Main authority should be stronger than provincial councils – Iraqi PM

By NNN-KUNA,

Baghdad : Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki said he supported the establishment of provincial councils and independent governments in provinces as long as they did not have a higher authority than the central government.


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In a conference with Iraqi tribal leaders in Baghdad Friday, he said that “the central government should have more power than the provinces and not the opposite — the country is the one to protect the provinces and the unity of Iraq.” “This is the direction that combines districts’ and provinces’ rights to deal with their own issues and provide services in the best efficient manner.” He added that there were two concerns he regarded as crucial; “security unity and sovereignty,” emphasising that security was a shared responsibility between provinces and the central authorities.

Provinces will have the right to set up contracts worth up to USD 250 million without permission from the government in Baghdad, according to Al-Maliki.

He praised conferences with tribal leaders calling them a “unique occurrence in the history of Iraq, which unites its sons.” “Through the tribes, Iraq will be safe from outer conspiracies and interventions,” he said, calling for a higher national council for tribal leaders to be further established.

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