LADP in Iraq – Muthanna PDS

Local Area Development Programme in Iraq

Financed by the Implemented European Union by UNDP

PROVINCIAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY

MUTHANNA GOVERNORATE

December 2017

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FOREWORD BY THE GOVERNOR

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CONTENT

PSD Muthanna Governorate

Foreword by the Governor ...... 3 Content ...... 5 List of Figures ...... 7 List of Tables ...... 8 Abbreviations ...... 9 Introduction ...... 11 PDS preparation Steering Committee members ...... 16 I. Context ...... 17 1. Location and administrative division ...... 17 2. Historical overview ...... 19 3. Geography and natural resources ...... 20 3.1. Topography, geological structure and soils ...... 20 3.2. Surface features ...... 20 3.3. Climate ...... 21 3.4. Surface water resources ...... 21 3.5. Groundwater resources ...... 23 3.6. Arable land ...... 23 3.7. Environment ...... 24 II. Social profile ...... 25 1. Population ...... 25 2. IDPs ...... 26 3. Living conditions ...... 27 III. Economic profile ...... 28 1. Economic development ...... 28 2. Investments ...... 28 3. Industry...... 29 4. Agriculture ...... 30 5. Tourism ...... 32 6. SWOT analysis of the Governorate Economic Sector ...... 34 IV. Public service delivery – quality and access ...... 35 1. Transport network sector ...... 35 2. Water supply sector ...... 36 3. Wastewater management sector ...... 37 4. Municipal services sector ...... 38 5. Electricity service sector ...... 40 6. Housing sector ...... 42 7. SWOT analysis of Public Services sector in the Governorate ...... 43 V. Social services ...... 45 1. Education sector ...... 45 1.1. Pre-school education (kindergartens) ...... 46 1.2. Primary education ...... 46 1.3. Secondary education ...... 48 1.4. Higher education ...... 48 1.5. Vocational education ...... 50 2. Healthcare sector ...... 50 3. Social protection sector ...... 52 3.1. Human rights situation ...... 52

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3.2. Social protection of economically vulnerable groups and and poor families ...... 52 3.3. Inclusion of youth ...... 53 3.4. Inclusion of women ...... 54 3.5. Gender issues ...... 54 3.6. Civil society and media ...... 54 4. SWOT analysis of Social Services sector in the Governorate ...... 55 5. Unified SWOT analysis at the level of the Governorate ...... 57 VI. Governorate administration ...... 59 1. Governor and Governorate Council ...... 59 2. Governorate Departments ...... 59 3. Governorate Administration structure ...... 60 4. Governorate budget ...... 61 VII. SWOT analysis ...... 62 Economic Development ...... 62 Social Services ...... 63 Basic Services ...... 64 VIII. Strategic objectives ...... 67 IX. Programmes (priority areas for development) ...... 68 1. Programme 1: Improve the transport network ...... 68 2. Programme 2: Improve the electricity service ...... 69 3. Programme 3: Improve the water supply service ...... 71 4. Programme 4: Improve performance of wastewater sector ...... 73 5. Programme 5: Improve municipal services ...... 75 6. Programme 6: Ensure appropriate housing ...... 77 7. Programme 7: Ensure conducive investment environment ...... 78 8. Programme 8: Strengthen the local industrial sector contribution to the development process ...... 80 9. Programme 9: Strengthen the agriculture sector ...... 82 10. Programme 10: Develop the tourism sector ...... 85 11. Programme 11: Improve health services quality and access planning ...... 87 12. Programme 12: Improve social protection ...... 89 13. Programme 13: Improve education quality and access ...... 91 14. Programme 14: Improve higher education quality and develop its outputs ...... 94 15. Programme 15: Strengthen good governance ...... 97 X. Implementation of the PDS ...... 100 1. Financial resources ...... 100 2. Implementation structures ...... 101 3. Follow-up and evaluation ...... 103 Sources ...... 104

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1 Muthanna Governotrate ion Iraq’s administrative map 17 Figure 2 Administrative map of Muthanna Governorate 18 Figure 3 Physical map of Muthanna 20 Figure 4 Climograph, Al-Samawah (desert climate) 21 Figure 5 Population distribution of Muthanna by age group and urban/rural, 2016 (COSIT) 25 Figure 6 Population distribution in Muthanna by nahia/qadha and type of settlement (urban/rural) (COSIT) 26 Figure 7 Education attainment levels in Muthanna and Iraq (10y+), 2012 (COSIT) 26 Figure 8 Share of arable land in Muthanna per administrative unit 31 Figure 9 Registered traffic accidents in Muthanna (2014) 35 Figure 10 Trends in population growth vs. trends in housing supply in Muthanna; projected housing deficit 42 Figure 11 Average students per class and teacher in primary education, Muthanna, 2016/2017 47 Figure 12 Primary school drop-out students in Muthanna by gender, 2011/12–2014/15 (COSIT) 47 Figure 13 Enrolment in tertiary education in Muthanna (2012/13–2016/17) 49 Figure 14 Structure of Muthanna’s Administration 60

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 1 Area of Administrative units of Muthanna 17 Table 2 Rates of water consumption in Euphrates governorates (2003–2008) 23 Table 3 Cultivated land in Muthanna 24 Table 4 Population distribution in Multhanna (2016) 25 Table 5 Persons who changed their place of residence in Iraq and Muthanna by reason (2011, %) 26 Table 6 Drinking water sources in Iraq and Muthanna (2014) 27 Table 7 Status of investment opportunities in Muthanna (2015) 29 Table 8 Large and medium industry in Muthanna by administrative unit (2015) 29 Table 9 Large and medium industry in Muthanna by activity and value (2014) 30 Table 10 Small industry in Muthanna (2012–2014) 30 Table 11 Employment in the agriculture sector in Muthanna (2015) 31 Table 12 Agricultural production in Muthanna (2011–2014) – cultivated areas, main crops, yields 31 Table 13 Livestock projects in Muthanna Governorate, 2016 32 Table 14 Tourism sector and tourism infrastructure data, Muthanna 32 Table 15 Main roads, first class, Muthanna 35 Table 16 Secondary roads, first class, Muthanna 35 Table 17 Rural roads in Muthanna 36 Table 18 Bridges in Muthanna 36 Table 19 Water supply system infrastructure and capacity in Muthanna 37 Table 20 Coverage of the water supply network in Muthanna by administrative unit 37 Table 21 Key data and indicators for the sewerage sector in Muthanna 38 Table 22 Municipalities in Muthanna 38 Table 23 Technical standards for municipal service provision in Muthanna (gap analysis) 39 Table 24 Technical standards for servicing public spaces and municipal areas in Muthanna (gap analysis) 39 Table 25 Cleaning service provision in Muthanna in 2016 (gap analysis) 39 Table 26 Key indicators and data related to Muthanna’s electricity service system 41 Table 27 Housing provision in Muthanna per administrative unit (2009–2022); projected housing deficit 42 Table 28 Number of informal settlements in Muthana governorate according to the administrative units 2015 43 Table 29 Primary education in Muthanna by administrative unit (2016/17) 47 Table 30 Primary education schools and school buildings in Muthanna by administrative unit (2016/17) 47 Table 31 Secondary education in Muthanna by administrative unit (2016/17) 48 Table 32 Secondary education schools and school buildings in Muthanna (2016/2017) 48 Table 33 Al-Muthanna University – colleges, academic staff, students, research, centres (2016) 49 Table 34 Vocational education in Muthanna, 2011/12–2014/15 (COSIT) 50 Table 35 Healthcare service data and indicators for Muthanna 2016 51 Table 36 Standards for healthcare service provision in Muthanna (gap analysis) 51 Table 37 Youth Centers in Muthanna Governorate 53 Table 38 Sports stadiums in Muthanna Governorate 53

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ABBREVIATIONS

COSIT Central Organisation for Statistics and Information Technology (Iraq) CBSP Community Based Strategic Planning (process/methodology) CSOs Civil Society Organisations GSP Governance Strengthening Programme, Iraq (USAID) GoI Government of Iraq HE/HEI Higher education/ Higher Education Institution IDP Internally displaced person IOM International Organisation for Migration ISIL Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (aka ISIS) Law 21 Law of Governorates Not Incorporated into a Region – aka. Provincial Powers Act (2008) MoCH Ministry of Construction and Housing (Iraq) MoCHPMW Ministry of Construction, Housing, Municipalities and Public Works (Iraq) MoE Ministry of Education (Iraq) MoHESR Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (Iraq) MoLSA Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (Iraq) MoMPW Ministry of Municipalities and Public Works (Iraq) MoP Ministry of Planning (Iraq) MoYS Ministry of Youth and Sports (Iraq) PDS Provincial Development Strategy (5-year plan) PPDC Provincial Planning and Development Council PPP Public-Private Partnership PwDs Persons with disability RES Renewable enrgy sources QC Qadha Centre TDS Total dissolved solids UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNWTO World Tourism Organisation (United Nations agency) USAID United States Agency for International Development WWTP Wastewater treatment plant

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INTRODUCTION

To strengthen the strategic dimension of the planning process, and in conjunction with National Development Plan 2018-2022, the governorate of Muthana prepared Muthana PDS 2018-2022. Working according to strategic plans represents one of the required foundations for sound and fruitful work necessary to achieve advanced level of administrative, professional and developmental performance. Furthermore, in light of the recent developments, and international and local changes, it is necessary to formulate the visions and goals of the governorate future path.

The aspiration to advance the governorate must be an integral part of comprehensive developmental policies and programs aim at changing the economical, social and service deliver reality. It is necessary that developmental policies be based on in-depth and thorough baseline study to serve as basis for preparation of plans according to sound scientific basis and indicators.

This strategy will result in a full package of social and economic programs, increasing employment opportunities, finding possible sources and economic alternatives, and stimulating productive sectors while making the room for the private sector to promote the development of a sustainable development strategy.

Work methodology

Muthana Governorate Development Strategy 2018-2022 developed in sensitive circumstances due to the presence of many challenges and complexities specifically in the economic dimension, where oil prices dropped down and cessation of most projects and activities. Therefore, the preparation of the strategy required specific and defined methodology based on the latest methods for plans preparation, including the methodology and the participatory approach adopted in different preparation stages of the strategy. Muthana strategy has defined the roles of the private and public sectors, and the Civil Society to achieve its developmental goals. Furthermore, the strategy is guided by the plans of the sectors and directorates at the governorate in addition to the participation of their representatives and representatives from the civil society, private sector and the academia who contributed in building the strategy. Meantime, the donors and the international community played a role in strategy preparation stages, which enriched the strategy and made it more realistic.

The Technical Group assumed its responsibility to prepare the strategy supported by the Steering Committee and representatives from different sectoral directorates in the governorate. The Technical Group was supported by an academic team from Muthana University, in addition, experts from UNDP Iraq worked with the governorate’s task force to contribute in keeping up with the international trends and experience in the field of development while ensuring the participation of representatives from the private sector and CSOs in the plan’s preparation group. Consequently, through tens of periodic meetings, number of sectoral workshops and community participation symposiums, strategic alternatives for governorate development were developed and identified ensuring their alignment with the 5 years national development plan 2018-2022 and the extensive participation of the stakeholders while including their aspirations.

The Strategy is classified into five developmental axes: Economic, Services, Social, Good Governance and Spatial Development. Each axis included a number of sectors; roles were distributed among relevant entities to the plan such as the technical group, the university advisory group and sectoral directorates in the governorate to facilitate distribution of tasks and quick completion of tasks.

The Technical Group prepared an action plan composed of stages: . Stage 1: Preparatory Stage . Stage 2: Preparation of basic data and their analysis . Stage 3: SWOT analysis . Stage 4: Identification of Strategic Issues . Stage 5: Identification of Critical Issues . Stage 6: Identification of Action Plans to address the critical issues . Stage 7: Consolidation of Action Plans to establish the PDS . Stage 8: Implementation Plan, Monitoring and updating the PDS

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Quality Activities

Plan preparation period included the initiation of the task force, and for the first time, quality activities that were not carried out previously while preparing the plans. The most important activities are the following:

University Participation. The University of Muthana was approached and a University order was issued to involve a team of 13 teachers from the University to work as advisors supporting the technical group in preparation of the plan and provision of necessary advice, visions and recommendations.

Community Participation and Stakeholders. One of the CSOs functioning in the governorate held a number of workshops and symposiums on the main sectors of the plan totaling to six workshops covering agriculture, education, investment and private sector, industry, women and social affairs and service provision sectors. The workshops held to inform the stakeholders from the relevant sectors about the plans’ drafts prepared by the technical group and relevant directories while adopting the stakeholder’s remarks and suggestions.

Effective Communication. A drop box application utilized to exchange data among the technical group, University advisors and liaison officers from the directorates. The members of the technical group and representatives from the directorates display their activities in the application to enable members from other thematic areas and advisors to access the files and data displayed in this application.

The group in charge of the preparation of the plan created a Face book page to display the activities and working papers for discussion and provision of necessary remarks. Through Face book page notifications sent to attend meetings and eventually publication of minutes of meetings.

Periodic Meetings. More than 40 periodic meetings were organized to follow on the progress of the activities of the plan, writing down the recommendation, review of the sectoral plans and assessment of work.

Liaison Officers. The Technical group relied on the liaison officers nominated by the sectoral directorates to facilitate communication and provision of necessary data. The liaison officers received training provided by the members of the technical committee to ensure mutual understanding in implementing work steps

Planning Tools

UNDP trained the technical group and liaison officers through several workshops on using different analytical and planning tools to identify the strategic issues. The tools used are as follows:

SWOT Analysis. A general tool used for strategic analysis of different domains such as business management, marketing, human development and others. Each letter of SWOT refers to one aspect of the analysis and as follows: . S (Strength): The Institute’s elements of strength that can be used to its advantages. . W (Weakness): The institute’s points of weakness. . O (Opportunities): Existing opportunities outside the institution that is utilized for example to increase sales, which eventually may lead to increase of profit. . T (Threats): Outside threats that might disrupt the work of the institution.

Problems Tree and Objectives. A participatory tool used to identify main problems, the reasons behind them and their affects to assist the planners formulating clear manageable objective and the strategy to attain them.

Logical Framework. A specific methodical strategic planning tool used to prepare for a program or developmental intervention. The methodology includes a participatory approach to explain the outputs, outcomes, activities, inputs and their causal relationship, indicators to measure the progress made toward achieving the desired results, as well as assumptions and risks that affect the success or failure of the intervention. The process allows following a systematic logical approach to identify the priorities, and building of common understanding on intended results and program activities jointly with the relevant entities.

Results Based Management. A management strategy utilizes the feedback to achieve strategic goals.

Tables of Action Plans. Action plans tables prepared to introduce activities that need to be executed to achieve the objectives of the developmental plan.

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Challenges

The technical group faced several challenges while preparing the local action plan and communicating with the sectoral directorates. Among the challenges are the following:

Lack of available data basis at the directorates and difficult access. Many sectoral directorates have no organized database due to lack of system that ensures the flow of collecting, analysis and extracting the data, which eventually affects all decisions taken by the managements of these directorates. This led the technical team to rely on key data and indicators to determine the orientation of the developmental plan.

Weak interaction of some Directorates in preparing the plan. It is noticeable that some sectoral directorates have weak interaction in preparation the plan. The weakness was present in several forms such as lack of consistent communication with the action team, granting no access to data claiming that the directorate is of federal nature, which was clear through the formal correspondence with the Ministries of these directorates (directorates of oil products distribution and directorate of private transport). The lack of communication was visible through appointment of liaison officers that have neither work experience nor the competency to execute the work, in addition to replacing them several times, which led to delays in preparation of the plan. Furthermore, the lack of interaction of the management of these directorates with the action group and non- attendance of meetings and workshops held despite the invitations provided for attendance.

The current financial situation and the difficulty in proposing solutions. The traditional context adopted in the preparation of the plans is based on provision of projects proposals (technical) in the presence of good financial abundance (financial allocations), which allows to execute these projects. Therefore, the presence of financial crisis led to avoid following the strategic method of thinking in solving the problems, or resorting to alternative plans that relies on administrative procedures and decisions to solve the problems and provision of services.

Lack of permanent planning committees or teams in the directorates. The planning departments in the governorate’s directorates are noticeably weak, and the staff is constantly changing, which led to the difficulty in delivering the strategy within the scheduled time. This situation led to the presence of a weak staff with no vision or sufficient data on the directorates they represent, which has made it difficult to provide the technical team with the required data.

Management culture. It is noticed that the culture of the managements in the directorates and the staff in charge of planning is based on considering the plans as services projects only that are funded by the governorate the provincial development program. Hence, the strategic thinking for sectors development is virtually non- existent.

Plan Orientation

It is necessary to work in different directions to ensure the success in implementing any plan. Therefore, these tools or directions included within the programs and activities of the local development plan for the governorate of Muthanna. These directions considered as the strategy for a joint action with the participation of most sectors, and as follows.

1. Building the Information System to ensure the flow of information and ability of decision-making. This action is one of the key pillars to develop the governorate, and is the foundation for any decision taken by the different level administrations in the governorate. It includes the higher management represented by the governorate administration and the provincial council, and the lowest management level represented by a section or unit in the sectoral directorates.

2. Adopt research and development as the basis to solve the problems of the governorate, development of the actual reality and practices. This approach was adopted, while elaborating the plan, as one of the correct scientific assurances in developing the working sectors in the governorate. It aims at finding solutions to the problems of the development process, which was highly supported by the entire international experts during the elaboration of the plan.

