FOREIGN PRESS CENTER BRIEFING WITH MRS. NASREEN MUSTAFA SADIQ BARWARI, IRAQI MINISTER OF PUBLIC WORKS, AND ROSS WHERRY, SENIOR RECONSTRUCTION ADVISOR, BUREAU FOR ASIA AND NEAR EAST, USAID

TOPIC: IRAQI PUBLIC WORKS RECONSTRUCTION

THE WASHINGTON FOREIGN PRESS CENTER, WASHINGTON, D.C. 1:45 P.M. EDT, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2003

MR. DENIG: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Washington Foreign Press Center. I am very pleased this afternoon to be able to welcome for our briefing on Iraqi Public Works Reconstruction, Mrs. Nasreen Mustafa Sadiq Barwari, the Iraqi Minister of Public Works, and Mr. Ross Wherry, the Senior Reconstruction Advisor in the Bureau for Asia and Near East at the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Mrs. Barwari has a great deal of experience in reconstruction and development, and was educated in Baghdad and Harvard University. And I will ask her, now, to give an opening statement; then Mr. Wherry will have one, and then we'll take questions. And just to let you know, Mr. Wherry will have to leave a little early due to a previous engagement, but we'll continue on.

Minister Barwari.

MINISTER BARWARI: Good afternoon. Thank you all for coming. I want to make my statement very short because I'd rather hear your questions. I took up office as the Minister for Municipality and Public Works in the new Iraqi government three weeks ago. Today is really exactly three weeks ago.

I took over an institution of 45,000 staff who deals with water, drinking water, municipal services, sewage and city planning and municipal laws and regulation of land allocation and others.

The kind of work that we do is really dealing with everybody's life. And there are 266 municipalities that comes under my control, so there is a good network that is spread around the country.

Our biggest problem and challenges is really improving the water services. The water services before April 9th in the urban areas, there was only 60 percent coverage -- only 60 percent of the Iraqi urban dwellers have access to safe drinking water. Only 40 percent of Iraqi people living in rural areas had access to water. Only 3 percent of Iraqi cities had proper sewage systems, so this is just to give you an idea of pre-war level of services and the neglect.

The Ministry was part of the Interior Ministry, which, in Iraq, the Interior Ministry deals with security, with intelligence, with policing. It has nothing to do with public works. So to have services like water and municipal management under an interior ministry can give you an idea about the institutional development challenges that is one of my priorities to go through, and reorienting the staff from a military and policing kind of management into a more public service-oriented management.

During the war we've been affected by the looting that took place. But since May, actually, much of the offices were regrouped and we are functioning now in our capacity. And I must say that after the establishment of the ministry as a separate ministry for public works, the Department for Water and Sewage and City Planning were separated. And right now we're busy doing more than 120 water projects, different maintenance work, and we hope to reach pre-war level in the coming weeks.

In the coming two weeks, we are also starting a nationwide program of job creation through public works, and we named the campaign "Towards a Better and Cleaner Iraq." This will offer job opportunities for 100,000 workers, who will do mainly cleaning and public works that is needed.

Our need to achieve an acceptable level of coverage really has been estimated up to $8 billion. The challenges are on us to deliver, really, mainly resources, and we hope to get support from the international community through the donors conference. Water has a lot of health implication, and it's one of our priority.

I'll stop at that, and then I'll take your questions.

MR. DENIG: Thank you, Madam Minister.

Mr. Wherry.

MR. WHERRY: Madam Minister. Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Ross Wherry. I have been working for about 20 years with the U.S. Agency for International Development, primarily in post-conflict situations. We are very pleased to be here with the Minister today because she has one of the more difficult jobs in her country, bringing things back to an acceptable level to the people who live there. And it's a great responsibility of government to provide services.

USAID has been in Iraq now for about six months. We are very proud to have been working in partnership with the Iraqi people, technicians, and others at the municipal and provincial level, and now we're beginning to reach up also towards the national ministries. We work in a variety of different sectors.

