Iraqi PM Downsizes Government

The Iraqi Prime Minister wants to reduce his government’s size.

The state officials in Iraq are ready for some lean thinking. The Iraqi Prime Minister, Nuri Al Maliki, has set a timetable according to which the ministerial positions are to be merged and cut in half. The plan is to improve government efficiency. At present, there are 44 cabinet members and 47 ministries.  These are to be reduced to 25. However, it was not clarified which ministries were to stay and which ones were to be discarded.

This shakedown of governmental positions and privileges is a necessity although an inconvenient one. It is for the sake of improving the daily functioning of the state. Iraqi statesmanship remains in an experimental stage especially after its colonization by the United States. There have been allegations of graft and bureaucratic red tape has plagued the nascent government.

The trimming of the ruling elite in Iraq may ruffle a few feathers among those who don’t want to leave their positions of power. This is only natural since those who have become habituated to remaining in the corridors of power are for obvious reasons unwilling to relinquish control.