Basra reconstruction initiative launched

 

Azzaman, 2004-09-28

 

President Ghazi Yawer has launched a plan to rebuild Basra, the country’s second largest city.

 

Basra, home to nearly 1.5 million people, is among the most impoverished in Iraq as it bore the brunt of the three major wars in the past three decades.

 

Yawer said he would set up a “South Reconstruction Commission” that will shoulder the reconstruction of the southern city.

 

“Basra is currently in the midst of destruction which has descended on it from all sides,” Yawer told a group of tribal leaders from the city.

 

“Basra is the city which has seen the largest destruction in Iraq,” he said.

 

Basra, which borders three of Iraq’s six neighbors – Iran, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia – is a key oil center and holds a substantial volume of Iraq’s proven oil reserves which are the world’s second largest.

 

Located in a fertile agricultural region, the city is the country’s main port and has a 140,000-barrel refinery.

 

Yawer gave no details on his plans but stressed the interim government had decided to proceed ahead with reconstruction programs despite security problems.

 

He said the government needed to deliver on pledges to develop the country.

 

“Security conditions will not improve unless there is an improvement in living conditions,” he said.

 

The post of president is rather ceremonial under the new interim constitution with the prime minister holding the reins of power.

 

But since assuming the post more than two months ago, Yawer has tried to keep a high profile.

 

In his meeting with Basra elders, Yawer criticized the US decision to disband the former Iraqi army, describing it as a “blunder.”