The people that we see most often are Directors General and others who are attached to the ministry, and our job is to help them do their jobs. And so far, there are some very good beginnings. For instance, we are now rehabilitating in the neighborhood of 1,000 schools. We have nearly a dozen major water projects that we are assisting Iraqis in accomplishing. We have hired over 35,000 Iraqis themselves, and we use primarily Iraqi subcontractors under the supervision of the people that we have already placed the money with.

We've found that the Iraqis are a highly skilled workforce; they get the job done very quickly and very cheaply. So we're very glad to work with them, and I look forward to your presentation, ma'am.

MR. DENIG: Thank you very much.

Madam Minister.

We'll be glad to take your questions now. Again, as usual, please use the microphone and identify yourself and your news organization. Let's start with Reha over here.

QUESTION: Thank you. My name is Reha Atasagan, and I am with Turkish Public Television, TRT.

Would you welcome Turkish participation in the reconstruction of Iraq, since we are neighbors? I mean, we can easily provide you with water, as you mentioned water is your priority.

And, secondly, what is your opinion, as a member of the Governing Council, on the deployment of Turkish troops in Iraq?

MINISTER BARWARI: I'll answer the first question because it comes under my responsibility. The second question is really a question for the Iraqi Governing Council group to answer.

But, in term of participation of Turkish companies, specifically as you mentioned, Iraq will need the technical help that could be provided to it from everywhere, and including Turkey. We welcome Turkish companies' participation in the reconstruction of Iraq.

I come from a region which neighbors Turkey, and I have great admiration for the work and the quality of work that Turkish company can deliver. Actually, in the north, they took part in some infrastructure work. So we would welcome the participation of Turkish company.

QUESTION: Thank you. My second question was, you know, every member -- if I am correct, I remember -- every member of the Governing Council, you know, kind of made their opinion clear on the deployment of Turkish troops, so I wonder if you have one.

And you have two identities; you are a Kurd and an Iraqi. Which identity comes first?

MINISTER BARWARI: I'm an Iraqi-Kurd.

QUESTION: Madam Minister, my name is Said Arikat from Al Quds newspaper, a Jerusalem-based newspaper. You have a tough job ahead of you.

But my question to you, Madam, the fact that you and the Minister of Electricity were invited to meet with the President and not Mr. Chalabi, is that an indication that there's some sort of a displeasure with Mr. Chalabi as the head of the Council?

MINISTER BARWARI: I don't think so. Mr. Chalabi is not here yet. He's in New York, busy in that front, so if he comes to Washington, then we can see.

QUESTION: (Inaudible).

MINISTER BARWARI: I don't know. I'm afraid I cannot -- I don't have any information. I'm sorry.

QUESTION: Jyri Raivio of Finnish Newspaper Helsigen Sanomat. You said had 120 water projects. Is it up to you to decide the contractors or is it a decision that the Americans make? And how many non-American companies are actually running these projects?

MINISTER BARWARI: Those projects that I mentioned are projects identified, designed, implemented through my general directorate, so it is done and implemented by our staff and decided by our staff.

There is a lot of other non-American businesses and companies that are coming and I think -- I don't have accurate numbers to answer you -- but I know there are Turkish companies in Baghdad. I know there are some companies from the Gulf countries and we're yet to see more European companies, Asian companies coming and helping us in the daunting task that we have ahead of us.

QUESTION: Hoda Tawfik, Al Ahram, Egypt. Welcome and good luck. And my question is about these companies, and did you, or were you approached by companies from the Arab world and within the Arab League to do work with the
-- with your ministry?

And you met with President Bush. Did you have some specified, like, suggestions to him about your work and about your ministry?

MINISTER BARWARI: Well, we're building our network of contacts with everyone -- from the private sector, from the NGOs, from the international community. So, as we work with developing those contacts, we look forward to having a relationship with everybody who has an expertise to offer.

The United Arab Emirates is heavily involved in humanitarian work, but also foresee a future involvement in business development or investment. The decision that was taken by the Governing Council and materialized more by the Finance Ministry on putting some rules and regulations of engagement for future economic investment, we hope that this will open up the door for others to come.