3. Investment and partnership with the private sector as the key pillar to execute the plan. Shifting from the total reliance on the state to provide the services and creation of job opportunities is one of the key orientations of the plan. The key orientation adopted by the plan to achieve the goal of provision of services, creation of job opportunities and reactivation of the private sector is the reliance on investment, partnership with the private

13 LADP in Iraq – Muthanna PDS sector and provision of the appropriate environment, especially in light of the current financial situation experienced by the country.

4. Maximize the revenues to ensure constant provision of services. The plan adopted the principle of maximizing the local revenues as one of the key solutions to ensure preserving the minimum level of provision of services, as well as the possibility of expanding them. The technical group took the possibility of studying the means to achieve and maximize the revenues to meet the objective of developing and sustaining services.

5. Capacity building and institutional development to ensure meeting the goals set in the plan. One of the key directions adopted by the plan is the capacity building and institutional development as a realistic orientation to establish competent institutions capable of executing the elaborated plans with high competence and effectiveness.

6. Centralized planning at the local level as one of the successful solutions to ensure execution of the plans. It is noticeable that there are multiple sources for planning and lack of coordination among the sectoral directorates in relation to planning and addressing the problems. This issue prompted the technical group to adopt the orientation of centralized planning at the local level as one of the successful solutions to ensure execution of the plans and coordination to elaborate them.

7. Adoption of spatial dimension in distribution of services and expansion of development. The elaboration of the plan is based on the spatial dimension, and the necessity to consider the distribution of services to ensure balanced development in the administrative units. Furthermore, the adoption of the structural plan to set the feature and areas of development within the governorate plan.

Safeguards for a Successful Plan

Objective of all plans are pending on the presence of safeguards to implement them according to set vision. Hence, to achieve the desired goals related to development of services, social and economic sectors among others, it is necessary to touch upon the key safeguards that aim at execution of the plan according to its objectives and achieve its developmental goals. Among the safeguards are the following. 1. The existence of an institution with clear powers and responsibilities commissioned with the following tasks:  Supervising the implementation of the plan and ensuring the requirements of its success.  Follow-up the developmental indicators resulted from implementation of the activities of the plan by forming special working groups that establish follow-up programs in this regard.  Update the plan according to the update requirements and the outcomes of the follow-up reports. 2. Supporting the governorate administration, the legislative (represented by the provincial council), and the executive (represented by the executive management of the governorate) by adopting the guidance provided by the plan, supporting its implementation and contributing in addressing the obstacles that may stand in the way. Furthermore, making binding decisions for all sectoral departments to implement them and follow up implementation indicators. 3. The belief of the sectoral directorates and the institutions in the governorate of the importance of the plan and its objectives and consider it as one of the clear paths to achieve development in the governorate. In addition, development the level of their performance and execution of assigned duties to them within the plan while taking into account the creation of permanent action groups or committees to carry out the tasks entrusted to them, as defined in the plan.

Characteristics of the Plan and remarks

Each plan has its advantages and disadvantages. The technical group indicated the advantages and disadvantages as a self-criticism, and used them as reference points to guide the future planning teams to strengthen the positive points and avoid any shortcomings.

Characteristics of Local Development Plan of Muthana:

. The orientation and the objectives of the plan are consistent with the orientation and objectives of the structural plan of the governorate and the orientations of the national development plans elaborated by the Ministry of Planning and sectoral Ministries.

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. For the first time the data basis and the baseline study are adopted to build a local plan at the level of the governorate by a local working team using special mechanisms of work and methodologies. . The technical team in the governorate implemented the requirements to elaborate the plan and all its phases, starting from the planning stage for elaboration of the plan until typesetting and printing. . The current local development plan is considered as a model of a practical experience that contributed in the formation of a technical group with experience in the field of plans elaboration that was not available previously at the governorate level, which is the first goal of the UNDP. The international experts trained the technical group for that purpose. . The plan included goals, programs and activities divided clearly and tailored for each sector in a manner contrary to previous plans. The plan is characterized with classification on qualitative and sectoral basis, as well as the possibility of classifying all recommended activities. . The plan included approaches adopted for the first time on a scientific basis to solve the problems that hinders the local development process, specifically the research and development, institutional building and Information systems building approaches. . .The plan is highly flexible for updating of programs and activities. . The plan included a number of activities, projects and procedures that do not need funding and within the capacity of the government for direct execution or through coordination with other entities, which will result in quantum leap of local development process.

Key remarks on Local Development Plan of Muthana. Some of the criticism or point of weakness of the plan:

. Some of the goals that are set as strategic goals lack some of SMART criteria. The plan gathers some feature of SMART goals while abandoning others. Therefore, an annex will follow, including a clear and defined indicators to follow-up and evaluate the progress of the plan. . The plan adopted the principle of research and development as the base to establish local development, despite the lack of research institutions capable of implementing these research activities professionally. However, Al-Muthana University will be sought as the closest local research entity that can serve to execute this mission. . Lack of sufficient indicators on economic activities in the governorate resulted from weak information system. . Many of plan directions and activities rely upon the existence of administrative and social culture for implementation. This issue is listed by the technical group for being the correct scientific solution for solving the development problems in the governorate. . The plan contains significant number of goals linked to implementation of new activities that need effective guidance such as activities of research and development, training and legislations among others. . The plan did not include some sectors such as oil, licensing rounds and oil investments in the governorate because of lack of necessary data and detrainment of some directorates of Ministry of Oil to provide the technical group with necessary data. The same applies to transport sector including the security aspect. . No specific elaborated strategy on poverty alleviation in the governorate, though it is one of the most important topics in the governorate. However, the causes and ways to address poverty are included in most sectors and addressing or mitigating the development problems in the governorate will reduce indirectly poverty rates. Therefore, the plan included solutions to poverty in the governorate but not listed under specific strategic title.

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PDS PREPARATION STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Chair of the Steering Committee: Governor of Muthanna Mr. Faleh Abdul Hassan Sukar Head of Local Planning Dept. / Dr. Eng. Mohammad Muhsin Al-Sayed Task Force 1 Kabil Hmood Abas Head of the Team Head of Muthana Planning Head of Social Development Thematic Area 2 Amjad Shakir Razaq Head of Economic Development Thematic Head of Planning Department in Area Governorate Office 3 Abdul Satar Mohammad Harran Head of Public Service Thematic Area Head of Planning & Follow-up 4 Yahya Jawad Kadhum Head of Spatial Development Thematic Head of Urban Development Area 5 Majid Abdul Hameed Abu-Kalal Head of Good Governance Thematic Area Representative of CSOs 6 Imad Kadhum Imran Member of Social Development Thematic Directorate of Financial & Area Administrative Affairs 7 Ali Farah Balkat Member of Public Services Thematic Area Dept. of Planning & Follow-up in Governorate Office 8 Mohammad Saad Latif Member of Economic Development Directorate of Statistics in Thematic Area Muthana 9 Ali Abid Naji Member of Spatial Development Thematic Directorate of Planning in Area Muthana 10 Falih Hassan Aboud Member of Economic Development Chamber of Industry in Muthana Thematic Area 11 Aziza Sa’ad Hussain Member of Social Development Thematic Engineering Dept. in Governorate Area Office 12 Ali Abdul Hussain Hassan Member of Spatial Development Thematic Quality Control Dept. in Area Governorate office Advisors from UNDP Iraq 1 Ivan Davidov Head of the Team of Experts 2 Dimitrije Todorovic International Expert 3 Mueen Kareem Consultant

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I. CONTEXT

1. Location and administrative division

Muthanna Governorate is Iraq’s second biggest governorate in terms of size (51 740 km2) – but also Iraq’s least populated governorate). Currently, it has approximately 843 inhabitants. The Samawa city (governorate center) is located 271 km to the South of Baghdad.

Before 1976, Muthanna was part of the Al-Diwaniya province. Today, administratively, Muthanna borders Basrah and Thiqar governorates to the East; Saudi Arabia and part of the Najaf desert to the West; Qadisiyah governorate governorate to the North; and Saudi Arabia, part of Basrah and Kuwait to the South.

Muthanna Governorate is divided into five qadhas - Al-Samawa (the centre of the Governorate), Al-Rumaitha, Al- Salman, Al-Khidhir and Al-Warka'a – and seven nahias, as follows (see Table 1).

Table 1 Area of Administrative units of Muthanna Qadha Nahia Area (km2) % of the province area Urban area (km2) % of all urban area Al-Samawa Al-Samawa Qadha Centre 680 1.31 57 64.12 Al-Sowair 261 0.50 1.98 2.23 Total 941 1.81 58.98 66.35 Al-Rumaitha Al-Rumaitha Qadha Centre 106 0.21 12 13.50 Al-Majd 145 0.28 1.72 1.94 Al-Najmi 654 1.26 1.35 1.52 Al-Hilal 321 0.62 1.78 2.00 Total 1226 2.37 16.85 18.96 Al-Salman Al-Salman Qadha Centre 22 369 43.29 1.5 1.69 Bussaiyah 24 532 47.41 1 1.13 Total 46 928 90.70 2.5 2.82 Al-Khidhir Al-Khdhir Qadha Centre 1260 2.44 6.27 7.05 Al-Daraji 407 0.79 1.69 1.90 Total 1667 3.23 7.96 8.95 Al-Warka'a Al-Warka’a Qadha Center 670 129 2.6 2.89 Al-Karama 308 0.60 1 1.11 Total 978 1.89 2.6 2.92 Muthanna Total 51 740 100 88.89 100 Figure 1 Muthanna Governotrate ion Iraq’s administrative map

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Figure 2 Administrative map of Muthanna Governorate

Al Samawa. The name “Samawa” is believed to come from the city’s flat land (Yaqoot Al-Hamawi’s “Al Buldan”); from the verb “sama” – meaning “superior” (“Al Munjid”); or from a city named Alis established in the area where the present Samawa City expands (historical references). The city is located midway between Baghdad and Basra. Historically, it has witnessed major battles between Arabs and Persians; it used to be a station where Arab Armies recessed and the gathering place for the fighters from Arab tribes who fought against the Persians to resist their influence. The city wall, which used to protect Al Samawa from Bedouin raids, was demolished in 1937 AD to allow expansion of the modern city.

Al Rumaitha. This is the second largest city in Muthanna. It is located 25 km to the North of Samawa city. It grew to importance during the Ottoman era. In the 1920s, the British occupation forces assumed it as a camp for transportation and for purposes of rations supply as their forces moved from Basrah and Nasiriyah toward Baghdad. Rumaitha then emerged as a centre for nationalist Arab groups; it is here that the “Ishreen Revolution” (1920s) against British occupation in Iraq began. The name “Rumaitha”may come from “Auja” (a river streaming through the city) or “Abyadh” (a white plant in the area).

Al Khidir. Al Khidir city is located 32 km to the South of Samawa. It is the third largest city in Muthanna. It takes its name from the shrine of Prophet Al Khidir, who lived on the left side of Euphrates. Initially a small village, it became the centre of a sub-district in 1921 and a district in 1971. Nineteen historical sites in the Al-Khidir District date back to Uruk, the 3rd Assyrian era, and the Islamic era. One of the main sites is the ruins of Uruk city, 12 km from the district centre.

Al Salman. Remote, and spread around an oasis in Samawa Desert, Al Salman city is a centre for Bedouin areas and distant villages. A road connects it to Samawa City to the Northeast and a border point on the Iraqi-Saudi border to the South-West. The notorious prison “Nuqrat Al-Salman” is located here – a main detention camp for political prisoners in the 1950s–1990s.

Al Warka'a. The city of Warka 17 km north of the city of Samawah and named after the city of Uruk, the historical place nearby, and was recently established as a separate district (2017). More than 100,000 people live in the district’s main city and villages. Most of them are farmers. The district area includes large areas of uninhabited land and suffers from water scarcity due to the lack of water flows from Rumaitha River in recent years.

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2. Historical overview

Muthanna Governorate is located in the southern part of modern-day Iraq. The area is considered one of the earliest inhabited areas by humans. Traces of Paleolithic settlers have been discovered in the Al-Qaseer valley, a mile south-west of Al-Qaseer in the South of the Samawa desert. The ruins of the ancient city of Uruk are located a mile away from the centre of modern-day Warka’a and 60 km from Muthanna’s capital Samawa.

At various times, Uruk was inhabited by Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylonians, Kishians, Assyrians, Akkadians, Persians, Greeks, Seljukes and Parthians. Settlement of Uruk continued through the early stages of Islam.

Uruk played a leading role in the urbanisation of Sumer in the 5th and mid-4th millennia BC. Ca. 4100-3000 BC, Uruk was the hub of urbanisation, trade and administration; ca.2900 BC, Uruk may have been the largest city in the world, with 50–80 thousand residents. As part of the Mesopotamian civilisation, Uruk records for the first time in human history the onset of city governance, writing, recording, laws regulating social life, arts, literature and other knowledge bases. After the third millennium BC, the city declined politically, but it remained an important religious center. In addition to traces of priest practices in temples, traces remain of complex agricultural and irrigation systems, as well as early environmental control.

The name “Uruk” (“Erech” in Amaraic) is theorised to originate the name of Iraq. Uruk outlived Babili (Babylonia), surviving into the 7th century AD. After the decline of Babylon, following the founding of Seleucia, Uruk became the largest city in southern Babylonia. Timeless cultural heritage from this period survives until the present day, as a testament of progress, civilisation and sophistication.

Uruk is mentioned in the Al-Tabari’s History, Al-Rusul wa Al-Muluk, Yakot Al-Hamwi’s Mu’jam Al-Buldan, and in the travel diaries of many travellers and explorers. Exploration started in 1849 by the English geologist William Loftus in 1849 – followed by several expeditions of the German Foundation for Oriental Research. The excavations of the city ruins provided solid knowledge of its past, and revealed its most famous buildings and temples, as well as many precious artefacts: pots, jewellery, statues and sculptures (the most significant of which is the “Mask of Warka” – ca. 3700 BC – also known as “the Sumerian Mona Lisa”), etc.

Exploration and excavations showed that Uruk witnessed several historical periods: . The age of Slaves (5000 BC): the signs of their civilisation, represented in the architecture and temples, which were decorated with dyed pottery nails, thus forming wonderful geometric mosaic paintings. Moreover, they featured advanced industry in the fields of mining, the goldsmith’s trade and sculpture and marks of the beginning of recording and the invention of writing; . In 3000 BC, historic events were recorded such as wars, stories of kings, large-scale construction works. Names of some of the kings are mentioned in Sumerian legends. The most important one in the old mythology is Gilgamesh. The ancient piece of writing discovered in Uruk denotes that he was the one who built the city walls and participated in building the Ai-Anna temple; . In 2350 BC Uruk became one of the properties of King Sirjoun Al-Akkadi who united Mesopotamia. flourished as a religious, architectural and cultural centre. . The archaeological city of Uruk joined the world heritage list in 2017.

In the later period, like the rest of Iraq, the area of Muthanna went through numerous historical roles under the rule of Ottoman, Persian and British conquerors – marked by underdevelopment and exploitation. The area was part of the Persian Empire until it was conquered by the Greeks in 539 BC; it remained under Greek rule for nearly two centuries. In 224 AD the Persians regained control; they dominated the area until Arab Muslims entered the region in the seventh century AD. After the Muslims defeated the First Persian (Sassanid) Empire, the area was ruled by various Muslim dynasties, including the Umayyad and Abbasids. In 1258, Mongol invasions ended the Abbasids rule. Later the territories became part of the Ottoman Empire and remained under Ottoman administration (1300–1922) until the British occupation in the early 20th century.

After the fall of the Baath regime, Muthanna governorate was the first to receive the security file from the multinational forces in 2006, and considered one of the most secure governorates in the country. The governorate passed as in the rest of the regions of Iraq through considerable changes. It witnessed an increase in the income per capita, established hundreds of schools, roads, dozens of health centres and many service projects, but this remained below the level of ambition of the people of the governorate, who still suffer from poor service level, because of the accumulation of deprivation for decades.

19 LADP in Iraq – Muthanna PDS

3. Geography and natural resources

3.1. Topography, geological structure and soils

From a geological standpoint, it is possible to subdivide Muthanna Governorate into three distinct areas. . The northeastern part of the governorate (“Northern Mesopotamian Area”) is mostly bare soil comprised of rocks that are fundamentally calcareous. The area is mostly flat and alluvial deposits are almost non- existent. . The desert area located to the South West (Muthanna Desert) has similar soil conditions but underground water and karstic activities create a region more prone to erosion phenomena. . The “Core Area” stretches along the Euphrates river and the Rumaitha Canal, between the two desert areas. This area is a very fertile flood plain, composed mainly of silts clay and clayey silt, with strips composed mainly of sand and silt stretching along the main water courses. To the south, the Sabka Gypsum formation represents a transition zone between the desert and the fertile land. In this very distinct section of the plain, high evaporation and the presence of gypsum creates thick salty crusts that might be exploited by the salt industry. In this area, underground water emerges and reaches the main Euphrates River.

In terms of altimetry, Muthanna’s wide territory is rather homogeneous. The altitude changes from about 500 m.a.s.l. in the south-western area to about 0 m.a.s.l. Two sub-divisions emerge: . the area above 50 m of altitude – the rocky-sand desert plateau, and . the area below 50 m of altitude – the alluvial plain of the Euphrates.

Figure 3 Physical map of Muthanna

3.2. Surface features

Muthanna Governorate presents a multitude of landscapes; these premise a number of diverse environmental conditions that must be dealt with individually within these development strategies.

