Iraq ∙ Conflicts, Protests and Bad Management: Is There a Way Out for Iraq’s Public Procurement Problems?

Abstract

According to a World Bank Systematic Country Diagnostic of Iraq made in 2017, Iraqis feel discontented with the basic service they receive.1 Although conflict is not the sole reason behind the deterioration of service providing in Iraq, it may be considered as the main catalyst. The deadly on-going protests that commenced in 2019 shed light on the need for reform to increase public confidence in the government that is responsible for delivering services to the citizens.2 More than 500 Iraqi people have lost their life due to violent protests aimed at overthrowing the government in order to improve basic standard of living through improving the basic service providing and ending corruption.3 The Iraqi Government has spent around $213 billion in public expenditure in the period 2003-20124, however the Iraqi citizen has not seen improvement in service delivery. According to Transparency International latest Corruption Perceptions Index which ranks countries according to their corruption rate, out of 179 countries, Iraq is ranked 160 most corrupt country globally.7 This ranking is not a coincidence but is endorsed by the lack of accountability for the public procurement process. Restoring Public Confidence in Iraqi Procurement Process: Steps and Lessons Learned In order to improve the complications associated with public procurement and civil unrest in Iraq, it is important to assess the success of public procurement in other countries and examine the steps taken by those countries that attributed to the success. 18 In the United Kingdom for example, the government took steps to increase the value of public procurement expenditure through an official government review.19 In Iraq, there is no statistical framework whereby studies and reviews could be gathered in order to produce an official report for public procurement .However, internationally recognized frameworks have been placed to act as a best practice and guides for governments to