According to a report on the Qatar Al Jazeera website on January 25, Iraqi rotary grinders have been around for many years. With the decline in production enthusiasm of textile factories, many textile factories in Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, have gradually gone bankrupt and become a store of imported goods. customs warehouse.
A textile factory owner said in an interview that Baghdad’s industrial zone was once dotted with factories of all sizes, covering various fields. However, due to the blind pursuit of imported goods after 2003, the Iraqi government temporarily exempted them from import taxes. Due to the tax, these factories went bankrupt one after another, and the owners of these factories were even less able to continue to compete on price.
He also mentioned that there are currently a lot of abandoned machinery sitting idle on the roof of the factory, with a total value of approximately US$3 million. He said he was willing to sell the unused equipment for $2,000 each.
In addition, he also pointed out that in the past few years, the Iraqi authorities have reduced their support for industry, blindly pursued imported goods, focused too much on commercial cooperation with foreign companies, and greatly neglected support for local companies.
Two hundred factories
Hussein Zakana, the owner of a textile factory in Iraq, said in an interview that the government had built a large number of state-owned enterprises and factories before the U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003, but more than 200 factories have closed down.
Zakana also said that the biggest problems currently facing the factory are aging factory equipment and a large number of employees. These problems have intensified after 2003. He also pointed out that in addition to the factors mentioned above, the arrogant and domineering corrupt forces also suppress investors without restrictions in order to obtain profits from investment projects.
Iraqi Minister of Industry and Mines Nasir Al-Isassou also said at the press conference that the closure of many textile factories has increased Iraq’s economic burden.
Financial Burden
Mohammed Saleh, Economic Advisor to the Prime Minister of Iraq, also said that the country’s industrial development has stagnated since 2003, which has increased the country’s economic burden.
Saleh also mentioned in the interview that the annual wages paid to workers by factories are as high as 15 trillion dinars (approximately US$12.5 billion). He pointed out that the way to solve the current problem is to shape the company into a private industrial enterprise and on this basis protect the personal interests of the 250,000 employees.
On the other hand, Masoud Haider, a member of the Iraqi Finance Commission, emphasized that private enterprise taxes account for 40% of national fiscal revenue. If the authorities are committed to shaping the company into a private industrial enterprise, this will provide the country with annual financial support of 10 trillion dinars (approximately US$8.3 billion) and greatly promote the development of the Iraqi economy.
Transfer of ownership
Iraqi economist Antwan believes that enterprise privatization does not mean blind transfer of ownership. The enterprise itself should pay more attention to work performance, so that employees can truly feel that the enterprise values them and devote themselves to work. Of course, investors can also become strategic partners of enterprises, promoting enterprises to improve corporate productivity and work performance within a specific period of time.
He also pointed out that the privatization process must not harm the interests of employees, but should create more job opportunities for them and pay attention to employee retirement, social insurance and other matters. These are top priorities for enterprises to promote their own development.