Muthanna is located at the edges of the alluvial plain to the East, where the Euphrates and its branches pass through it; and the Najaf desert to the West. From South to North, landscape and climate vary: from mountains and plains, to deserts and alluvial lands.

In the south-west of the governorate (Al Salman district), a vast desert land – Muthanna desert – is characterised by an arid landscape.

To the north and north-east (Al Khidir, Al-Rumaitha and Al-Samawa districts), a strip of luxuriant land divides the Samawa desert from the alluvial plain of the Euphrates; this is the most inhabited part of the governorate. This northern area includes – from East to West: 35% at an altitude of 0–10 m.a.s.l.; 15% hill strip – transition area

20 LADP in Iraq – Muthanna PDS with the desert plateau; 50% at an altitude of 10–20 m.a.s.l. The altimetric and morphologic features, as demonstrated by the evident fluvial hump and by the adjacent depressions, identify clearly an alluvial plain. The drainage pattern and its density complete the description. Thus, this northern area of Muthanna is better suited for the development of human activities.

Also here – less than 30 km south-west of Al-Samawa city, near the Ehphrates – is located Lake Sawa. The lake is a unique saline body of water. It has no inlet or outlet but it feeds water from the Euphrates through a system of joint cracks and fissures which transport water to aquifers beneath it. The level of water fluctuates during dry and wet seasons, but never dries out. Lake characteristic includes: . Always warm water, saturated with sulphur and high level of salt – which is a cure for some skin diseases; . Depth between 29 m and 250 m; . Water level about 11 m higher than this of the Euphrates – allowing the lake to discharge through Al- A’atshan River 10 km away from the lake; . Shore of continental rock composed by sand deposits ; . Considerable wildlife diversity in the areas around the lake – desert area on the western side, fresh wetland strip toward the Euphrates, and flat arid/semi-desert areas over the southern parts of the lake. Thus, Lake Sawa has high economic potentials – as a tourist attraction. Currently, this potential is not developed due to lack of adequate services and infrastructure.

3.3. Climate

Most of the Euphrates River basin is subject to a Figure 4 Climograph, Al-Samawah (desert climate)1 subtropical and semi-dry climate (little moisture in winter, hot and dry in summer), with high evaporation rates in the South (between 10 to 17 ml/day during summer). The distribution of rainfall varies in the basin according to time and place; rain falls during the period from October to March and increases in strength from December until February. The average rainfall is estimated at 100 ml in the South to 200 ml in the western region. These are very small amounts – so agriculture depends on conveyed (artificial) irrigation.

Al-Samawah is considered to have a desert climate; there is virtually no rainfall there all year long. This climate is BWh according to the Köppen-Geiger climate classification. The average annual temperature here is 23.8°C, and annual precipitation is about 106 mm.

3.4. Surface water resources

Based on the analysis of the existing hydrological network, three distinctive areas can be defined in Muthanna Governorate with regard to surface water resources. . A region located to the northeast corner of the region has no presence of hydrological network at all. This area has little potential for development of irrigated agriculture. Human presence and settlement are also hampered by the lack of easily accessible water sources. . To the south, an area that includes the majority of the Governorate’s territory is not reached by perennial flows. Nevertheless, from time to time, rainfalls create an intricate system of wadies that could, through the construction of small damming systems, be stored underground and utilised later on via a properly maintained system of wells. . The third area – the so-called “Core Area along Euphrates” – is located between the previous two and runs along the main branches of the Euphrates River and Rumaitha Canal. This area provides the greatest potential for human settlement and the development of agriculture and industrial activities.

1 Climate-Data.org: https://en.climate-data.org/region/2053.

21 LADP in Iraq – Muthanna PDS

The surface water resources of the Iraqi territory are part of a very complex hydraulic system, including not only the national area, but also regions in Turkey, Syria and Iran. The main Iraqi water bodies (the Tigris and the Euphrates above all) derive supplies from rainfalls from mountains in Turkey and Syria, and especially, water releases from the regulation structures (storage reservoirs, dams) of Turkey and Syria.

The Euphrates River passes through Muthanna Governorate from the governorate border with Diwaniyah Governorate through the governorate borders with Al-Nasiriyah Governorate via Al-Hilal Nahia, Samawa Qadha, Al-Khdhir Qadha and Al-Darraji Nahia.

Interest in studying the Euphrates and its twin river the Tigris began after declaring the Ottoman Constitution in 1908, on request by the Ottoman Viceroy (Midhat Pasha). The Ottoman Government summoned the famous English architect Sir William Wilcox to prepare a study to rid Baghdad of repeated and devastating floods. He carried out the study. One of the most important early works that he implemented was the establishment of the Hindiya dam in 1913 AD.

The length of the Euphrates, from its source to its mouth on Shatt Al-Arab at the point of contact with the Tigris (at Karmat Ali), is around 2300 km, 1200 km of which are located in Iraqi territory.

The river flow began to decline as of 1976 (we could call this the first wave of Euphrates River scarcity). The results were not observed in the Euphrates governorates and in Nasiriyah and Muthanna because there was an alternative water source: through drainage aimed to support marginally Anbar and Baghdad governorates and mainly so governorates along the Middle Euphrates (Babylon, Karbala, Najaf, Qadisiya). But, the deterioration of water quality started to become gradually clear in 1980s, when Nasiriyah and Muthanna governorates were busy fighting the Iraqi-Iranian war. They found their lands which were full of citrus and fruit had become sparsely populated by palm trees that are resistant to salt, as well as some vegetables. Grain productivity declined and despair at improving the situation began to spread among inhabitants. People left agriculture and turned to other professions leaving their lands to become moors. It is difficult to reclaim such lands due to lack of proper water to wash the soil. This situation was not absent from the minds of decision makers; drinking water projects were implemented in the 1980s for the cities in Muthanna Governorate, using water from Shatt al-Rumaitha and not from the Euphrates, and using drinking water for Thi Qar from Shatt Al-Forat.

In the 1990s, the ex-regime began draining the southern marshes in Iraq. Water from the area directed at the spine of the Euphrates River was limited to ensure that the marshes would not return, since they fully altered water quality, making it unfit for human consumption in these governorates.

Through the end of the 20th c., water was made available to Euphrates River areas on the basis of salts content: . The amount of salts in the area from entering the Iraqi borders until the merging of the Euphrates with Al-Tharthar branch is 350-550 ppm. After being mixed with the waters of Al-Tharthar depression north of Fallujah, this becomes 600-700 ppm; . The water reaches Al-Rumaitha area (at Shatt Al-Hillah) and the sub-Euphrates branch (at Shatt Al- Abbasiyah and Shatt Al- Kufa) with salinity of 750-850 ppm; . Salinity rapidly increases starting from the north of Shinafiya city through Hawr Al-Hammar, reaching 1100-2250 ppm and sometimes more – because of the water discharge from the governorates into the Euphrates.

All types of water sources need to be filtered (drains, sewers as well as industrial and medical wastewater) – as they are loaded with large quantities of salts and agricultural chemicals, and there is lack of water treatment plants.

The water flow of the Euphrates is abundant, but varies annually, with an average annual flow rate of 25 billion m3. The changes in flow started in 1961 as a result of reservoir construction in Upper Euphrates. Combined with the effects of climate change, the flow of the Euphrates in Iraq is typically 19 billion m3. This excludes the period 1973–1975 when the Al-Thawara dam in Syria was being filled, and the severe draught in the Middle East of 1999–2001.

The main cause of the deterioration is the decrease of flow. It is expected that this will change in the course of Iraqi negotiations with Turkey and Syria.

For the purpose of fair distribution of water from the Euphrates between the governorates, there must be a distribution of the water opposite to the flow of the Euphrates River which can be used.

22 LADP in Iraq – Muthanna PDS

Table 2 Rates of water consumption in Euphrates governorates (2003–2008) Euphrates Annual water consumption rates* Water consumption for 2003–2008 governorates 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Average rate* % of the total Anbar 2525 2813 2953 2702 2579 2308 2647 11.68 Baghdad 3086 3492 3517 3277 3342 2857 3262 14.40 Babylon 4890 5751 5634 5409 5813 4718 5369 23.70 Karbala 554 824 648 791 757 601 696 3.10 Al-Najjaf 4296 4296 6783 6503 6356 4673 5485 24.21 Al-Diwaniyah 3237 3386 40511 3789 3967 3094 3581 15.81 Al-Muthana 901 968 978 932 1029 838 941 4.15 Thi Qar 668 668 668 668 668 668 668 2.95 Total 20 157 22 198 25 192 24 071 24 511 19 757 22648 100.00 * million m3/year

3.5. Groundwater resources

Huge amounts of unconfined groundwater are available that can be used to meet agricultural and livestock needs and to establish agricultural projects. Aquifers occur at various depths (20–250 m) – generally deeper the closer we get to the Saudi border. . Al-Rihab area. This area has the largest groundwater reserve in Muthanna. The water-bearing layer is close to the surface (5–20 m), and single cylinder engines are used to pump it to the cultivated land. The water is suitable for agriculture and watering of animals. . Al-Shaikhiya – Al-Salhobiya area. The water table is at 50 m below the surface; the water is suitable for agriculture and watering of animals. . Border areas. The water table is at 250 meters below the surface; extraction requires the use of electric axles. The water quality ranges from fresh to low saline; it is suitable for cultivating some strategic crops. . Al-Fadwah area. The aquifer is located west of Muthanna Cement Plant, at 30-50 m below the surface. The water is suitable for agriculture and watering of animals. . Al-Kharaz valley and Al-Shannan area. Aquifers in these areas are at 50-80 meters below the surface; the water is suitable for cultivation and livestock purposes. . Border areas: The ground waters are located 250 meters below the surface, water extraction requires the use of sophisticated drilling equipment with high-capacity water pumps. The water quality ranges from fresh to low saline and is suitable for planting some strategic crops.

There are areas of self-flow water (spring water) as well – such as Al-Wahshiyah, Al-Mamlaha, Ein Al-Ghadari, Ein Al-Ameed, and Ein Sayd.

Pumping stations are two types depending on the function performed by the station. (1) Irrigation pumping stations serve to raise water from rivers to irrigation channels and then to sub-channels; through outlets, the water is distributed to agricultural lands. (2) Drainage pumping stations serve to pump collected (the Easter Euphrates Drain) farm run-off and and discharge this back into a water body/well – thereby draining the land in order to reduce soil salinity.

The Directorate of Water Resources in Muthanna has implemented a number of irrigation projects since 2013 – namely, 25 irrigation pumping stations with wastewater treatment plants and 3 drainage pumping stations. Some of these have been funded by the General Committee of Operating Irrigation and Drainage Projects, and others – by the Governorate Council.

3.6. Arable land

Muthanna Governorate has vast areas of arable land. Its total area of 20 696 000 donums is divided into: . Southern desert area (18 771 200 donums) – of which 2% is arable land (400 000 donums). Cultivated land is 12% of arable land in the desert (50 000 donums). These lands received irrigation water from wells located in Al-Salman area; . The lands within the Euphrates River basin (1 924 800 donums) – of which 29% is arable land (564 475 donums. Cultivated land is 19% of the total area of the Euphrates basin in the governorate (362 683 donums).

23 LADP in Iraq – Muthanna PDS

Both the north-eastern and the southern parts of the governorate have low suitability for the development of significant agriculture activities. For agriculture purposes, the exploitation of these two types of desert has significant similarities. However, there is potential to exploit underground water in Muthanna Desert – if adequate underground damming systems are implemented.

Table 3 Cultivated land in Muthanna N Project name Net area (donums) Location (qadhas and nahias) 1 Rumaitha 144 000 Al-Rumaitha 28000, Al-Majd 16000, Al-Hilal 8000, Al-Najmi 22000, Al- Simawah 8000, Al-Warka’a 62000 2 Muthanna 41 000 Al-Sowair – 34 000 donums; Al-Samawa – 7000 donums 3 Shanafiya–Nassiriya 191 000 Al-Hilal – 28 848 donums; Al-Majd – 20 751 donums; Al-Samawa – 35 169 donums; Al-Khdhir – 106 232 donums 4 Al Sowair extension 81 000 Al-Warka'a + Al-Karama – 71 000donums; Al-Khdhir – 10 000 donums 5 Diwaniyah–Shaffiya 95 000 Al-Najmi Total 552 000

3.7. Environment

The ecological situation in the province depends on factors, which are largely valid for the entire territory of Iraq. The main factors are pollution from production activities and poor management of wastewater and solid waste. In general, problems in these areas lead to adverse environmental impacts.

The Government of Muthanna has a vision to achieve in the Governorate – through developing service provision and cooperation between citizens and the government – an environment that is clean, free from all forms of pollution and creates positive effects on the overall health of individuals and society.

24 LADP in Iraq – Muthanna PDS

II. SOCIAL PROFILE

1. Population

According to 2015 data, 2.1% of the total country population (and 2.5% of the population of the 15 Iraqi governorates) live in Al-Muthanna Governorate – i.e. on 11% of the total country territory. In the period 1997– 2009, the population of Muthanna increased by 56.8%; the number of households increased as well. At the same time, the average number of persons per household decreased – from 9.0 in 1997 to 7.9 in 2009.

The age structure of the population in the Governorate Figure 5 Population distribution of Muthanna by is heavily dominated by the younger age groups (see age group and urban/rural, 2016 (COSIT) Figure 5). The share of population under 4 years is 16%, while the entire population over 60 years is less than 0-4 80+80000 5-9 5%. The aging rate – the ratio of people under 15 to people over 65 – is 12.6%. The transformation is smooth 75-79 60000 10-19 and it is mainly due to the extremely high birth rate in 40000 the governorate – 31.5‰ in 2013; at the same time, the 70-74 15-19 mortality rate is relatively low – 4.2‰ in 2013. 20000 65-69 20-24 0 Based on annual estimates for the period 2012–2015, the annual population growth rate for Muthanna is 60-64 25-29 2.26%. The annual population growth was 1.2% for 1957-1965 and it reached 3.5% for 1965-1977. The 55-59 30-34 average increased to 3.8% for 1977-1987, but relatively decreased to reach 3.2% 1987-1997 and 3.4% for 1997- 50-54 35-39 2009. The governorate population growth was 3.1% for 45-49 40-44 the total duration of 1957-2009, and expected to slow Urban Rural down according to population growth forecast. More than a half of the population of Muthanna Governorate live in rural areas (54.5%). Al-Samawa District has the largest share of urban population (nearly 2/3rds of the residents), while Al-Warka’a has the largest share of rural population (96%) (see Figure 6). Overall, the ratio of urban and rural residents is more or less balanced. According to the latest available data, rural population exceeds urban population by 9%. Data for the period 2012–2015 show a stable trend of increase in the urban population. The growth rate in the capital city and the remaining urban territories exceeds 2.5% annual average and it is higher than in rural areas (under 2%).

The population distribution in the different areas of the governorate is extremely uneven (see Table 4), driven primarily by the natural and geographical features of the governorate. At the two extremes:  Al-Samawa District concentrates 42.8% of the total population of Muthanna; since the district is the smallest in the governorate (1.8% of Muthanna’s territory), the average density here is the highest – 367 persons/km2;  Al-Salman District has the smallest population – 1.35% of the overall population of the Governorate – while it occupies 91% of Muthanna’s territory; thus, the average density here is 2 persons per 10 km2.

The migration coefficients of the population are positive. More than half the people migrate to accompany the family, followed by work, and marriage, divorce and death of spouse (see Table 5). The proportion of people who relocate for these three reasons is higher than the country average. The most significant difference emerges with regard to job-seeking – 9.1%. Relocation for reasons of deportation or forced displacement is 10.1% – nearly 10% lower than the average for Iraq.

Table 4 Population distribution in Multhanna (2016) Qadha Population (n) % of Muthanna’s population Area (km2) Density (persons/km2) Al-Samawa 345 373 42.8 941 367 Al-Rumaitha 240 597 29.8 2204 109 Al-Salman 10 959 1.4 46 928 0 (2persons/10km2) Al-Khidhir 209 439 26.0 1667 126 Al-Warka’a Muthanna total 806 368 100 51 740 16

25 LADP in Iraq – Muthanna PDS

Figure 6 Population distribution in Muthanna by nahia/qadha and type of settlement (urban/rural) (COSIT) 100% 80% Rural 60% Urban 40% 20%

0%

Centre

Centre

Centre

Center

Centre

Al-Hilal Nahia Al-Hilal

Al-Majd Nahia Al-Majd

Al-Daraji Nahia Al-Daraji

Al-Najmi Nahia Al-Najmi

Warka’a Qadha Qadha Warka’a Qadha Warka’a

Samawa Qadha Samawa

Al-Sowair Nahia Al-Sowair

Bussaiyah Nahia Bussaiyah

- -

Al-Karama Nahia Al-Karama

Al-Khidhir Qadha Al-Khidhir Qadha Al-Khidhir

Al-Salman Qadha Al-Salman Qadha Al-Salman

Al Al

Al-Samawa Qadha Al-Samawa Al-Rumaitha Qadha Al-Rumaitha Al-Rumaitha Qadha Al-Rumaitha Table 5 Persons who changed their place of residence in Iraq and Muthanna by reason (2011, %) Work Studying, Marriage, Accompanying Deportation, Return deportation, Asylum Other completion divorce, the family forced forced displacement in Iraq of studies widow displacement Muthanna 23.8 0.2 20.8 45.0 10.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 Iraq total 14.7 1.0 14.1 41.7 19.8 4.9 0.7 3.1

In Muthanna Governorate, the education structure of the population is unfavourable. The illiterate over 10 years of age are almost 32%, which is much higher than the average for Iraq (11%). The proportion of people who can read and write but have no completed educational level is also higher than the country average. In addition, the share of persons with completed educational level is lower than the average for Iraq at the respective levels – e.g. by 5.4% and 4% respectively at the primary and intermediate education levels.