The message I gave to President Bush is, I requested him to continue his support to the Iraqi people. Iraqi people need support as they go through this transitional period, this very extraordinary period of their history as they rebuild the country because this is going to be the most critical year for our history. And I told him that, "We need your help this year, and we will take care of ourselves the following year."

QUESTION: (Inaudible) from Voice of America Kurdish News Service. What are the main challenges facing your ministry in its effort to rebuild Iraq?

MINISTER BARWARI: Well, as I said, I look at my challenges in two ways. It's the actual services and improvement, and reaching to an appropriate level of coverage of services so that the living condition of Iraqi people is improved. I'd like to reach 100 percent of coverage for access to water. I'd like to reach an acceptable level of sewage services. I'd like to empower my offices and municipal offices so that they can run their day-to-day, where they are in touch with the people on a better way.

The next side of challenges is really an institutional development challenge, and reorienting the ministry into more becoming a policymaking ministry, and not dictating and controlling ministry, and in a ministry that look at the interest of the people, and looking for modern technology of achieving things; and also preparing the ground for the decentralized system that we all hope to achieve, and believing in democracy and relying more on the community participation. That's one of my preoccupations too.

QUESTION: Thomas Gorguissian, Annahar, Lebanon. Madam Secretary, my question is related to your timeframe. I mean, you said that you want to go to the pre-war level at least at the beginning, and then improve the water and sewage and cleaning. This is the first question, timeframe -- when, and where, and how?

The second question: You mentioned the number 100,000 people to be hired. I mean, those are just going to clean the place -- for cleaning the places or adding to the 45,000 you mentioned at the beginning that you have in the ministry?

I am trying to figure out exactly what these people do and the others will do.

And if I have a question to -- sir, regarding the USAID.

MR. WHERRY: I'm sorry?

QUESTION: It's a question regarding to the USAID. I mean, you said that for 20 years or more, maybe more, we are in post-conflict project related. What is Iraq, if you compare to other places, conflict?

MR. WHERRY: Please do, please go first. Please go first.

MINISTER BARWARI: Let me remember. What was the first question? I forgot, forgot it.

QUESTION: (Inaudible.)

MINISTER BARWARI: Can you remind me please?

QUESTION: Okay. The timeframe?

MINISTER BARWARI: Okay, okay, got you. As I said, we're very near to reach pre-war level services. But in the meantime, we have developed -- in cooperation with a number of international organizations that are working with us, in addition with the senior advisors that I have in my ministry, who were very helpful in providing me with technical advice and expertise -- we have developed a strategic plan on reaching the goals that I have mentioned.

Our ambitious plan is really to get to 90 percent coverage for access to water and 15 percent of sewage coverage by the end of 2004, and for that we will need around $5 billion. By the end of 2005, we hope to achieve 100 percent coverage of safe drinking water, and 30 percent coverage of sewage. And that will take additional $3 billion. So that's the estimation, and the challenge is really getting those resources.

The second question about the number of --

QUESTION: (Inaudible.)

MINISTER BARWARI: Yes. The 45,000 are staff members, administrators.

QUESTION: They are already there?

MINISTER BARWARI: They are already there. They are staff members distributed across the country in 266 municipal administrative structure. So they are administrators, they are accountants, they are engineers, they are drivers.

This additional 100,000 employment opportunities is for labor, to do the public works that we need to do; for example, cleaning the city, the gardens, removing the -- I mean, building materials or things like that, just to make cities clear. It's the kind of work that we need to do and hire people, too, but this is specifically towards creating employment.

QUESTION: So those 100,000 will be contractors, in effect?

MINISTER BARWARI: They would be labor hired, based on a certain developed temporary job for three months, and it's nationwide.

QUESTION: Are these jobs for Iraqis or foreigners?

MINISTER BARWARI: No, no, no. It will be Iraqis. And we're starting as a first state and 11 (inaudible) in the center and south, and it will be followed by another -- it's to complete the other 7 (inaudible); and by the end of three months, we hope to offer employment opportunity for actually 300,000. That's the aim, the goal. But we're starting with 100,000, and they will be hired from the different municipalities of the country, people who are unemployed there.

