Successful conference in Iraq with political leadership of Kirkuk province
Erbil, Iraq – The Governor, Vice Governor and Head of the Provincial Council, along with 50 other decision makers and civil servants of the crisis-ridden Iraqi province of Kirkuk came together in Erbil on 10 December for the concluding meeting of the current Iraq project of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty (FNF).
The project to strengthen governance and administration in Kirkuk had started in summer 2010. It addressed the overwhelming need to improve public services in the province of Kirkuk, which - not unlike other parts of the country - suffers from an underdeveloped public sector. Said Falko Walde, the Foundation’s Project Coordinator in charge: “Kirkuk is a province facing unique political challenges. But, like everywhere else, its citizens call for efficient and transparent governance, administration and public service provision. In the last 18 months, we worked with our partners in Kirkuk on answering the citizens’ call.”
The project had two target groups: first, the political decision makers of the province, second civil servants in Kirkuk's public administration. In a series of workshops in Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Germany, the Iraqi participants were provided with tools to better understand the impediments in the way of service delivery and governance in Kirkuk.
The project’s outcome documents, roadmaps and work plans, are assembled in a book that was presented and distributed at the conference. The publication served to bring the achievements of this project, but also future challenges, to the attention of all project stakeholders as well as of the media and the general public in the province.
The conference confirmed the main project findings, among them the proposals for enhanced, systematic communication between the branches of government within Kirkuk, with other provinces, and ultimately with Baghdad. Dr. Najmaldin Karim, Governor of Kirkuk province and participant in the conference’s panel discussion on the key challenges for Kirkuk remarked: “The cooperation between the Provincial Council and the administration in Kirkuk is good and healthy. This is key to taking on the upcoming challenges, especially with regard to service provision in the province. It is still a long way to go, but we are on the right track.”
Concluded Ralf Erbel, the foundation’s Resident Representative in Jordan and for Iraq, Lebanon and Syria: “We came to Erbil to formally conclude the project, but also to underline the foundation’s commitment to continue assisting you in the search for feasible and sustainable solutions for some of Kirkuk’s most pressing problems. As independent and impartial facilitators, we look forward to providing further expertise in the coming years, and to hopefully be able to meeting with you in Kirkuk at some point in the future!”
if you want to read the book : http://www.scribd.com/doc/87015999/Strengthening-Governance-and-Administration-in-Kirkuk
