Planning ministry sends wish list to Tokyo donors' conference

Iraq's Ministry of Planning has sent its wish list to the current Tokyo donors' conference, including 324 projects costing a total of US $45 billion, of which 53 are related to infrastructure, job creation schemes and training. "Although security is still the most important issue in Iraq, the infrastructure of the country should be repaired quickly. These are our most important projects now," Minister of Planning Mehdy Al-Hafedh told IRIN in Baghdad. Iraq's reconstruction needs are vast, starting with the basics such as inadequate sewage and electricity capabilities. Donors say the continuing kidnappings, conflict and bombings are delaying the development and reconstruction process. So far, the US has only released $3.4 billion of an $18.4 billion aid package. Around 50 countries and organisations are taking part in the two-day conference, which started on Wednesday. It aims to examine how to allocate the $33 billion pledged at the first Iraq donors' conference in Madrid in October 2003, since only $6.7 billion has been spent so far due to insecurity. Japan is one of the biggest contributors, with $3 billion in soft credit and aid, Iraqi officials said. Japan announced that it would give $40 million to support Iraq's legislative elections, due to be held in January 2005. Other major countries at the conference include France, Germany, Russia and Iran. During the meeting, Iraq's interim deputy prime minister, Barham Saleh, asked donors to write-off the $125 billion debt inherited from Saddam Hussein's regime and called on the United Nations to play a more active role in Iraq, the media reported. "We need more UN support and we need it now. Please don't let the Iraqi people down," Saleh added. The US had said it would overlook 90-95 percent of Iraq's debts but France has suggested that only 50 percent should be disregarded as it is an oil-rich country. Iran's ambassador for Iraq reconstruction, Hussein Zeineddin, said Tehran was pledging $10 million to the trust fund for Iraq's reconstruction. But with pledges being released slowly and ongoing insecurity hindering reconstruction, ordinary Iraqis see few improvements. "Every day you see on the television or read in the newspaper that money is being invested in Iraq, but I am still searching for it. Our lives haven't changed and our needs simply increase every day. I hope that this conference will give us more than mere promises," Muhammad Ra'ad, a shopkeeper in the Mansoor sector of Baghdad, told IRIN.