Iraq's power struggle as supplies falter

BBC

Speak to any Iraqi and they will tell you their standard of living has not improved since the toppling of Saddam Hussein two years ago.
Many will tell you it has got worse.

The power supply is still off more than it is on. Water is intermittent. The queues for petrol stretch round the block. Jobs are hard to find.

And all despite the billions of dollars budgeted for reconstruction.

So where has all the money gone?

At a briefing in Baghdad, the American general in charge of reconstruction, Brig Gen Thomas Bostick, insisted progress was being made.

He presented an impressive list of statistics:


2,500 projects started
More than 13,700km (8,600 miles) of electricity transmission lines constructed
700km (437 miles) of dirt roads being laid with asphalt
But on the areas most crucial to Iraqis, Gen Bostick conceded: "It will take some time, I can't estimate how long, to make substantial improvements in electricity and water.

"The amount of resources necessary are just not available."

The United States has committed more than $18bn (£10bn) to the reconstruction effort.

Other countries are pitching in as well; Japan has just pledged $100m for the building of a new power plant.

But in a country of 25m people that has been through 25 years of war and sanctions, that does not go very far.

'Unscheduled maintenance'

Of the American contribution, for example, only $11bn goes directly to reconstruction. The rest is paying for things like the Iraqi security forces or justice system.

The funds allocated to improving the water supply total $2bn. Yet according to Gen Bostick, Iraq's water minister recently estimated his country needed to spend $2bn every year for 12 years in order to be able to supply clean water across Iraq.

So the problems are there even without the sort of bomb attack that took out most of Baghdad's water supply for most of this week.

Or take the electricity supply network. Gen Bostick proudly proclaims that his men have increased Iraq's power supply to more than 5 megawatts - a big increase on the 4.4 megawatts available under Saddam Hussein.

But he also admits that at any one time 2 megawatts of that capacity is down for "unscheduled maintenance" - in other words, breakdowns.

At the same time, demand has increased by 60% as Iraqis have rushed out to buy televisions, fridges, freezers and air conditioning.

So according to official American figures, there is less than eight hours power available every day across Iraq. If anything, the gap between supply and demand is continuing to widen.

And despite all the achievements they claim, so far the Americans have only completed reconstruction projects worth less than $1.5bn.

By contrast, according to the analysts at globalsecurity.org, the invasion and occupation of Iraq have so far cost the United States more than $178bn.

So perhaps it is not a surprise that most Iraqis have not noticed the difference yet.