Data for 2007 and 2011 are difficult to compare because the national statistics used different structures of educational level distribution and also, for 2011, a different age base (12+ years, while in the previous two periods it was 10+). Nevethertheless, there are grounds for the conclusion that the educational structure of the population has preserved its condition and it has even slightly deteriorated.

Figure 7 Education attainment levels in Muthanna and Iraq (10y+), 2012 (COSIT) 40% 31,60% Al- Muthanna 30% 26,60% 27,50% 20,50% 21,70% 22,10% Total 20% 11,20% 7,20% 6,20% 10% 3,70% 4,40% 4,70% 3,60% 3,60% 3,30% 1,90% 0%0,10% 0% Illiterate Read & Write Intermediate Diploma Other (vocational) 2. IDPs

Muthanna Governorate hosts a relatively very small number of internally displaced persons (IDPs). The overwhelming majority of those come from Ninewa Governorate; a smaller group come from Anbar and other governorates. The majority of these IDPs were displaced following the IS conquests in the summer of 2014.2 According to data by IOM, as of 31 Oct 2017, Muthanna hosts 3660 IDPs (610 IDP families) – 0.12% of the overall countrywide IDP number.3 The reasons for displacement are different; the majority of assessed IDPs have stated as a reason for their displacement threat to their lives, followed by poor living conditions, armed conflict and violence. IDPs who run from violence (mainly linked to religious causes) find refuge within Shia communities in Muthanna. Displaced families put pressure on services, the education system and resources in the Governorate, as well as affect the employment opportunities for the population.

2 NGO Consultation Committee for Iraq (Dec 2015), “Muthanna Governorate Profile.” 3 IOM DTM Round 82 – 31 Oct 2017: http://iraqdtm.iom.int/DtmReports.aspx. According to MoMD, IDPs in Muthanna are 6082 individuals and 1252 households.

26 LADP in Iraq – Muthanna PDS

3. Living conditions

Access to drinking water is limited in Muthanna Governorate. Households use various sources of drinking water. The majority – 79.4% – have access through a residential unit connected to the public water network; this share is lower by 6.8% than the average for Iraq. Other main drinking water sources in Muthanna – with values higher than country average – are: rivers, canals and streams (8.1%), open or covered wells (6.1%), and water tanks (5.2%). Further sources are used by around 1% of the households.

On the whole, only 77.8% of the population has sustainable access to an improved water source and only 66.7% of households are connected to the public water network – percentages which are considerably lower than the national averages. Even when households are connected to the public network, drinking water is often only available for a few hours a day, forcing more than 80% of the population to rely on other sources such as water tanks or bottled water to satisfy their water needs.

Table 6 Drinking water sources in Iraq and Muthanna (2014) Residential unit connected to Public network Water River, canal or Open or covered Other public network tap tank stream well Muthanna 79.4% 1.0% 5.2% 8.1% 6.1% 0.2% Iraq 86.2% 1.9% 3.0% 3.8% 4.5% 0.5%

The percentage of houses in Muthana that have access to public sanitation is less than 35%. Most of the houses use septic tanks, where water is extracted by sewage tanks. In general, the proportion of population in Muthana relaying on public sewage system in addition to septic tanks reach 91.8%, which is less than the average for Iraq 93.8%. 91.8% of the governorate’s inhabitants have access to an improved sanitation facility (93.8% country average). The situation regarding wastewater disposal is much worse: less than 3% of Muthanna’s households rely on the public sewage system. Data for 2012 place this number at 4.5%, compared to 32.5% for Iraq on average. Similar to most of the country, the main method of wastewater disposal in Muthanna is septic tanks (50.2%). A high share of the households use exposed or covered canals (respectively 17.5% and over 25%) as a main wastewater disposal method – compared to country average of 7.9% for both methods.

Access to electricity is limited due to insufficient generation capacities and overused electricity network (stations, transmission wires, etc.).The public electricity network is the first source of power for 97.8% of households in the Governorate. However, while nearly 60% of the population experience daily power cuts of at least three hours, it is no surprise that more than 70% of Muthanna’s inhabitants also use private or shared generators to satisfy their electricity needs. The old networks have а direct effects on the stability of power supply and cause frequent failures; they also drain work force and financial resources.

Access to healthcare can be assessed as limited due to the insufficient number of hospitals and medical centres. According to standards, 1 hospital and 1 medical centre should be available to each 40 000 residents. Thus, the number of hospitals in Muthanna should be 20 – and there are just 4.

Access to household appliances is also below the average for Iraq. Some 19.4% of the households have their own automobile, compared to 31.7% country average. In 2011, this difference was even greater: 17% for Muthanna, compared to 35% for Iraq on average. Nearly 100% of households in the Governorate have access to a cooker (gas or electric or oil) and a fan; households with a heater (oil, gas or electric) are 83.3%, which is below the country’s average.

In spite of the high temperatures in the region, the population is not sufficiently equipped with appliances that guarantee better living conditions. 92.3% of the households have a fridge, which is close to the average (92.4%), and 42.9% have a freezer versus an average of 49.1%; 45.7% are equipped with an air conditioner, which is only slightly higher than the country average. Overall, values in this group of indicators show some increase compared to 2011.

Access to hot water has increased substantially – from 66% of households in 2011 to 79.3% in 2012.

Access to internet, measured as average time of internet use, is also lower in Muthanna: 7 hours a week versus 12 hours country average. Internet is used mostly at home by 36.9% of the population; another 19.6% use it from a different place (which is not typical for the country); and 17.4% use it mostly at work. About 16.3% use internet through a mobile phone. Although only 5.5% use internet at educational institutions, this value is higher than the average for the country.

27 LADP in Iraq – Muthanna PDS

III. ECONOMIC PROFILE

1. Economic development

Muthana Governorate has the lowest GNI per capita monthly income per capita was 140 thousand dinars according to the Social and Economic Survey of 2014, where the main source of income came from wages and salaries (59.3%) of total income and the lowest source of social transfers And 6.1% of total income.

The economic indicator values for Muthanna Governorate are among the lowest in Iraq. GNI per capita is ID 140,000 according to the social and economic survey of 2014. The main source of income is generated from wages and salaries (59.3%) of total income, and the lowest source is from social transfers 6.1% of total income. and GDP per capita is USD 4831; respectively, Muthanna ranks 17/18 (together with Nadjaf) and 14/18 among governorates in Iraq. The annual household income, again, is one of the lowest in the country: USD 14 967. Experts estimate that Muthanna’s economy contributes ca. 6% of the country GDP.

The governorate’s economy is characterised by a well-developed public sector. The share of the private sector is minimal despite the efforts of local and national authorities. The Euphrates enables development of agriculture, and availability of raw materials allow for the development of certain industries. Muthanna is an important centre for the production of cement and other construction materials. An oil refinery opened in 2005 processes crude oil from the Kifl oil field. Salt from the saline waters of Lake Sawa is used as a raw material in various industries.

There is potential for development of tourism. Lake Sawa’s tourism infrastructure has dilapidated over the years, but the area still holds potential to be developed into a tourism hotspot. A number of archaeological sites are spread out throughout the governorate and could also attract visitors from inside and outside Iraq. Further, Muthanna is located on the on the border with Saudi-Arabia, and the railroad between Baghdad and Basrah passes through Samawah. There is, therefore, potential for Muthanna to be an important transport and logistics centre, for both goods and people – including tourists. Finally, Samawah hosts the university of Al-Muthanna.

Currently, Muthanna is one of the poorest areas of Iraq, with the highest share of population in poverty – 52.5% in 2012. The unemployment rate reached 9.3% in 2012 and expected to increase in the following years due to the economic crisis the country is going through. – lower than the country average (11.9%); at the same time, the economic activity rate is the lowest in Iraq – 37.6% (compared to 42.9% county average) (2012 data). In other words, the share of the population outside the workforce is considerably higher than in the rest of the governorates. There is a pronounced trend of deteriorating labor market and increasing number of people who are dropping out of it. Employment rates are below the country average for both men and women – 70.8% and 8.2% respectively. Other indicators, too, confirm significant gender differences in the economy and labour market.

The mono-sector economy of the governorate creates serious risks for balanced economic development. It is therefore necessary to pursue and foster diversification and to promote the private sector. Achieving a more effective and competitive economy requires to attract foreign investments and secure conditions for private sector development.

The workforce in the governorate is 160-170 thousand (2015 data). The demographic trend in the governorate is toward increase of the number of working age population. Jobs creation is necessary to avoid even higher levels of unemployment, non-participation in the labour market and poverty.

2. Investments

The Muthanna Investment Commission has worked in the last five years to promote investment opportunities in the Governorate and it has been able to achieve relative progress in the number and volume of investments realised in Muthanna relative to these in the other Governorates. The Commission has issued 103 investment licenses for 160 offered opportunities – i.e. 64.38% of all investment opportunities have been realised despite the challenges facing the investment sector in Iraq in general and in Muthanna in particular.

28 LADP in Iraq – Muthanna PDS

Table 7 Status of investment opportunities in Muthanna (2015) Sector Investment Investment % of all Implementation Total volume of % of the total opportunities licences granted rate (%) investments investment offered (n) granted (n) licences (USD) volume Commerce, services, 100 30 29.1 30.00 100 468 473 2.3 educational services Agriculture 28 27.2 - 289 930 982 6.5 Industry 35 24 23.3 68.57 2 877 295 572 64.5 Housing 15 14 13.6 93.33 1 049 530 357 23.5 Tourism 5 4 3.9 80.00 9 455 675 0.2 Health 5 3 2.9 60.00 34 362 199 0.8 Total 160 103 100 64.38 4 461 043 258 100

The commercial, service and educational services sectors together accounted for the largest share of the number of licenses granted, with (29% of all licenses granted). The greatest investment volume was generated by the industrial sector (nearly USD 2.9 billion, or 64.5% of all investments) – the largest share of which represented by cement factories; follow by the housing sector (over USD 1 billion).

Despite of the large number of investment licences granted, low implementation rates can be linked to the routine procedures of government departments, weak follow-up, weak financial strength of investors, and failure to prepare feasibility studies in identifying successful projects.

3. Industry

The Industrial sector in Iraq is generally characterized by the predomination of public sector projects over the private sector because of the tendency of the State in previous years to direct its investments toward establishing large industrial projects, in addition to the State’s economic philosophy in the management of the industrial file by itself. This led to the inability of the private sector to compete with the public sector.

After 2003, the central government changed its tendency toward enabling the private sector in the industrial sector, but the weak investment environment prevented the achievement of the set goals.

In Muthana, the State was able to partner with the private sector in the biggest industrial projects of the governorate. It has referred the Cement Factories that are considered s the backbone of the industry to the private sector, to rehabilitate them and sustain the manufacturing wheel. The State believes in the ability of the private sector to use modern management methods, as well as the capital to make a quantum leap in rehabilitating the factories.

As for the private sector, there are several small industrial evolving projects in the governorate, but they do not effectively affect the economy of the governorate because of the domination of the trade and agriculture sectors over the labor market, in addition to the several challenges faced by the local industries.

COSIT collects detailed information about enterprises in the industry sector; it defines the industry sector as significant for the Iraqi economy. It is important to point out, however that is does not include the extraction of and trade in oil products.

According to COSIT data for 2015, 45 large and medium enterprises operate in the industry sector in Muthanna. Large enterprises form only around 8% of all enterprises in the sector; yet, their importance is great – as they account for a great share of employment and the value of the industrial output. Overall, large and medium enterprises employ 4419 workers in the sector in Muthanna: 37% temporary and 63% full-time workers. In terms of ownership, only 5 of the companies are state-owned; these employ 19.5% of all workers in large and medium enterprises, pay 56.3% of all salaries, and account for 17–18% of all production and sales in the sector.

Table 8 Large and medium industry in Muthanna by administrative unit (2015)

Administrative unit

+

a

'

ka

Sowair Rumaitha Majd Najmi Hilal Salman Khidhir Darraji War Karama

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Samawa Al Al Al Al Al Al Bussiayah Al Al Al Al total Muthanna Large industrial establishments (n) 22 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 19 0 1 45 Total workers in them (n) 2476 0 54 0 21 0 92 0 1735 0 41 4419

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Table 9 Large and medium industry in Muthanna by activity and value (2014) Industrial Sector Establish Workers Wages Output value of Value of Added value* activity ments (n) total* commodity and non- production total (n) commodity production* requirements* Mining and public 1 96 725 184 5 070 180 228 147 4 842 033 quarrying Sub-total 1 96 725 184 5 070 180 228 147 4 842 033 Manufacturing private 45 4091 13 895 418 52 444 056 23379 934 29 064 122 industries public 4 824 5 200 370 32 872 398 21707 525 11 164 873 Sub-total 49 4915 19 095 788 85 316 454 45087 459 40 228 995 Total 50 5011 19 820 972 90 386 634 45315 606 45 071 028 *In thousand Iraqi Dinars

Table 10 Small industry in Muthanna (2012–2014) Year Sector Establishm Permanent workers Temporary workers Total workers Unpaid ents (n) n wages* n wages* n wages* workers (n) 2012 public 7 2489 10 301 873 102 253 904 2591 10 555 777 0 private 50 2291 12 609 961 2503 3 839 050 4794 16 449 011 76 total 57 4780 22 911 834 2605 4 092 954 7385 27 004 788 76 2013 public 7 1029 6 800 042 87 283 740 1116 7 083 782 0 private 50 2069 12187 242 2344 3 669 690 4413 15 856 932 72 total 57 3098 18 987 284 2431 3 953 430 5529 22 940 714 72 2014 public 5 831 5691 254 89 234 300 920 5 925 554 0 private 45 2163 11375 690 1856 2 519 728 4019 13 895 418 72 total 50 2994 17 066 944 1945 2 754 028 4939 19820 972 72 2015 public 5 801 7589 055 61 82 060 862 7 671 115 0 private 40 1987 10911 827 1570 2 706 645 3557 13 618 472 57 total 45 2788 18500 882 1631 2 788 705 4419 21 289 587 57 *In thousand Iraqi Dinars

4. Agriculture

The agricultural sector is distinguished from other sectors by its importance in contribution to the economic growth of Iraq in general and to Muthana Governorate in particular. This sector has a direct impact on the characterization of the governorate identity as an agricultural province with large areas of arable lands. This sector employs high percentages of workers, contributes significantly to the governorate's GDP and impacts income level.

The agriculture sector in Muthanna Governorate is developed along the Euphrates River. The main crops that are grown are paddy rice, wheat and barley. Secondary crops include sesame, dry7 onion, cowpeas, broad beans, Indian pea, watermelon, melon, okra, eggplant.

The activities of the agriculture sector are of importance and key factors to the socio-economic development in the governorate. The agriculture sector provides job opportunities, increased income and contributes to the achievements of food security. The arable lands form 4.56 only from the total area of Muthana. Al-Salman district is considered the biggest administrative unit of Munthana in area, and the Southern desert formulates 90% of its lands. According to the data of Ministry of Agriculture Directorates, the arable lands in the desert total to 400 thousand acres. In addition, the irrigated lands form 27% of the total arable lands in Muthana governorate, which usually benefit from the river water.

Only 2.6% of the territory of Muthanna is arable land. Maysan is the the largest administrative unit of Al-Salman Qadha; more than 90% of its territory is taken up by the southern desert. The potential of the desert for agriculture, however, has not been investigated. All in all, according to BLS data, the arable area in the southern desert is over 5 million donums, ot ca. 5% of its territory. Irrigated agricultural land is 47% of the arable land, which benefits from river water.

1.6% of the country’s wheat crops in 2014 and 4.9% in 2015 were located in Muthanna. The share of land planted with barley was 3.3% (2014) and 12.8% (2015) respectively. To make the problem of small land size worse, the yields were lower than the average, especially for wheat. In season 2016, the Governorate has

30 LADP in Iraq – Muthanna PDS registered a decrease in paddy rice crops, linked to water scarcity and decline in the status of agricultural land, in addition to delay of payments from the prior three seasons.

The current summer season of 2017 was limited to only paddy rice crop in an area of 1000 donums while there are 22 000 donums relegated to planting this crop because of water shortage in summer. Paddy rice was limited to planting seeds just to maintain the crop breed. Water shortages suffered by the northern part of the governorate affected the sustainability of agriculture in a large area, which would revive the governorate economy if exploited properly. The delayed payments during the past three seasons and the scarcity of water in the rivers have contributed to the decline of agricultural situation and forced farmers to search for other jobs.”

Land ownership rests with the Ministry of Agriculture (51.0%, 83.9% of which is rented); private owners (48.8%); and other types of owner (Endowments, etc. – under 0.2%).

A large part of the territory is a desert and therefore huge territories are not usable for agricultural purposes. The arable and unusable land is very unevenly spread across the administrative units. Over 2/3rds of the land is arable only in Al-Majd Nahia; in Uruk Nahia and Al-Rumaitha Qadha Centre, arable land is around 40%; and in Samawa Qadha and Al-Khidhir Qadha it is just 1/5th. The arable lands in Al-Salman district form 2% of its lands, while they represent 42% of the total number of arable lands in the governorate of Muthana, and the desert represent most of the area, but it is difficult to cultivate it.

