discover that the weeks-old system was already mired in corruption. Shady operators offered to speed her application through the queue for $200 - a process that should cost her less than $1.
"While I wait in line, these fixers come up to me and say: "If you want your papers done just show us the dough"," she said. A devout Shiite, Umm Ali - who asked that her nickname be used - wants to travel to neighboring Syria to visit a holy shrine with her husband and daughter.
She said she baulked at the fee. "Where do I get $600 from?"
It’s not only the passport authority, Umm Ali’s friends chime in, ticking off a list of places they had the same experiences - the electricity company, telecommunications offices, real estate branches, the tax service and banks.
"The situation is so bad now I no longer wear my gold whenever I have any paper work I need to do," Kadhim said, sipping her coffee.
George Sada, a spokesman for interim Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, acknowledged there was a problem.
"Yes, there are violations, and it is among our top priorities to handle that," he said, pointing out the government has only been in power for five weeks, and needs more time.
The government’s top priority now is to contain the 15-month-old insurgency wracking the country, he said.
Sada hoped a new anti-corruption commission would help eradicate the problem.
The commission, which started in June, investigates complaints dating back from the previous regime. But not many people know about it, including Umm Ali and her friends.
"What are they going to do anyway?" asked Amira Ali, banging her coffee cup on the table. "Saddam has sown evil and corruption and now it’s harvest time."
Ali has her own tale. Her neighborhood was forced to pay nearly $700 to a phone line repair man before he would even start working. When Ali went to pay council fees for the building she owns, the tax clerk leaned back in her chair and opened a desk drawer - a well known sign across the Middle East for requesting a bribe. Ali paid her $24.
"Even police at a checkpoint the other day let off a reckless driver who had no license or registration because he paid them," she said.
U.S. instructors training new Iraqi police and Iraqi government governments have also expressed concern that new recruits could be bribed.
"There are still some undesirable elements in the police," said Sabah Kadhim, an Interior Ministry spokesman. "But we need the people’s help. We need them to be patient and we need them to report any violations."
Kadhim, the housewife, said she was willing to be patient, but only if the government dealt decisively with the problem.
"I advise the new president (Ghazi) al-Yawer to be firm, like Saddam," she said. "We have so many riches in this country, they just need to allot it in the right way to counter greed."