Shafaq News- Dhi Qar
Billions of dinars in oil-company socialbenefit funds were spent without improvingessential services, particularly the healthcare sector,a member of Iraq's Dhi QarProvincial Council said on Thursday.
Nagham Al-Ibrahimi told ShafaqNews that many residents still travel outside the province for specializedtreatment, including cancer and burn care, despite years of funding intended tosupport local development. “The socialbenefit funds were supposed to support model projects that leave a lastingimpact on the province, but that has not happened over the past years.”
Al-Ibrahimi argued that muchof the money went to road paving and government buildings rather than strategicprojects, while also alleging that “favoritism influenced how resources weredistributed.” Dhi Qar, she said, has received no new allocations under theprogram during the past three years.
Located in southeastern Iraq,Dhi Qar is one of the country’s leading oil-producing provinces. Under Iraq’spetrodollar law, producing regions receive a 5% share of revenues from oil andgas output to offset the environmental and social burdens of extraction andfinance reconstruction and development efforts.
: Funding gaps leave Dhi Qar health sector under strain