Figure 8 Share of arable land in Muthanna per administrative unit Al-Khdhir Qadha 20% 80% Arable area Arid Area Samawa Qadha 20.2% 79.8% Uruk Nahia 43.8% 56.2% Al-Hilal Nahia 28.7% 71.3% Al-Majd Nahia 63.4% 36.6% Al-Najmi Nahia 27.8% 72.2% Al-Rumaitha Qadha Center 40.9% 59.1%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Table 11 Employment in the agriculture sector in Muthanna (2015) Workers in the agricultural sector, Farmers (n) Livestock herders (n) Muthanna, 2015 11 426 5382

Table 12 Agricultural production in Muthanna (2011–2014) – cultivated areas, main crops, yields Crop Year Cultivated area (donums) Average yield (kg/donum) Production Total area Productive area Total leased area Productive area (tonnes) Wheat 2012 95 184 80 350 357.6 423.6 34 038 2013 98 827 74 795 265.6 351.0 26 250 2014 137 937 128 140 335.1 360.8 46 228 Barley 2012 115 896 93 961 293.4 361.9 34 004 2013 127 770 99 261 213.7 275.1 27 304 2014 151 520 139 705 256.9 278.6 38 924 Paddy rice 2012 6603 6183 488.4 521.6 3225 2013 7726 7621 626.3 635.0 4839 2014 5228 4835 595.1 643.4 3111 Sunflower 2011 262 258 198.5 201.6 52 2012 73 43 137.0 232.6 10 2013 3 1 133.3 400.0 0 2014 4 4 250.0 250.0 1 Potato 2011 11 10 2090.9 2300.0 23 2012 49 35 877.6 1228.6 43 2013 50 50 2480.0 2480.0 124 2014 14 14 3571.4 3571.4 50 Corn 2013 188 170 771.3 852.9 145 2014 632 594 1292.7 1375.4 817

31 LADP in Iraq – Muthanna PDS

The governorate of Muthanna is characterized by the existence of a large animal wealth and is currently at the top in terms of livestock not Ninavah governorate because of the exceptional circumstances experienced by the governorate. The livestock consists of about 1 100 000 heads of sheep and goats, 60 000 head of cows and buffaloes, 25 000 heads of camels in addition to the existence of several projects for livestock.

Table 13 Livestock projects in Muthanna Governorate, 2016 Name of Project Number Total annual capacity Unit Farms for broiler chicken 111 13587900 Chicken Farms for egg laying chicken 12 139208 Chicken Fish farming in mud ponds 45 Fish farming in floating cages 7 13000 Fingerlings Fish farming in closed recirculation system 1 Licensed beehives 2 30 hive

5. Tourism

The tourism sector is one of the most important sectors that must contribute in supporting the local economy of the governorate of Muthan and creation of job opportunities. Undoubtfully, Muthan enjoys the presence of distinguished touristic sites, but the tourism sector is still at the early stages of growth.

The development of this sector requires strengthening the partnership between the private and the public sector, and making them more effective by identification of ambitious objectives for development and specific activities for execution to maximize the contribution of the tourism sector in cultural, social and economic development. In addition, to ensure the success of the tourism institutions, preserve the cultural heritage and archeological sites to put Muthana on the National and global map as a distinguished touristic destination. The sector is still unable to generate sustainable revenues, but the historical monuments, religious and natural sites represent are enabling elements in the development of the tourism sector.

The tourism sector in Muthanna is at an early stage of development; it does not yet generate substantial revenue. Historcal-archaeological, religious and natural sights represent the potential on which a contiguous tourist industry can be developed.

Table 14 Tourism sector and tourism infrastructure data, Muthanna Survey of hotel and tourist complex activities, 2013 Number of hotels Public Private Mixed Total Hotels and tourist complexes (n) 10 Lowest class 0 3 0 3 Workers (n) 86 Fourth Class – 1 star 0 0 0 0 Total wages and benefits (million dinars) 454 Third Class – 2 stars 0 2 0 2 Guests (n) 2927 Second Class – 3 stars 0 3 0 3 Nights (n) 50 944 First Class – 4 stars 0 1 0 1 Total revenues (million dinars) 1453 Upscale luxury – 5 stars 0 0 0 0 Total expenses (million dinars) 146 Total 0 9 0 9

The touristic potentials of Muthana governorate are as follows. 4. Natural sites: The most significant areas that can be invested as touristic sites:  Sawa Lake: a natural lake in the middle of a desert area, its area is 10km2 and about 30km from the center of the governorate. It is considered as a significant environmental and touristic landmark. The lake is distinguished with its unique features of variation in depth, the constant warm salty waters and its mineral therapeutical particularity.  Al-Safat area: located on the river of Euphrates, south of Samawah city, it was originally a river bend, but was cut by the river. The area is surrounded by orchards and date palms, the touristic road Samawah – Al-Khudhur cross it, and the area can be invested as a touristic resort.  Sulaibat Water Depression: covers an area of 20800 acres and 2.5m deep. It has different types of fish, birds and aquatic plants, and remarkable natural scenery.  Al-Wahshia (Al-Asaf spring water): natural spring water south of Khudhur city 50 km from the center of the governorate.  Al-Fadhat: low areas in the desert where rainwater is collected, and in spring it changes into green areas with different types of flowers and plants making it an enchanting nature. The same applies to the valleys, which can be invested in seasonal tourism.

32 LADP in Iraq – Muthanna PDS

5. Religious sites. The main religious shrines present in Muthanna are eight, all distributed in the Core area; some are located near urban settlements, others in rural areas. The most important among them is Al- Khidhir shrine. Pilgrims’ routes link the southern governorates to the Holy sites of Al-Najaf, Kerbala, Samarra and Baghdad. 6. Natural sites. The only known natural tourist destination is the Sawa Lake, located on the western edge of the border of Muthanna Governorate with Al-Najaf. It is a unique lake with variable depth, always warm saline water, curative mineral properties, and sand shores. Lake Sawa became famous in 1976 after a scientific mission, which studied the potentials of establishing a tourist city nearby. Currently there are only abandoned and damaged former tourist buildings in the surrounding area. At present, the high economic (tourism) potential of Lake Sawa is not developed due to lack of adequate services and infrastructure. 7. Archaeological sites. According to information from the Muthanna Archaeology Department, there are more than 120 archaeological sites in Muthanna Governorate, mainly distributed in the Core area, in the districts of Al-Rumaitha, Al-Samawa and Al-Khidhir.  Ancient city of Uruk. Uruk dates back to the dawn of settling the lands of South Iraq (5th millennium BC); the world knew writing through Uruk; it has temples and monuments some of which still exist; it was one of the sacred Sumerian cities and one of the religious centres. The majority of the area of Uruk remains unexcavated. The excavated area (near Al-Tawbah Lands in Al-Khudhir Qadha, 60 km south of Al-Samawa city) is about 13km2 and it is 26m at its highest. Site protection is being provided. Despite the importance of Uruk, it has not been exploited and invested as touristic site and suffers from negligence.  Al-Kasseir Ruins: a great castle situated in the middle of the desert, built of bricks, still existand goes back to the Sassanian period.  Historical locations: Al-Salman Hole detention Center that was established in 1927 to detain the national figures who resisted the different types of occupations and the successive regimes governed Iraq in different periods. The place can be invested as a museum where the biography of the detained prominent figures, photos and statues can be displayed, as well as the governmental old buildings that are considered as an architectural masterpieces with historical heritage.  Tal Al-Ajaz. The site dates back to the Parthian Empire. The archaeological mound is located in northern Muthanna, in Al-Rumaitha Qadha, Al-Najmi Nahia (Al-Hirak). It is surrounded by plain, it is 5 m high and 15 000 m2 in area. After the site was illegally dug and pillaged, the General Committee of Archaeology and Heritage in Baghdad (GCAH) ordered an exploration campaign. Excavations started in Tal Al-Ajaz in 2008, with the latest (fourth) excavation session staring in 2011. A complex burial ground has been revealed, evidencing social class structure and religious beliefs. E.g. finds include a main burial ground, organised into two floors with 58 tombs, and a number of smaller burial grounds; some unusual cylindrical tombs with conical ends built of glazed pottery; people (skeletons) buried squatting (like baby in a womb) or hanging upside-down; funeral gifts (ornaments, jewelry, pottery). Finds have been transported to and registered with the GCAH in Baghdad.  Site at Al-Khidhir Qadha. This large unexplored archaeological mound with an area of 17500 m2 is located in Al-Khidhir Qadha (Ein Sadad). It lies near the Al-Tawayil brick factories compound, close to Al-Tawayil village, on the border between Al-Jawabir and Al-Ziyad lands. The actual height of the archaeological site is 10 m. It was violated, and there is currently a guard for this site.  Site atAl-Adour village. This archaeological mound has not been explored. It is located in Al-Khidhir Qadha, near Al-Adour village (abandoned) in a desert area at the border of Al-Honta and Ein Seid counties, in Al Bou Risha Clan territory.  Telol Al-Afar (Ein Seid). This group of unexplored mounds date back to the Parthian and Islamic Empires. It is located in Al-Khidhir Qadha, near the brick factories compound (northern Ein Seid ), in the territory of Al Bou Risha and Al Dahi clans. These mounds have been pillaged; the site is currently unguarded. The site is further threatened by irrigation in the area – agricultural water streams as well as a large irrigation project close by (from Al-Samawa to Al-Mohsin) – linked to rising groundwater levels and soil erosion.  Telol Al-Homr (Telol Al-Azzam). This group of unexplored mounds, too, date back to the Parthian and Islamic Empires. They are located in Al-Khidhir Qadha, within Al-Mohsen territory, adjacent to Al Bou Risha territories (Al-Hijama county). The site has no protection and it has been pillaged several tmes; some unofficial accounts mention finds of gold. The area is traditionally irrigated via flooding. Direct road access to the site is lacking.

33 LADP in Iraq – Muthanna PDS

Problems of archaeological sites in Muthanna Governorate: . Scarcity of excavations and poor site maintenance; . Lack of site guarding. The number of guards assigned is low despite the pressing need for guarding. These sites are located in desert areas (away from residences) or in tribal territories which make them prone to digging and theft by thieves or people unaware of the value of these sites; . Lack of adequate attention in local and central government to archaeology and the archaeological tourism sector. Public funding for the sector is lacking and there is little recognition of the income- genration potential of these sites as tourism sites; . Low number staff at Muthanna Archaeology Department. This is linked to work buid-up, inattention, delays, and overall lack of control over work at all sites. . With some exceptions, low archaeological experience of workers in Muthanna Archaeology Department.

Muthanna Governorate has potential to develop diverse and attractive tourism industry. Domestic and international visitors alike stand to find here a rich mix of culture and heritage, pilgrim routes, religious sites, adventure tours, natural parks, local products, etc. The traditional hospitality of local people complements the potential for quality accommodation facilities, innovative tourist services and modern infrastructure. But ready go-to attractions at this time are few.

6. SWOT analysis of the Governorate Economic Sector

Points of Strength Points of Weakness  Distinguished geographic location and stable security  Weak investment environment in sectors of industry and situation tourism linked to weak regulatory structure, overlapping  Availability of raw material for some industries especially or inconsistent rules and regulations, difficulty in cement, salt (entry to most chemical industries) and allocation of lands for investment, weak banking system, different types of stones. weak culture of investment, lack of competency and  Good demand In the market (local and external) on local shortage in training of employees of investment goods and services commission.  Investment law number 13 of 2006 and its amendments  Weak competitiveness of the local agricultural products to facilitate investment and secure guarantees due to high production costs and poor quality  Presence of extensive agricultural development elements  Lack of committees and mechanism for promotion of such as broad agricultural lands, appropriate water tourism in Al-Muthana, such as touristic maps, markets resources and most importantly ground water, human for handicrafts and organization of activities for tourists resources able to work in the agriculture sector and attraction of visitors.  The availability of elements for tourism development such  Weak protection to the archeological sites, and their as archeological sites of Al-Warka’a, natural site of Sawa destruction including illegal excavation and looting lake and several handicrafts, desert tourism (Al-Samawa  Weak financial capacity of relevant entities responsible desert) and so forth. for execution of touristic sector supporting programs  Poor infrastructure and working human resources trained on tourism sector and archeology. Opportunities Threats  Warka’a city is listed as world heritage  Weak coordination between relevant sectoral ministries  Possible support for the different Iraqi embassies abroad and conflicting instructions on investment process to promote for investment opportunities in Iraq including  International competition (especially from neighboring Muthana countries)to attract investments and weak ability of the  Possibility to benefit from international companies and Iraqi investment market to compete organization working in the agriculture sector in Iraq  Weakness and failure of the Iraqi banking sector in  Iraqi initiatives to support the agriculture (agricultural funding of projects initiative, loans program and others)  Ramifications of financial crisis in Iraq  Good demand on local agriculture products in local  Overlapping of some legislations related to agriculture markets and investment process.

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IV. PUBLIC SERVICE DELIVERY – QUALITY AND ACCESS

1. Transport network sector

Roads and bridges sector aims at construction of roads, bridges, intersections and tunnels, as well as preserve road safety, roads maintenance, prohibit encroachment of roads, determination of public roads, bridges, tunnels and intersection and regulating their usage, identification of primary weight for vehicles using public roads and their speed and distance. Furthermore, facilitation of land appropriation where public roads, bridges, intersections, and tunnels cross and their acquisition, organizing estimation of land appurtenances such as facilities and plants and methods of compensation according to amended public roads law number 5 of 2013 chapter three, articles 4 and 5. The Directorate of roads and bridges of Ministry of construction and housing and public municipalities is considered the component entity to manage the roads network outside the basic designs of the cities, in addition to the bridges inside the basic design of the cities and outside them.

The overall road network in Muthanna include: 455 km of main roads; 437 km of secondary roads; and 1570 km of rural roads of which 986km is executed. The condition of roads varies greatly. There are number projects at different stages of implementation (Tables 20-22). Figure 9 Registered traffic accidents in The existing road network is obsolete and it needs rehabilitation Muthanna (2014) and maintenance. Poor road conditions impede socio-economic 500 458 361 activity and cause high number of road accidents. 400 300 The road network has been in decline and neglect due to the 200 138 wars; it needs assessment and re-prioritisation based on the 100 opportunities for economic development and demographic 0 trends. Maintenance should be carried out in accordance with Number of Number of Number of Muthanna’s approved road maintenance programme. Accidents Deaths Injuries

Table 15 Main roads, first class, Muthanna Indicator Value Total number of main roads 7 Number of implemented main roads (pavement) 5 Number of paved main roads in need of maintenance 1 Length of main roads (km) 541.1 Length of paved main roads 381.5 Length of paved in need of maintenance main roads 200 Length of not paved, critical main roads 159.6 Length of main furnished roads 0 Length of not furnished & critical main roads 106.15 Number of suspended projects due to financial crisis 3

Table 16 Secondary roads, first class, Muthanna Secondary roads, first Total Paved Gravel Non- Projects class, per administrative (n) Completed In (km) Total In disrepair (km) gravel in stalled due unit paved gravel disrepair (km) (km) disrepair to financial (n) (n) (n) (km) crisis (n) Al-Samawa 4 3 1 3 52.8 44.2 26.2 8.6 - Al-Sowair 3 2 - 2 25.824 25.82 21.15 0 9.2 Al-Rumaitha 3 2 - 1 15 7.5 4.5 0 - Al-Majd 1 1 - 4 34 34 42.35 0 - Al-Warka’a 1 1 - 2 5 5 26.4 0 5.4 Al-Karama ------0 - 5 Al-Najmi 7 4 3 - 68.25 36.5 - 20.75 - Al-Hilal 11 7 1 2 82.05 56.05 19 20.5 24 Al-Salman ------Bussaiyah 1 - - - 124 124 - - - Al-Khidhir 5 4 1 - 41 35.5 - 5.5 - Al-Darraji 2 2 - - 10 - - - - Muthanna total 38 26 6 14 457.924 368.57 139.6 55.35 38.6 5

35 LADP in Iraq – Muthanna PDS

Table 17 Rural roads in Muthanna Administrative Unit Total Total rural Planned rural Completed rural Completed rural Total rural Projects rural roads (km) roads (km) roads (km) roads (n) roads (n) stalled due paved to financial roads Gravel Paved Gravel Paved Gravel Paved crisis (n) (km)

Al-Samawah QC 202 418 80.9 69.3 135.4 132.4 13 20 54 13 Al-Sowair 96.94 184.75 57 38.35 31 58.4 7 12 35 Al-Rumaitha QC 51.15 116.6 16.6 5.1 48.4 46.5 8 13 24 Al-Majd 67.5 69.95 7.9 23.75 4.8 33.5 1 7 17 Al-Najmi 149.375 247.075 18.9 51.075 79.1 98 5 2 26 Al-Hilal 53.3 87.2 0 4 33.9 49.3 5 3 17 Al-Warka QC 66.1 159.55 18.2 48.9 75.25 17.2 20 28 65 Al-Karama 29.55 147.4 56.5 19.8 61.3 9.8 3 10 14 Al-Khidhir QC 77.3 99.6 7 41.75 15.25 35.6 3 8 30 Al-Daraji 27.72 45.12 0 24.72 17.4 3 4 1 8 Total Muthana 820.935 1575.245 251.5 326.745 93.74 90.22 104 104 275 13

Table 18 Bridges in Muthanna Areas serviced by the water supply network Bridges

Samawa Q Samawa Sowair Q Rumaitha Majd Najmi Hilal Q Warka Karama Q Salman QKhidhir Darraji

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Al Centre Al Al Centre Al Al Al Al center Al Al Centre Bussaiyah Al Centre Al Total Existing 11 5 6 4 3 2 1 32 Under construction 1 1 2 Planned 3 5 2 10 Total existing and planned 14 5 6 4 8 4 2 43

2. Water supply sector

Directorate of Muthana Water of Minister of construction and housing and public municipalities runs water sector. The Directorate seeks to supply potable water to all citizens of the governorate including districts and sub districts according to the standards adopted by the Ministry quality and quantity through different available means, which are determined by different factors, the most important one water source, geographic location, demographic nature, and available physical resources.