MR. DENIG: Mr. Wherry, if you'd like to join us.

MR. WHERRY: In respect to is Iraq -- how does Iraq compare to other places? In a certain respect, it's much easier because the Iraqi population is already well-educated; they already know their jobs; and they haven't been separated from those jobs for a very long time. We're finding very many people who are willing to go back to work and bring services to their neighbors to do the job that any good citizen would do. And that's very, very easy to work with.

We did find Iraq more difficult than we thought because we didn't realize how truly dilapidated many parts of the infrastructure were, and things weren't --

QUESTION: (Inaudible.)

MR. WHERRY: I know that very little public investment took place for an extended period of time, and we find this in electricity. We're finding it in water systems. The looting that also took place was something that -- you always see it in a post-conflict experience -- but we had not expected quite the magnitude of things being taken.

So those were things that we underestimated. But given resources and given the very willing hands that we have found to bring the country back to a better condition, then this job is going very, very quickly.

QUESTION: Samir Nadir, Radio Sawa. What did the President say to you? Did you discuss any possibility that if he will -- may make a visit to Iraq?

And, secondly, what is your expectation from the donors conference in Madrid? What do you expect to get from it?

MINISTER BARWARI: We didn't talk about a possible visit. I left it for the Governing Council members, who will follow me in a visit. But I got a commitment to support Iraq -- commitment, in term of resources, commitment in supporting the Iraqis to be empowered, so that they can take charge and take -- and build a self-government -- self-governance structure, that is the message of hope that I got.

My expectation from the donors conference, we are relying heavily, as Iraqis, on the donor conference; Iraq needs everybody. President Bush, thanks to him, has made a proposal to fund part of the reconstruction process. That is very much needed. But Iraq needs go beyond that, and we really would like to see more government taking an interest in helping us to stand on our feet.

And there has been some good positive commitment from governments like Japan, like the United Arab Emirates. We hope to see more. Right now, there are visits and communication taking place between the Iraqi ministries and the possible donor governments, that there are projects being prepared by each Iraqi government ministry that will be taken to the donor conference and will be presented by the Iraqi ministries and their staff.

So we hope that the international community could come forward because it's in everybody's interest that Iraq is supported during this period, and we want everybody to be involved.

QUESTION: This is just a point of clarification. You mentioned -- because I try to understand things -- you mentioned that 15 percent coverage end of 2004, of the sewage.

MINISTER BARWARI: No, 90.

QUESTION: Ninety for water.

MINISTER BARWARI: Oh, for water. Fifteen, yes, 1-5 percent for sewage from three. Right now, it's three percent.

QUESTION: Three percent. I mean, distribution-wise or the quality-wise?

MINISTER BARWARI: No, there is no sewage system in Iraq. There is only three percent proper canals and treatment.

QUESTION: So it's going to be from three percent to 15 percent, at the end of --

MINISTER BARWARI: 2004 -- that's if we get the funds.

QUESTION: Get the funding of $5 billion, right?

MINISTER BARWARI: Yes.

QUESTION: Thanks a lot.

QUESTION: Reha Atasagan, Turkish Public Television, TRT. You know, when it comes to reconstruction, I am getting a bit confused because here we had some briefings from the USAID, and now you are saying that you are in charge; whereas, you know, I just got an e-mail from Bechtel Corporation, and the U.S. Government's Iraq infrastructure reconstruction program. It also includes water and sewage.

So can you just give us a sense of what Bechtel is doing there, and what you are doing there?

MINISTER BARWARI: Well, thank you, very good question. Actually, one part I forgot to mention is the coordination part that my department is playing now. We have weekly meeting on water, where all the players who are working on water programs there attend -- we have UNICEF; we have CARE; we have ICRC; representative of Bechtel; representative of USAID.

And everyone who works on the water, we get together. And it is chaired by members of my staff, specifically, the General Directorate for Water. And there discussions take place, and all of this is information sharing, is learning from each other's experience and coordination.

