Shafaq News- Baghdad
A Member of the Iraqi Parliament's Electricity and EnergyCommittee on Wednesday called on Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi to launch thegovernment's Dawn Crackdown anti-corruption campaign at the Ministry ofElectricity.
Noura Al-Juhaishi told Shafaq News that Electricity MinisterAli Saadi Waheeb “is accountable for the problems accumulated over the past 20years, but he is responsible for the ministry today and must live up to therole.” She urged the minister to conduct field visits to ministry departments,power stations, maintenance centers, and bill collection offices, and tooversee operations directly.
The parliamentary committee had met with the minister, Al-Juhaishisaid, adding that his response was “cold” and he refused to allow lawmakers toparticipate in monitoring the ministry's work and carrying out their oversightrole.
In recent weeks, the ministry has undergone a series ofleadership changes. Minister Ali Waheeb replaced the heads of severalelectricity distribution branches, suspended senior officials pendinginvestigations, and referred dozens of employees to the Integrity Commissionover suspected corruption and negligence.
Power cuts have long been one of Iraq's public grievances,with summer temperatures frequently exceeding 50°C and millions of householdsrelying on private generators to compensate for limited state electricity. Accordingto the Electricity Ministry, peak summer demand has surpassed 60,000 megawatts,while available generation remains nearly 40,000 megawatts short, a deficit theministry attributes to illegal grid connections and reduced natural gassupplies following the regional conflict and disruptions linked to the closureof the Strait of Hormuz.
: Beyond 50°C: How decades of conflict are heating Iraq