Directorate of water suffers significantly from a number of factors; the most important is river water scarcity, high levels of salinity, turbidity and pollution of river water. The directorate suffers from violations on water networks, water pipes and networks dewatering.

In Muthana governorate 79.4% of houses are connected to public water supply network, which is considered a low average is comparison to the national average. As a result of poor quality of water supplied through the network, most of the people seek to rely on other sources for potable water (water tank vehicles, bottled water and others).

Water sector suffers mainly from water scarcity of the sources, Euphrates high levels of salinity and pollution, as well as epidemics and high leakages from the deteriorated water supply network.

Hence, there is a need to rehabilitate the water supply deteriorated network, improve reporting system and collection of fees for usage of network. In addition, it is necessary to introduce modern systems in monitoring the status of the network (pressure levels and so forth) to identify the problems and improve planning process.

The sector relies for services on a network of state entities. Under the Governorates’ directorates, there are district and sub-district water offices (delivery units) which manage the water and sanitation service within the administrative areas under their jurisdiction.

In general, these bodies work under a set of dependencies that limit their control over water quality and price of services. The present institutional structure does not allow for any delegation or autonomy of service providers. In effect, service providers have no freedom or responsibility with respect to planning of financing/investment and construction/maintenance. Finally, this limits improvements in services, maintenance and operations.

36 LADP in Iraq – Muthanna PDS

In Muthanna governorate, only 77.8% of the population have sustainable access to an improved source of water and only 66.7% of the households are connected to the public water supply network; both percentages are considerably lower than the national averages. Even where households are connected to the public network, drinking water is often only available for a few hours a day, forcing more than 80% of the population to rely on other water sources (e.g. water tanks, bottled water, etc.).

Many of the current problems of the sector are related to the separation of functions between (1) operations and maintenance and (2) investment planning, financing and implementation. Additionally, the involvement of many Ministries and governmental entities with some level of control leads to overlap of responsibilities in the sector, creating further problems and inefficiencies. A major problem is water quality itself, affected by water scarcity in the Euphrates, high rates of salinity and pollution, and contamination and leakages in the outdated supply network.

There is need to update the outdated water supply network, including mapping. There is need to improve the system for reporting and the collecton of fees for use of the network. It is also necessary to introduce a modern system for monitoring the status of the network (e.g. pressure levels, etc.) to allow timely identification of problems and improved planning.

Table 19 Water supply system infrastructure and capacity in Muthanna water supply system infrastructure and capacity Assets Operational Under construction Total N Capacity (m3/day) N Capacity (m3/day) Capacity (m3/day) Central water pump and 5 181 600 1 240 000 421 600 treatment plants Water collection units 100 75 000 3 5000 80 000 Desalination units total 42 5000 3 350 5350 Wells 16 39 200 8 10 000 49 200 Water pipelines (km) 500 175 675 Water supply (m3/day)* 308 000 Water demand (m3/day)* 211 530 Water consumption per capita (litres/day)* 381.1 [*] MoMPW (2015), Report on Data Collection Survey on Water Sector in Southern Iraq: http://open_jicareport.jica.go.jp/pdf/1000020477.pdf. [**] Environmental Statistics indicators for 2014.

Table 20 Coverage of the water supply network in Muthanna by administrative unit Areas serviced by the water supply network

Q

Q

Q

Q Q

Hilal

Sowair Rumaitha Majd Najmi Khidhir Darraji Warka’a Karama Salman

------

Samawah center Al Al center Al Al Al Al center Al Al center Al Al center Bussiayah Muthanna average % of urban areas 90 90 96 74 90 98 75 80 90 80 100 83 87 % of rural areas 65 84 80 72 20 60 75 70 75 70 0 0 56

3. Wastewater management sector

Wastewater collection and processing services are vastly important for the health and quality of life of people. This includes the management of wastewater from homes; industrial, commercial, educational and other facilities; and from surface runoff (rainwater, etc.).

The Sewerage Directorate under the Ministry of Housing, Municipalities and Public Works runs the sector. The main problem of this sector is the significant shortages in sewage and wastewater projects in the cities due to previous negligence, projects high costs and maintenance.

It is necessary to improve access to sewage system in Muthana governorate, average access to public sewage system 35% for houses, while majority use septic tanks for wastewater.

Access to an improved sanitation facility in Muthanna Governorate (91.8%) is lower than the country average (93.8%). The situation regarding sewage disposal however is worse: less than 3% of Muthanna’s households rely on the public sewage system, and the overwhelming majority use septic tanks or covered canals.

37 LADP in Iraq – Muthanna PDS

The main problem in the sewerage and sanitation service in cities – due to: low network coverage of cities; depreciated and damaged sewerage network; high maintenance costs; lack of financial allocations for maintenance; power outage necessary to operate treatment stations and weak revenues.

Table 21 Key data and indicators for the sewerage sector in Muthanna Wastewater Sewage treatment plants Environmental indicators pumping stations (2016) District n n Name Site Capacity Status (residents) Al-Samawah 32 1 Central Processing Samawah 150 000 Working Residents served by 35% Station, Samawah public sewerage Al-Rumaitha 11 2 Al-Rumaitha Rumaitha 100 000 Under Treatment Plant construction Al-Khidhir 7 3 Treatment Station in Samawah 20 000 Not working Residents served by 67% Al-Hussain independent neighbourhood wastewater Al-Warka’a 1 4 Al-Rumaitha Rumaitha 20 000 Not working collection (e.g. Septic Al-Salman 1 Treatment Plant Tanks) Total 52

4. Municipal services sector

The municipal sector includes services provided within the borders of the cities’ municipalities. The municipal directorates (municipal directorate of the center and municipalities directorate) oversight administratively and financially over municipal institutions in the districts and sub districts (11 municipal directorate) except for the center municipality (Al-Samawa), which is considered the most important municipal directorate in the governorate, because it is classified as (class A ) municipality.

The work of municipal institutions is governed by the Law No. 21 (2008) and its amendments, and the Municipal Administration Law No. 165 (1964) and its amendments, in addition to Federal Government-issued laws and regulations related to the work of municipalities.

Municipal services include the pavement maintenance of streets, sidewalks, intersections, green/recreation and market areas; the development of cities in accordance with certain standards; care for traffic engineering; waste collection and operation of landfills in compliance with health standards.

Despite the noticeable progress in service levels in most of the cities of the governorate, there is a need for further efforts to reach the adopted services standards. In addition, the sector suffers from conflict with other responsible directorates responsible for services located within roads or sidewalks such as water and sanitation, electricity, and telecommunication whereby the municipal directorates suffer from the different violation on the basic designs and laws regulating the work of the municipalities.

In Muthanna Governorate, the main problems of the sector are related to: the need of rehabilitation of streets and green areas; weak technical expertise in the field of waste collection and recycling need of updated database of municipal properties.

Table 22 Municipalities in Muthanna Municipality Number Population, 2016 (n) Municipal Municipal administration Staff (n) properties (n) departments (n) Al-Samawah 1 219 988 37 231 6 229 Al-Rumaitha 2 83 465 16 452 4 117 Al-Khidhir 3 41 703 6532 4 81 Al-Sowair 3 3560 738 2 24 Al-Salman 4 3133 300 2 29 Al-Warka’a 4 3204 388 4 28 Al-Majd 4 3128 400 2 26 Al-Hilal 4 886 200 2 26 Al-Najmi 4 2063 237 2 18 Al-Darraji 4 1472 300 1 20 Bussiayah 4 1068 150 2 14 Al-Karama - 1680 250 1 7

38 LADP in Iraq – Muthanna PDS

Table 23 Technical standards for municipal service provision in Muthanna (gap analysis) Need type Standard Actual number per Municipal Institution

a

'

Samawa Rumaitha Khidhir Salman Warka Majd Hilal Najmi Darraji Sowair Karama

------

Al Al Al Al Al Al Al Al Al Al Bussiayah Al Waste collection 20 per 100 000 185 25 18 5 5 4 5 3 3 3 3 0 cars inhabitants Cleaners 1 worker per 200 527 315 285 53 64 62 47 35 49 54 31 20 inhabitants Distribution of 3 bags per housing 4 322 288 19100 20060 0 220 0 650 625 0 0 0 758 waste bags unit per week /year Street cleaner 2-3 cleaning 5 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 vehicles vehicle per 100 000 inhabitants

Table 24 Technical standards for servicing public spaces and municipal areas in Muthanna (gap analysis) Paved streets Sidewalks Recreation Green areas Slaughterhouses Landfills areas Standard 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% Municipa total Not Gap total Not Gap tot Not Gap tota Not Gap total Not Gap offici unoffi Gap lity (km) paved 100 (km) execute 100 al execut 100 l (n) exec 100% (n) execut 100% al (n) cial (n) 100 (km) % d(km) % (n) ed(n) % uted ed (n) % (n) Samawah 529. 218.0 41.1 1058 424.0 40.0 64 42 65 64 42 66.0 1 1 50 2 1 33 0 .0 Al-Sowair 42.6 28.8 67.5 33.7 30.0 89.1 2 1 50 38 34 89.5 - - - 1 - - Al- 107. 50.9 47.2 195. 94.1 48.0 2 1 50 38 34 89.0 1 - - 1 - - Rumaitha 8 9 Al-Majd 31.2 5.1 16.0 15.0 10.2 67.8 10 2 20 10 2 20.0 - - - 1 - - Al- 37.0 23.6 63.0 47.1 19.3 40.8 4 3 75 12 7 58.4 1 - - 1 - - Warka'a 3 Al- 4.3 2.2 51.2 8.6 2.2 25.6 ------1 100 Karama Al-Najmi 26.3 10.2 38.9 32.3 29.5 91.4 1 1 100 11 8 72.7 - - - 1 - - Al-Hilal 30.5 27.5 90.2 59.0 48.0 81.3 - - - 2 1 50.0 - - - 1 - - 6 Al- 36.0 21.1 58.0 62.0 54 87.0 1 - - 22 19 86.0 - - - 1 - - Salman Bussiaya 20.0 18.0 90.0 46.8 45.3 96.8 - - - 14 12 85.7 - - - 1 - - h Al- 113. 59.2 52.4 226. 190.5 84.3 92 73 80 7 7 100. 1 - - 1 - - Khidhir 0 0 0 Al-Darraji 29.0 24.1 83.0 58.0 56.8 97.8 27 23 85. 11 10 91.0 - - - 1 - - 2

Table 25 Cleaning service provision in Muthanna in 2016 (gap analysis)

Areas serviced with cleaning per

municipality

(benchmark = 100%) ka’a

Sowair Rumaitha Majd War Karama Najmi Hilal Salman Khidhir Darraji

------

Samawah Al Al Al Al Al Al Al Al Bussiayah Al Al Average % of total 86 100 80 100 95 80 100 100 100 100 100 100 95.1 Gap 100% 14 - 20 - 5 20 ------4.09 Reasons for the gap Insufficient funding. Lack of machinery and workers. Elements of reducing the gap Increase budget allocation or private sector participation.

39 LADP in Iraq – Muthanna PDS

5. Electricity service sector

Electricity is an important basic service that different activities of life in social, industrial, agricultural and trade development depend upon and one of pillars of civil development.

Sectoral directorate of Ministry of electricity manage the electricity sector in our governorate and they are Distribution Directorate, Transmission networks Directorate and Energy Production Directorate. It is worth mentioning that power supply lines 400 kw enter the governorate from the North to the South without going through a transformation station inside the governorate, the supply comes from transformation stations in Nassiria and Diwania where 132 kv lines enter the transformation stations inside the governorate and transformed to 33 kv, and to 11 kv. Most of the neighborhoods in the governorate are supplied with electricity through 11 kv air lines except for some neighborhoods who are supplied through ground lines. Many generators are spread in the streets from 11 kv to 380v supplying shops, houses and streets with electricity.

The electricity supply infrastructure in Iraq damaged severely during the Gulf War. In the context of the subsequent international sanctions and the war of 2003, it has suffered from underinvestment and lack of equipment.

The public power grid is the main source of electricity for almost all households in Muthanna; yet, despite that, most of the people suffer from constant disruption in electricity for several hours a day.

The main problems of the sector in the governorate include insufficient electricity generation, non-existence of transformation station for the national electricity supply lines 400 kv, despite passing through the governorate. The weak capacity of the 132 kv lines from Nassiria and Divania, their maximum power reach approximately 300 kv, while the maximum need in 2017 was 640 kv. This means that the high consumption of the distribution electricity grid, and shortage in the transformation capacity of the medium pressure station 33 and 11 kv lead to additional loads on the stations and the lines, which result instable electricity power. Therefore, it is necessary to take actions to increase the production, efficient supply and distribution of power in the governorate.

The overused power distribution network, and instability of the electric power supply. Measures need to be taken to increase the energy efficiency of power production and consumption in the governorate.

40 LADP in Iraq – Muthanna PDS

Table 26 Key indicators and data related to Muthanna’s electricity service system Administrative unit (Q = Qadha) Al-Samawa Q Al-Sowair Al- Al-Majd Al- Al- Al-Najmi Al-Hilal Al- Bussaiya Al- Al-Darraji Total in Muthanna Centre Rumaitha Warka'a Karama Salman h Khidhir Q Governorate Q Centre Q Centre Centre Indicator Power stations (n) 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 4 Non-operational power stations (n) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Installed generation capacity (MW) 100 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.5 2 0 0 105.5 Actually produced power (MW) 30 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1.5 0 0 34.5 Secondary stations 132 kV (n) 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 5 Capacity of 132 kV stations (MVA) 554 0 189 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 189 0 932 Secondary stations 33/11 kV (n) 9 1 2 1 2 1 1 1 0 0 2 1 21 Capacity of 33/11 kV stations (MVA) 472 32 126 32 84 16 16 16 0 0 93 63 950 Power transformers 11 kV –380 V (n) 1494 198 656 358 344 190 171 199 30 6 412 146 4204 Capacity of power transformers 11 kV –380 V (MVA) 500.32 44.776 157.808 89.392 88.688 46.52 42.9 57.872 5.88 1.8 110.912 35.688 1182.556 Subscribers actual (n) 42 009 3374 16 873 5847 12112 2385 632 12955 96 187 Subscribers planned (n) 57 000 4000 20 000 11 000 10 500 5000 4000 7000 645 140 13 000 4000 136 285 Actual current consumption (MVA) 115 637.1 Planned consumption, 2018 (MVA) 120 799 Planned 380 V distribution network (m) 990 000 140 000 600 000 451 200 250 000 150 000 135 000 135 000 20 000 3000 206 000 110 000 3 190 200 Non-operational 380 V distribution network (m) 971 100 128 700 426 400 232 700 223 600 123 500 111 150 129 350 19 500 3900 267 800 94 900 2 732 600 Non-operational 33/11 kV distribution network (km) 575 209 310 130 3209

41 LADP in Iraq – Muthanna PDS

6. Housing sector

The provision of decent housing is a continuous process. It depends on a large number of variables, most importantly on the rate of population growth and the corresponding procedures to provide land for construction, building materials and infrastructure services. Iraq records steady population growth of 3.4%, while it also faces severe housing crisis. Rental housing prices have doubled and property prices have increased significantly as well. There is a pronounced housing deficit in Muthanna Governorate, which requires securing thousands of housing units to reduce the degree of overcrowding and occupancy rates.

It is difficult to speak of real housing/ property market because a large part of workers receives subsidised housing. In result, the interest of investors in the sector and in participation in new construction is low.

Overall in Muthanna, the projected demand for housing units is 125 328 for 2017 and 140 323 for 2022; its distribution among administrative units takes into account the average household size in urban and rural areas.

