Lawmakers from the southern Iraqi province of Basra have renewed efforts to seek autonomy from the federal government, as they blame it for problems such as lingering electricity crisis in the oil-rich region.
This week the 35-member Basra Provincial Council passed a resolution with a majority vote asking Baghdad to give the province control over its oil resources and financial affairs.
Basra politicians have been making calls for an autonomy for more than a decade now. The constitution passed in 2005 allows provinces to seek autonomy, which would require a referendum and federal government’s approval – both of which haven’t been forthcoming.
“There is a legal ambiguity and lack of a precedent for forming autonomous regions under the current constitution, given that the Kurdistan region has been established well before,” says Harith Hasan, a nonresident senior fellow at the Carnegie Middle East Center.
The Kurdistan Regional Government in the country’s north, often depicted as a success story of self-rule, was formed a decade before the political transition took place post-US invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Basra, which accounts for around two-thirds of Iraq’s proven oil reserves, is the country’s economic engine, responsible for generating around 80 percent of its revenue. It is also home to Iraq’s only port from where oil is exported to international market.
However, Basra’s oil wealth hasn’t translated into its development as joblessness remains high and people struggle to find clean drinking water and face prolong electricity outages.
Frustrations over poor public services have led to violent protests in recent years – especially during summers like in July last year when protestors went on a rampage, vandalising government buildings.
“Summer is coming. This is something Iraqis are saying a lot these days,” says Ahmed Tabaqchali, an Iraqi investment banker and a commentator on political affairs.
Powerful Basra politicians are using autonomy to whitewash their own inefficiency by shifting the blame on the federal government, he told TRT World.
“There is no capacity at provincial level to run the administration. Even if by some miracle they get autonomy, they won’t be able to address any of the problems.”
