Iraq’s Council of Representatives approved on Thursday 27/10/2022 the ministerial programme presented by the Prime Minister, Mr. Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani.

The programme outlines the government’s vision and plans for the economy, financial and service sectors, addressing poverty and unemployment, combating corruption, ending the waste of public money, establishing security and stability, enforcing the law, strengthening the authority of the state, and meeting the demands of the Iraqi people including young protestors.

Government priorities

The ministerial programme identified the following priorities:

• 1. Combating administrative and financial corruption.
• 2. Tackling unemployment and creating job opportunities for young people.
• 3. Supporting vulnerable and low-income groups.
• 4. Reforming the economy and financial, agricultural, industrial and banking sectors, and supporting the private sector.
• 5. Improving and developing services that affect the lives of citizens.

In order to ensure implementation of the government’s commitments, there will be monitoring and supervision by the Prime Minister directly.

Principles of the programme

The ministerial programme is underpinned by the following principles:

• A – Performance and Commitment: The programme is the basis on which the government performs, and a commitment to discharging its duties. The programme represents the fundamental criterion in evaluating the performance of the government.
• B – Joint responsibility: The government’s responsibility is a joint one that aims to enhance the spirit of support and integration, and emphasizes the principle of adherence to cabinet decisions. Violation of this principle will be regarded as a failure to perform.
• C – Strategic planning: The programme is the basic pillar and the foundation for a detailed strategic and executive plans for ministries.
• D- Transparency: While adopting transparency in its work, government performance is governed by the preservation of confidentiality.
• E – Review and Evaluation: The ministerial programme will be subject to an annual review, or whenever new developments deem this necessary. This requires formulating an accurate mechanism to monitor and evaluate success.

Policy areas

The programme presented the government’s visions and what it will seek to implement in the following sectors and areas:

• 1. Social protection and the fight against poverty
• 2. Combating unemployment and providing job opportunities
• 3. The displaced, the reconstruction of the liberated areas and minorities
• 4. The electricity crisis
• 5. The Health sector
• 6. Construction and municipal services
• 7. Combating corruption and waste of public money
• 8. Agriculture and water Resources
• 9. Trade
• 10. Industry
• 11. The oil sector
• 12. The financial and banking sector
• 13. Transportation and communication
• 14. Education
• 15. Investment
• 16. Tourism
• 17. Population and development
• 18. Human rights and women’s empowerment
• 19. Foreign Relations
• 20. Central government and the KRG
• 21. Security and stability of Iraq
• 22. Implementation of strategic projects
• Legislation and political reforms

The programme includes a working paper consisting of two sections, executive and legislative:

The executive section identified several measures that the government will implement, including:

• Reviewing all decisions by the outgoing caretaker government.
• Paying the ‘petro-dollar’ dues to oil and gas-producing provinces.
• Unifying customs policy at all border crossings and closing all unofficial crossings.
• Holding provincial council elections.
• Building effective tools to fight corruption within a period of 90 days from the date of forming the government.
• Returning IDPs to their areas of residence within six months from the date of forming the government.
• Cancelling the need for a security permit for citizens in liberated areas.
• Working with the competent authorities to determine the fate of missing individuals, and include them in provisions of the the Victims of Terrorism Law after conducting a security check.
• Redeployment of the military and security forces outside the cities, and assign the security of cities to the local police and security services.
• Committing to submit a comprehensive economic reform paper linked to a specific implementation programme.
• Launching a comprehensive national campaign to combat illicit drugs.

In the legislative section of the programme, the government highlighted a number of pieces of legislation that it regards as a priority, these include:

• Legislation of the Federal Court Law within six months.
• Amending the Parliamentary Elections Law within three months and holding early elections within a year.
• Legislation of the National Security Council Law and its adoption as a reference for strategic decisions.