Figure 10 Trends in population growth vs. trends in housing supply in Muthanna; projected housing deficit Population growth and projections, Housing units, 2009, 2022 2015-2022 (n, thousands) (n, thousands) Legend: 350 60

300 50

250 40

200

30 150

20 100

10 50

0 0 2015 2017: 2020: 2022: actual (2009) estimated required (2022) TM: 788 TM: 826 TM: 882 TM: 924 TM: 91 224 (2022) TM: 140 323 262 288 202 784 TM: 117 089 *TM = Total Muthanna

Table 27 Housing provision in Muthanna per administrative unit (2009–2022); projected housing deficit Administrative unit Populati Housing units in 2009 Privately Housing projects Projections for 2022 on total multi- single- built Government-funded Investor Supply Deman Housing annual (n) storey storey units -funded of units d for unit growth (n) (n) 2010– Completed Units (n) (n) units (n) deficit (n) rate (%) 2017 units (n) under construc tion (n) Al-Samawa Q Centre 2.5 37 231 1639 35 592 6804 504 648 6828 52 015 57 478 5463 Al-Sowair 2.2 4500 10 4490 791 5291 7680 2389 Al-Rumaitha Centre 2.5 13 715 26 13 689 2507 364 16 586 20 096 3511 Al-Majd 2.2 4396 3 4393 785 126 5307 7053 1746 Al-Najmi 2.2 3711 3 3708 663 250 4624 5710 1087 Al-Hilal 2.2 3702 - 3702 661 4363 6465 2102 Al-Salman Q Centre 2.3 1053 - 1053 189 1242 1601 359

42 LADP in Iraq – Muthanna PDS

Bussaiyah 2.6 113 - 113 21 134 191 57 Al-Khidhir Q Centre 2.4 10 162 25 10 137 1843 640 12 645 14 998 2353 Al-Daraji 2.2 2043 - 2043 365 2408 3108 700 Al-Warka'a Q 2.1, 2.4 10 598 8 10 590 1877 12 475 15 944 3469 Centre, Al-Karama Muthanna total 2.4 91 224 1714 89 510 16 505 504 1012 7844 117 140 323 23234 089

Table 28 Number of informal settlements in Muthana governorate according to the administrative units 2015 N Administrative Units Housing Units (n) Informal settlements (n) Shops (n) 1 Al-Samawah district 9832 38 78 2 Al-Sowair sub-district 120 10 2 3 Al-Rumaitha district 7596 29 16 4 Al-Najmi sub-district 60 4 4 5 Al-Hilal sub-district 410 3 4 6 Al-Majd sub-district 260 13 4 7 Al-Warka district 858 14 9 8 Al-Salman district 0 0 2 9 Bussayah sub-district 0 0 1 10 Al-Khidhir sub-district 2354 11 11 11 Al-Daraji sub-district 0 0 2 Total 21490 122 133

7. SWOT analysis of Public Services sector in the Governorate

Points of Strength Points of Weakness  Engineering and technical staff with experience in building  Low operational budgets as well as investment budget roads and bridges sector, some municipal services and for all basic services; water;  Old roads networks in need for rehabilitation and  Available data on executed projects, volume of staff and modernization; number of vehicles in some of the directorates of the  Many traffic violations and accidents; governorate;  Generated power supplied to the governorate is not  Available sub-power stations of which mostly were sufficient; installed after 2007, 20% of power grids are new, 30% of  Many deteriorated water and electricity stations and power grids are rehabilitated and presence of a staff networks; capable of training new staff;  Old networks of significant impact on stable provision of  Resources of surface water (Euphrates) and ground water services and frequent power outages, as well as in Samawah desert; depletion of human and financial resources due to loses  Central projects on Rumaitha river for production of and waste; drinking water, stations and networks in different areas of  Lack of old water networks maps; the governorate as well as desalination plants;  Houses are not provided with water meters,  A training center that offers programs based on an annual incompetent system is used to calculate service fees; plan that include management and usage of computer  Shortage of technical staff in some water sector programs, etc; directorates (maintenance and fees collection);  A project on GIS sponsored by the Directorate of planning  Lack of smart programs for monitoring of performance in the governorate to provide maps for many of the and mechanisms to track outages or leakages in the services, networks and treatment station for all districts network; and sub-districts;  Lack of ground water tanks, pumping stations and  Available engineers, technicians and experts in coverage of networks in many areas of the governorate; maintenance;  Weakness in utilization of modern technology to  Available administrative, legal, technical and engineering manage sewage system; staff in most municipal institutions with experience in  Poor usage of runoff water collection system especially managing most of municipal works, meantime enhancing in areas not served with sewerage network; their capacities through training and development;  Weak technical expertise in the field of collections and  Available large and open lands that can be appropriated processing of waste and sewerage water; according to modern cities plans;  Complex acquisition procedures of lands outside the  Adopt and utilize modern technology in some municipal scope of housing basic design. services such as the GPS to track assets and equipment, as well as to identify paths and streets boundaries, etc.

43 LADP in Iraq – Muthanna PDS

Opportunities Threats  Availability of some basic material to rehabilitate roads  Overlapping of some powers between the central such as rraw material, asphalt and cement factories, government and local government, which affects significant number of construction companies and labor negatively the workflow and provision of services; force;  Lack of awareness and frequent objections on execution  Significant competition among construction companies to of projects; implement transportation projects;  Inability of local production of Asphalt to meet the  Possibility of rehabilitation the road that links Iraq and required specifications; Saudi Arabia to be used as a cross-border corridor;  Lack of financial allocations to execute projects and the  Existence of a vision to develop services related to emergence of objectives when implementing some electricity sector through alternative plans; projects;  Possibility of using the alternative energy to address the  Frequent power outages, and lack of fuel processing in acute shortage power supply and to provide power to the refineries, which affects cement and asphalt plants some subscribers with professions that do not require too including other services; much power, as well as provision of power to some  Many services are subject to misuse, vandalism and equipment that can be powered by alternative power and violations; usage of fuel rather than electricity;  Immediate increase in loads as a result of population  Participation of the private sector, and invest their growth, increase of informal settlements and great potential in installing of networks, their maintenance, number of non-licensed users, increase in numbers of collection of fees and management of some services; equipments with high consumption and weak control  Usage of Hayo material to locally sterilize water, as a over imported equipments; result of availability of local row material such as table salt  Difficulty to allocate land for infrastructure; in (Al-Samawah salt plant);  Lack of irrigation networks to water gardens, to avoid  Existing international organization that support the water usage of drinking water for irrigation; sector through establishing of desalinization stations,  Frequent decrease in water levels of the Euphrates river; processing of some spare parts, organizing of training  High costs of maintenance courses to develop staff capacities and execution of sub-  Multiple regulatory entities and political interventions networks;  Water pollution and lack of awareness among the  Existence of Engineering consultancy firms and available citizens on rationalization of water; engineering expertise specifically in Muthana University;  Weak coordination between service and municipal  Existence of modern technology to treat waste water and directorates; recycling;  Weak collaboration of the citizens with the service directorates especially the municipality.

44 LADP in Iraq – Muthanna PDS

V. SOCIAL SERVICES

1. Education sector

Education represents an important pivot in social development. It is able to create an educated class and influential generation in building the governorate and preparation of specialized staff capable of taking responsibility.

The education process forms an integrated system that target the student who is the outcome of the system performance, and all its different components. The improvement of the performance and services of the education system depends on improving its all components, and this is the effective education, which should be multichannel, life lasting, and based on the learner’s potentials for contiguous self-development.

Higher education is considered the sector capable to produce innovative, educated and influential educated generation in building the governorate, provide the work spheres with educated staff capable of management the institutions of the state toward a promising future to the citizens of Muthana. Education and Higher Education responsible for preparing a conscious generation, capable of creation, innovation and assuming responsibility through specialized academic and technical staff and high degree holders. . Education sector in Muthana is one of the largest sectors in the governorate. It has more than 14000 employees including teachers and other titles. The total number of students is more than 240000, and this represents 30% of the population of the governorate. . On the positive side, there are enough teachers; there is an integrated database of school buildings and planning requirements; efforts have been invested in the renovation of outdated classrooms; and regulations are being introduced to enhance education, in particular private education. . The education sector suffers from the insufficient school buildings, and many are in a rather poor condition; there is a shortage of specialised teachers, in particular in English and Mathematics; the Directorate’s financial resources are insufficient; a number of services are missing, such as school guards; and motivation for enrolment in vocational schools is very low. The lack of certain services – e.g. tap water, electricity or transportation in rural areas, inability of most of the staff to create a friendly school environment, as well as unavailability of food for the children at school – additionally diminishes the general motivation to enrol in schools. Many children drop out of school for economic reasons, and the sector suffers from poor infrastructure of TIT (telecommunication and Information Technology) and Knowledge Technology. . Muthana Governorate has Al-Muthanna University, which is the only university in the Governorate, and a technical institute that represents the nucleus of the technical college in the governorate. They aim to upgrade levels of education in scientific and vocational fields in order to train a generation in the province, capable of creating positive influences in the community. It aims to meet the needs graduates in all fields of knowledge; to develop young people’s skills; to help students keep up with modern technology; to develop talents and creativity in scientific and technological fields; and to promote students’ aptitude for academic research, intellectual independence, personal initiatives and teamwork. . The higher education sector suffer from shortage in teaching staff of some specializations, lack of some equipment and requirements that prevent its expansion, non-allocation of sufficient financial resources for scientific research, lack of teaching aids necessary to develop the learning environment and weak scientific researches outcomes. . Despite being newly established, the University plays an important role in creating an atmosphere of support to educational efforts, and technical and methodological development in scientific research so as to graduating students who are academically and professionally qualified to support the development process in Muthanna Governorate and Iraq. The University affirms the need to collaborate with government institutions and legislative and executive departments in and outside the governorate – especially the Governorate Council – to fulfill its tasks. It offers specialised staff in most fields of study, advisory offices and specialised studies and research, and it enjoys local government support. . Some of its weaknesses are the lack of teaching staffs in certain majors; of sufficient administrative and service staff – which is an impediment to its expansion; and of some types of equipment. Also, there is no financial allocation for scientific research.

The education ladder in Iraq is as follows: Kindergarten also known as pre-school; Primary School (6 years); secondary school, including intermediate school (3 years) and preparatory school (3 years); and university or

45 LADP in Iraq – Muthanna PDS institute. If university path is not taken, vocational schools or teacher institute is an option. Education is mandatory through the sixth grade. After this, a national examination determines the possibility of continuing to upper grades. While a vocational track is available to those whom do not pass the exam, few students elect this option because of its poor quality.

On literacy and education, Muthanna scores considerably lower than the national average. The literacy rate in Muthanna is the lowest in Iraq, and access to both primary and secondary education is limited.4

1.1. Pre-school education (kindergartens)

According to data for 2016/17 school year, 4220 children attend 24 functioning kindergartens in Muthanna Governorate, 4 of which private (143 children). This public-private ratio is much higher than the country average.

The share of boys and girls is equal – i.e. in this age group there is no significant lagging behind of girls in the education system. However, overall attendance is only ca. 3% of all children in this age group. The average number of children per kindergarten (24) is less than the country average.

The number of kindergarten teachers is 147 (11 in the private kindergartens). The average number of teachers in a kindergarten is 7.2 – below the country average. The average number of children per teacher (24) is comparable to the country average (23).

The wide gap between the number of children in kindergarten and the number of children enrolled in first grade suggests the need for initial adaptation of children to the school setting. I.e. children need to develop certain habits of participation in the education process and to acquire basic skills before they enrol in first grade.

1.2. Primary education

According to data for 2016/17 school year, Muthanna Governorate has 513 primary schools: 21.9% for boys, 19.2% for girls, and 58.9% mixed.

Primary school students are 159954 (45.4% girls) and primary school teachers are 7571 (63.9% women). At this level of education, the number of boys in all classes is higher than the number of girls; the trend intensifies in the higher grades. There is also a trend for decreasing number of boys in the higher grades; this is likely due to the demographic trend or to higher numbers of school dropouts (in spite of the lack of official data).

The majority of primary schools are concentrated in Al-Samawa, where the largest share of Muthanna’s population live. There are no administrative units without a primary school. The number of children in a class varies widely across the districts. Al-Warka'a has highest average number of pupils per class (41.4), as well the highest number of pupils per teacher (27.4). Al-Salman and Bussiayah score the lowest on both indicators – linked to the much smaller number of pupils there.

There is need to set standards for primary schools, such as a standard number of pupils per teacher, a standard number of pupils in a class, etc., and to determine accordingly the necessary number of primary schools in each administrative unit. This will allow the development of the structure of initial educational in the Governorate in accordance with identified needs.

Not all the schools in the province have their own building. The number of buildings is 78.5% of the number of schools. This share is lower in Rumaitha, where schools exceed available buildings by 60.6%. Overall in Muthanna, slightly more than half of the schools are in good condition, 36% need refurbishment, and another 12.7% are not operational. The situation differs by region: the condition of buildings is the poorest in Al-Majd, Al- Najmi and Al-Hilal.

4 https://www.ncciraq.org/images/infobygov/NCCI_Muthanna_Governorate_Profile.pdf

46 LADP in Iraq – Muthanna PDS

Figure 11 Average students per class and teacher in primary education, Muthanna, 2016/2017

Legend (from left to right): Al-Salman, Al-Daraji, Al-Khidhir, Al-Karama, Al-Warka, Al-Najmi, Al-Hilal, Al-Majd, Al-Rumatha, Al-Suwair, Al- Samawah. Red: students per classroom, Blue: students per teacher

Figure 12 Primary school drop-out students in Muthanna by gender, 2011/12–2014/15 (COSIT)

1500 1200 900 600 1132 1337 854 1026 1036 931 300 779 808 0 Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female

2012/2011 2013/2012 2014/2013 2015/2014 Table 29 Primary education in Muthanna by administrative unit (2016/17) Administrative unit Schools (n) Teachers (n) Classrooms (n) Pupils (n) Pupils per teacher (n) Pupils per class (n) Al-Samawa 186 3286 1838 56 168 17.1 30.6 Rumaitha 61 846 608 22 545 26.6 37.1 Al-Warka'a 50 725 480 19 851 27.4 41.4 Al-Khidhir 48 675 463 16 067 23.8 34.7 Al-Sowair 32 450 277 10 512 23.4 37.9 Al-Majd 32 434 275 9714 22.4 35.3 Al-Najmi 37 364 243 6998 19.2 28.8 Al-Hilal 24 267 189 6973 26.1 36.9 Al-Karama 19 255 171 6484 25.4 37.9 Al-Darraji 19 197 129 3715 18.9 28.8 Al-Salman, Bussiayah 5 72 40 927 12.9 23.2 Muthanna total 513 7571 4713 159 954 21.1 33.9

Table 30 Primary education schools and school buildings in Muthanna by administrative unit (2016/17) Administrative unit Schools (n) School buildings School buildings (%) (n) in service in need of rehabilitation out of service Al-Samawa 186 137 52.6 35.8 11.7 Rumaitha 61 37 45.9 40.5 13.5 Al-Warka'a 50 46 54.3 32.6 13.0 Al-Khidhir 48 39 56.4 38.5 5.1 Al-Najmi 37 33 45.5 30.3 24.2 Al-Sowair 32 27 63.0 25.9 11.1 Al-Majd 32 25 32.0 52.0 16.0 Al-Hilal 24 21 42.9 38.1 19.0 Al-Karama 19 15 46.7 46.7 6.7 Al-Darraji 19 18 66.7 22.2 11.1 Al-Salman and Bussiayah 5 5 60.0 40.0 0.0 Muthanna total 513 403 51.4 36.0 12.7

47 LADP in Iraq – Muthanna PDS

1.3. Secondary education

According to data for 2016/17, Muthanna Governorate has 144 secondary schools: 58 for boys, 53 for girls, and 33 mixed. There are 69 264 secondary school students and 2599 teachers. There are two teacher training institutes with 324 trainees (57.5% women).

The majority of the secondary schools are concentrated in Al-Samawa, where the largest share of Muthanna’s population live. There are no administrative units without a secondary school. On average, there are 26.7 students per teacher – from a wide range, however: of 8.6 (Al-Salman, Busiayah) to 34.5 (Rumaitha). The number of children in a class, again, varies widely across the districts. The highest average of 51.4 (Rumaitha) is exceptionally high and it means that students cannot get the necessary attention; the lowest average is given in Al-Salman and Bussiayah (19.9), although there are only 3 schools in this administrative unit. The average number of students in a class is 44.9 – which exceeds the national average and undermines the effective education process.

As with primary schools, there is need to set standards (e.g. standard number of students per teacher/class) so that education provision better respond to needs, requirements and ensure more even quality of provision.

Not all the schools in the province have their own building. The number of buildings is 70.8% of the total number of schools. It is the lowest in Al-Najmi (60%). Overall, nearly 57% of the schools are in good condition, 38.2% need refurbishment and another 4.9% are out of service. The situation differs by administrative unit: secondary school buildings are in poorest condition in Al-Majd, Al-Karama and Al-Najmi.

Table 31 Secondary education in Muthanna by administrative unit (2016/17) Students (n) Administrative unit Schools (n) Teachers (n) Classrooms (n) total per teacher per class Al-Samawa 56 1 128 624 27 815 24.7 44.6 Rumaitha 23 398 267 13 714 34.5 51.4 Al-Khidhir 15 248 163 6 993 28.2 42.9 Al-Warka'a 13 205 135 6 715 32.8 49.7 Al-Majd 8 119 81 3 534 29.7 43.6 Al-Sowair 7 126 67 2 888 22.9 43.1 Al-Karama 6 119 66 2 625 22.1 39.8 Al-Najmi 5 91 50 1 639 18.0 32.8 Al-Hilal 4 75 45 2 139 28.5 47.5 Al-Darraji 4 46 24 824 17.9 34.3 Al-Salman, Bussiayah 3 44 19 378 8.6 19.9 Muthanna total 144 2599 1541 69 264 26.7 44.9

Table 32 Secondary education schools and school buildings in Muthanna (2016/2017) Administrative unit Schools School buildings Share of school buildings (%) (n) (n) in service in need of rehabilitation out of service Al-Samawa 56 41 61.0 39.0 0.0 Rumaitha 23 17 47.1 47.1 5.9 Al-Khidhir 15 11 45.5 45.5 9.1 Al-Warka'a 13 8 62.5 25.0 12.5 Al-Majd 8 4 25.0 75.0 0.0 Al-Sowair 7 5 60.0 20.0 20.0 Al-Karama 6 4 25.0 75.0 0.0 Al-Najmi 5 2 50.0 0.0 50.0 Al-Hilal 4 4 100.0 0.0 0.0 Al-Darraji 4 3 66.7 33.3 0.0 Al-Salman and Bussiayah 3 3 100.0 0.0 0.0 Muthanna total 144 102 56.9 38.2 4.9

1.4. Higher education

According to data for the academic year 2016/17, the total admission to Al-Muthana University is 12882 students (44.4% women, 100% Iraqi). The average number of students joining evening university courses 36%. The total enrolment in the technical institute is 1167 student for the academic year 2014/2015. (44.4% women,

48 LADP in Iraq – Muthanna PDS

100% Iraqi) – 11 571 of whom (93.4%) attend Al-Muthanna University. In total 36% of all students attend evening university courses.