So there is much coordination across the sectors and the ministries, the Iraqi ministries, through their staff. I mean, it may not be me personally attending. But members of our ministry attend those meetings as chair. So there is a level of coordination, and that level is being studied now to get improved, as we move to 2004.

QUESTION: Thank you. Madam Minister, in light of the complete privatization that has been recently announced in Iraq, how will you guard against: (a) you know, big companies following up little Iraqi guys -- like Bechtel, or Root and Brown, or Halliburton; and (b) you know, the economy falling into or being hijacked by mafia-like, you know, groups, and so on?

The reason I say this, because there is a lot of similarity with Russia. I covered Russia right after the fall of the Soviet Union, and there is a lot of similarity. So how will your department or your ministry guard against these two things?

MINISTER BARWARI: Well, I'd like to make one clarification, that the announcement by the Finance Ministry has to do with foreign investment. It doesn't deal with privatization. There is a general sense among the Iraqi ministries that we need to study the privatization issue before committing to any project so soon.

So the goal at the long run would be to privatize some of the services, but we are not starting so soon for exactly the reason that you mentioned because we want to be prepared. We want to protect the interest of the citizens of Iraq. And before that is in place, we won't be engaged in any particular discussion.

QUESTION: Two, not small things, but two things, anyhow. How big trouble in this is the security or lack of security in your operations? And is there enough of water in Iraq for 100 percent coverage?

MINISTER BARWARI: Security is a concern, as you all will appreciate. It's a concern that we are mindful of, but it's a concern that we are making progress on, and we are taking measures to protect the installation, to protect the assets. But to give you an idea of how much security is affecting my particular work, there has been no incidents of security that affected my work so far, and we're hoping to build on that.

But as a precaution, we're taking advantage of the relationship we had with the different communities, the services that will be delivered to certain communities. We are engaging the communities to be part of the security system for these. We're hoping to get Iraqi police, the ones that have been trained and will be trained in the future, and rely more on Iraqi policing system to guard our facilities and programs and projects.

What was your second question? I keep forgetting.

QUESTION: Is there enough water? Is there enough water for 100 percent coverage?

MINISTER BARWARI: Okay. Well, I think we have good water, too. And I keep saying that Iraq is rich in oil and water and human resources. We will hope to get into studies that can give us different kind of solutions to the water problem. We have service water and we have ground water.

And we have to look for also, as we implement water projects, and provide for coverage of pipelines and systems, or we have to also invest on conservation and work with the population, so they also be conscious of the value of water because there is a waste culture in Iraq generated by the former regime policies of delivering and subsidizing everything, and for that we need to work with the communities.

So I think we have enough water, but we need to work into conservation issue and management of water resources.

QUESTION: Thank you.

QUESTION: To follow up on this one very quickly, on the issue of the water flowing -- Very quickly, on the issue of water, and under the old regime, Turkey really curtailed the amount of water flowing through the Euphrates to Iraq. Do you expect the American government, now that regime is gone, to sort of pressure Turkey to, you know, increase the amount of water that is flowing through the Euphrates?

MINISTER BARWARI: I think that's a matter more so to the Iraqi Governing Council to deal with the neighbor country, and get into a relationship that is based on cooperation, and instead of abuse or, you know, control. And we are trying to claim our seat in every international arena.

And we will definitely be looking into that, too, if that is an issue. And it will be all dealt within the Iraqi Governing Council's interaction with the neighboring country, and I'm optimistic that it won't be a problem.

QUESTION: [Reha Atasagun, Turkey.] Can I do the follow-up on it?

MINISTER BARWARI: Yes, of course. I expected so.

MR. DENIG: No, we -- (laughter).

MINISTER BARWARI: I expected it.

QUESTION: [Reha Atasagun.] There is no need in any pressure from anybody. I mean, our government is saying that, you know, "We're ready to give water or whatever Iraqi people needs."

MR. DENIG: Okay. Thank you very much, Minister Barwari.

MINISTER BARWARI: Very nice.

MR. DENIG: Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you, Mr. Wherry.

MINISTER BARWARI: Thank you.

MR. WHERRY: Thank you.