Iraqi Minister Says
Rebuilding Water Infrastructure May Take up to Five Years
August 25, 2005 — By Mattias Karen, Associated Press
STOCKHOLM, Sweden — Iraq's water
resources minister said Wednesday it could take up to five years to
rebuild the country's water supply infrastructure, and that the lack of
electricity and clean water has made sanitation "a desperate need" in
rural areas.
Noting that improved security and better infrastructure systems "go hand
in hand" in Iraq, Abdul Latif Jamal Rashid said the continued fighting
and unrest is undercutting efforts to bring clean water to the Iraqi
people.
"There is an extensive program for overall water management," Rashid
told The Associated Press on the sidelines of a conference on global
water management in Stockholm. "If we have a proper budget ... we hope
to achieve our goals in three to five years."
Rashid could not say exactly how much Iraq is spending on rebuilding its
water infrastructure -- most of which was neglected for decades by
Saddam Hussein's regime and was then damaged further during the U.S.-led
war and its bloody aftermath.
He added that while the U.S. Congress has allocated funds for water
management in Iraq, "unfortunately, most of that was spent on the
security situation."
The lack of electricity in many regions is also making it increasingly
difficult to clean the water that does reach rural areas.
"Sanitation is a desperate need in Iraq," he said. "Most rural places
don't have sanitation. And even in Baghdad, most solid waste is sent
back to the river."
Source: Associated Press |