Al-Muthanna University is one of the main higher education institutions in Iraq. Despite being newly established, the University plays an important role in creating an atmosphere of support to educational efforts, and technical and methodological development in scientific research. so as to graduating students who are academically and professionally qualified to support the socio-economic development of Muthanna and Iraq.

The University Presidency is committed to collaboration and teamwork as the best way to attain educational and scientific goals, and to joint work with government institutions, legislative and executive departments in the governorate. across Iraq, and especially with the Governorate Council of Muthanna. The university is interested in scientific researches, provision of advice to assist in problems solving, and upgrading performance of the institutions of the governorate. It is committed to providing high quality education according to international standards, and in line with labuor market demand in the Governorate. The university is interested in scientific research that serves the strategic development plans for Iraq. It supports agencies and actors in the region with scientific research, and it provides consultations to help resolve problems and raise the level of performance of institutions in the Giovernorate.

Al-Muthanna University is comprised of 15 colleges spread over three campuses. The main campus includes the College Presidency building and 11 colleges. The other two campuses accommodate the Pharmacy, Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Colleges.

Figure 13 Enrolment in tertiary education in Muthanna (2012/13–2016/17) 15000 Evening (n students) 12000 2593 2245 Morning (n students) 2663 9000 2612 6000 964 10462 10637 8433 7641 3000 5819 0 2012/2013 2013/2014 2014/2015 2015/2016 2016/2017 (6783) (11 096) (10 253) (13 001) (12 882) Table 33 Al-Muthanna University – colleges, academic staff, students, research, centres (2016) College of Al- Teaching staff by preparation degree (n) Students (n) Finished Advisory and training and Muthanna research research centres

University (n)

otal

Professor PhD Assistant Professor Master Tutor Assistant Lecturer Teaching staff Undergra duate t Graduate Humanities 39 33 2050 34 7 Basic education 24 1 3 11 1963 10 Science 1 18 27 53 1313 26 23 Advisory Office Management and 2 7 8 24 1298 12 27 Advisory Office Economics Law 2 6 11 1089 9 Agriculture 3 12 11 55 982 29 51 Advisory Office Pure science 7 3 6 567 24 Engineering 4 20 566 9 Advisory Office Arts 5 4 2 430 10 Dentistry 1 3 4 7 304 10 Training centre (under the Medical 26 13 39 275 4 Iraqi Board of Anaesthesia) Veterinary 5 14 236 8 Sports 8 15 10 12 175 12 50 Nursing 1 3 6 170 4 Pharmacy 3 8 153 14 College Desert Research Institute, 1 3 18 Presidency Lake of Saveh Total 16 104 71 68 105 243 39 11 571 117 256 6

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1.5. Vocational education

The number of vocational schools in the period 2011/12–2014/15 has remained fixed at 5. The number of vocational students, however, has undergone shifts: decline in the period 2011/12–2013/14 (from 913 to 821), and increase in 2014/15 by 15% compared to 2013/14.

The share of dropout students – ca. 6% in the period 2011/12–2013/14 – has declined to 3% in 2014/15. This may be attributed to both the increased number of students and the lower number of dropouts. There is no clear trend among drop-outs in terms of gender during the examined period.

Table 34 Vocational education in Muthanna, 2011/12–2014/15 (COSIT) School year Schools Enrolled Teaching Students per Drop-out students (n) Drop-outs as % of (n) students (n) staff (n) teacher (n) Male Female Total enrolled students 2011/2012 5 913 190 4.81 39 13 52 5.7 2012/2013 5 887 183 4.85 47 10 57 6.4 2013/2014 5 821 182 4.51 42 9 51 6.2 2014/2015 5 944 176 5.4 12 17 29 3.1

2. Healthcare sector

The prevailing trait of the health system in Muthana governorate is built on provision of treatment in public hospitals mainly similar to other parts of Iraq. The contribution of the private sector stayed limited, no private hospitals in the governorate, while the private clinics provide their services for relatively high charges, which led to pressurizing the public health institutions and allocation of significant amounts of funds to provide health services.

There are a total of 4 hospitals in Muthanna Governorate. According to standards, 1 hospital and 1 medical centre should be available per 40 000 residents. Thus, the number of hospitals in the province should be 20 and there are just 4, while medical centres should be 81 (and not 69). Further, of the existing 4 hospitals, 3 are general hospitals and 1 is for childbirth and neonatology, which is not in line with the demographic structure of the population.

The total number of patient beds in hospitals is 1118, with 42.2% usability – compared to 56.7% country average (2013).

The indicators of hospitals and health care to a relatively deteriorated condition, but the indicators of population health reflect better data than the average at the country level. In addition, childrent mortalities are less than the country average between 11.6%-13.76% for 2012-2014, and life expectancy reaches 72.7 year, which is higher than the average in the country. Furthermore, proportion of individuals with cronic diseases reached 7.65 in 2015, making it 4% less than the country average, and the proportion of individuals with special needs is 2.6% in 2012, in coparison to the average at the country level 3.7%.

The number of doctors is 436 (2014), which is lower by nearly 10% from 2013. Statistics report two types of doctors in hospitals: specialist and non-specialist – respectively 35% (2014) and 29.6% (2013) of hospital staff. Considering the fastgrowing number of the population, a doctor-to-10 000-patients ratio is becoming increasingly the case.

The indicators for hospital and health care are relatively unfavourable. Nevertheless, the indicators for the health of the population show more favourable data than the average for the country. Child mortality levels are considerably lower than the country average, varying between 11.6‰ and 13.7‰ in the period 2012–2014. Life expectancy is 72.7 years – among the highest in the country. The share of the population with chronic disease is 7.6% (2012) – 4% below the country average. The proportion of disabled people is 2.6% (2012) – versus a 3.7% country’s average.

Muthanna Health Department works to provide integrated and comprehensive health care of the highest quality for all citizens in the governorate and to invest all available resources according to the ethics of medicine and societal values, to ensure sustainable health development that reduces the incidence of disease and death.

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Table 35 Healthcare service data and indicators for Muthanna 2016 Health status indicators Healthcare system infrastructure Medical tests and procedures indicator n asset n patients type n (n/y) Registered live births (n) 28 278 Public hospitals 4 787 547 General laboratory 739 943 test in hospital Mortality ratio per 1000 live births 0 Private hospitals 0 0 General laboratory 192 782 test in clinic Maternal mortality ratio (per 100 35.3 Medical centres 69 581 638 Cardiac 91 000 live births) catheterisation Live births in public hospitals (n) 21 083 Specialised centres 5 46 510 X-ray 94 277 Share of in-hospital births (%) 75 Clinics 9 86 657 CT scan 11 250 Births by women aged 15-34 (n) 23 405 Hospital beds total 1197 - MRI 8319 Births by women aged 35-44 (n) 4643 Administration 5 - Endoscopy 621 Workers in healthcare 7195 Health insurance 10 191 362 Ultrasound 29 811 Hospitalised patient deaths 704 Nursing schools 3 - Echography 3514 Traffic accidents 1280 Delivery nurse/ midwife 1 - Holter EKG 539 Fire shots 49 schools Lithotripsy 384 Forensic medicine cases 368 Abortion 527

Table 36 Standards for healthcare service provision in Muthanna (gap analysis) Area Main factors that cause gaps (problem Gap value Benchmark Indicator Indicator tree) value Pharmaceuticals . Lack of centralised production by the 60% 100% 40% Pharmaceuticals and and medical State Enterprise for the Marketing of medical supplies supplies Drugs and Medicaments 90% 100% 10% Ambulances 99.98% 100% 0.2% Distilled water Buildings and . Lack of financial allocation 40% 100% 60% Machinery infrastructure . Unavailability of driving staff 11 20 9 Human resources . A common problem in the 3 more Integrated Al Hussein Poor infrastructure governorate that has caused damage hospitals infrastructur Hospital at three hospital locations. e system only . Lack of financial allocations 2 4 2 Main teaching hospitals . Reluctance of the implementing company . Lack of financial allocations 2 4 2 Qadhas hospitals . Lack of financial allocations 15 18 3 Main health centres in qadhas Human . Lack of local medical staff from the 72% 100% 28% Specialised doctor resources governorate . Lack of educational institutions that 25% 100% 75% Resident doctor provide specialised staff in the governorate 43% 100% 57% Health staff . Relatively remote governorate Public health . Lack of staff and financial support 5% 100% 95% Development of health information systems . Number of centres completed but 0 100% 100% Ratio of the number of still out of service (2) existing health centres to . Number of health centres (2) the total population of the governorate . Lack of staff in health centres 50% 100% 50% Human resources management department. Emergency aid . Old cars that are out of service 60% 100% 40% Prompt ambulances . Reluctance to buy new cars . No car provision by the Ministry . Lack of financial liquidity to open 80% 100% 20% New emergency aid wards new wards . Lack of financial allocation - some 20% 100% 80% Blood donation beds beds are out of service . Lack of financial allocation 50% 100% 50% Blood rockers . Lack of financial allocation 70% 100% 30% Blood mixer

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3. Social protection sector

3.1. Human rights situation

Development in its modern concept is a conscious process directed toward formulating an integrated social- cultural structure, where the society confirms their identity, self-being and creativity. Development in this sense is mainly based on the principal of effective collective participation, and positiveness, which covers planning, decision-making, execution, taking responsibility and finally benefiting from revenues and fruits of development projects and programs. In this manner, development is an optimal planning and employment of all efforts for the interest of all with focus on the interest of the sectors and social segments that need more than others to develop their capacities, competencies and standards of living.

Social development has a wide range of stakeholders, from children to senior citizens. It refers to the responsibility of governments toward their citizens, as well as the responsibility of citizens toward their families and communities. Social policy should contribute to helping individuals cope with the needs of everyday life and meet their needs. Hence, governments need to take effective measures to promote the values of solidarity and tolerance. Particularly in the context of population growth in number and diversity and of expanding area of vulnerable groups in the population structure, as is the case with Iraq, the development effort can expand the scope of the traditional features of social policy.

Reflecting on the social situation in the country in general and in the governorate specifically, we can notice the volume of groups that need social care to achieve wellbeing and social justice. Despite applying a number of policies and programs to reform the social welfare system in the country, the standard of living for many groups is limited, and majority of the population live in poverty. We note that the mechanism of social security is becoming one of the major priorities of the governorate development to contribute directly in improving the living conditions of families and thousand of vulnerable groups, leading into stability and social peace.

Although not exclusive for this Governorate, there are observed cases of violation of women’s rights during childhood and adolescence. These manifest in the way that girls are brought up, which is often discriminatory – as girls are prepared to play a traditional role as housewives and therefore constrained and deprived of free will and other opportunities. Girls are sometimes forced to drop out of school, which excludes them socially and forces them to get married early. The underage wife does not know her rights, neither as a child, nor as a mother, which makes her more exposed to violence. Also, according to the Higher Judicial Council, early marriage is one of the main reasons for family disintegration.

For Muthanna, following the UN gender inequality index, data show that the shares of seats in the governorate council for women (15), labor force participation rate (7), and women aged 25 years and above with at least secondary education (9) are either the lowest or the second-lowest in Iraq.

3.2. Social protection of economically vulnerable groups and and poor families

Provision of care necessary to poor and low-income families requires to reconcile economic activities and service provision with equity and social justice, in order to reduce the disparities between different individuals and vulnerable groups. Thus, it requires a more meaningful distribution of income to target groups, improved quality of services and maximum care for vulnerable. Both the objective and the means of each development process center are to improve the capacity and living conditions of vulnerable groups, to prioritise the awareness of groups with special needs such as the disabled and the elderly, as well as to undertake reforms necessary to develop human capacities. As such, inevitably, the development process requires to advance competencies in modern science and technologies and to promote a knowledge society.

The various forms of social protection in Iraq result in divided responsibility for social protection among a great number of bodies. The lack of unified strategy for social protection prevents these bodies from cooperating, resulting in duplication of benefits. Additionally, some of these bodies offer social protection programmes indiscriminately, without an assessment of the beneficiaries’ needs.

The social safety nets are projects or programmes for transfers that are not based on contributions, which aim to help vulnerable groups to overcome exceptional circumstances and threats such as economic crises, natural disasters and wars. They aim to help these groups to improve their income-earning capacities and support the accumulation of human capital in order to enable them to get out of poverty. Obstacles in the implementation of social safety net programmes have been several, including bureaucratic procedures, lack of clear information

52 LADP in Iraq – Muthanna PDS base, lack of social research, etc. Perhaps most seriously, the safety net has become vulnerable to unjust or careless application of beneficiary selection criteria, leading to the exclusion of many poor people.

The ration card system was introduced to help cope with exceptional circumstances resulting from the blanket ban imposed by the Security Council in the wake of the invasion of Kuwait in Aug 1990. The system was originally meant to cover all residents of Iraq, and it was designed as a temporary solution to a specific emergency (i.e. the sanctions). However, the system has yet to be discontinued. One may say that by treating all Iraqis equally, this system achieves absolute justice. However, indiscriminateness has emerged as a disadvantage of the ration card system. Instead of targeting the whole population, the system should target those most in need of assistance.5

Muthanna is one of the poorest provinces in Iraq. Proportion of people living below the poverty line stood at 52.5%, according to the latest social and economic survey of COSIT in 2012. In addition, Muthanna residents suffer from food insecurity and unemployment. The rates of poverty and unemployment vary greatly between districts of the province.

3.3. Inclusion of youth

Youth is an active force and an essential partner in the economic and social development process, which requires that these groups be allowed to express their concerns and aspirations and contribute to national policy-making. There is a need to support their participation in political and civil life by emphasizing their political and cultural presence, strengthening national youth institutions and associations, and promoting equality and equity among young people in various fields.

It is essential to empower young people, strengthen their participation and contribution to the development process, instil values of self-reliance and entrepreneurship, and promote initiative and creativity to facilitate the integration of young people into the labor market. Therefore, the youth centres system plays a significant role, it contributes to giving young people the opportunity to unleash their creative potential, discover and develop their talents. This process requires organization and optimal mobilization of youth institutions.

Table 37 Youth Centers in Muthanna Governorate N Youth Centres Responsible Entity Facility condition Staff Participants aged 9- (n) 30 / month (n) 1 Al-Samawah Center for youth Ministry of Youth and Sports (MoYS) Good 11 260 2 Scientific Center MoYS Good 14 200 3 Cultural and Arts Forum MoYS Good 6 150 4 Western Youth Forum MoYS Good 1 Not functional 5 Sawah Youth Forum MoYS good 3 100 6 Al-khidhir Youth Forum MoYS Good 6 Not functional 7 Al-Daraji Youth Forum MoYS Good 3 130 8 Al-Warka Youth Forum MoYS Good 6 270 9 Al-Majid Youth Forum MoYS Bad condition 2 Not functional 10 Al-Rumaitha Youth Forum MoYS Good 10 240 11 Al-Rumaitha Women Forum MoYS Good 1 Not functional 12 Al-Zahra’a Youth Forum Lands Directorate Under 0 Under construction construction 13 Al-Salman Youth Forum MoYS Good 0 Under construction 14 Al-Sowair Youth Forum MoYS Bad condition 3 Not functional

Table 38 Sports stadiums in Muthanna Governorate N Name Staff (n) Times of Training Training Functioning Capacity to year month week day teams (n) accommodate 1 Al-Samawah sports stadium 2 400 40 10 2 2 yes 4000 2 Al-Muthana sports stadium 4 400 40 10 4 2 Yes 2000 3 Al-Khidhir sports stadium 2 200 20 5 2 1 Yes 2000 4 Al-Hilal sports stadium 2 200 20 5 2 1 Yes 500 5 Al-Najmi sports stadium 2 200 20 5 2 1 Yes 500 6 Al-Majid sports stadium 2 200 20 5 2 1 Yes 500 7 Al-Marifa’a playgrounds 3 400 40 10 3 1 Yes 500 8 Al-Daraji sports stadium ------Not contracted 1000 9 Al-Sowair sports stadium ------No 1000

5 Alzobaidee, H. (WFP/IDS, Dec 2015), Social Protection and Safety Nets in Iraq.

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3.4. Inclusion of women

The need to raise the level of women's participation is met by ensuring their participation in public life, their equal presence in various workplaces and providing wider opportunities for the social and economic integration of women in rural and urban areas. It envisages the Government's commitment to promoting and guaranteeing women's rights and gender equality, including ensuring equal representation of men and women in elected councils and public functions, appreciating the active role of women in civil society and developing the field of women's studies to better understand women's position and attitudes and support their role.

From a gender perspective, women in Iraq are generally poorer than men. However, the difference is not very broad, given the nature of the prevailing social relations in Iraq, since the social responsibility of men as head of the family is to take care of women.

One of the reasons for the high rate of unemployment among women aged 15-24 is that the female unemployment rate is three times the rate of female participation in the labor force.

Among women, illiteracy rates are low and education enrolment rates are high, especially in rural areas. The role of women in economic activity is weak, however, because of the prevailing social culture in families, which affects the professional status of women.

In 2013, the Social Welfare Department for Women was established in MoLSA. The Department assumed the tasks to provide aid for women with little-to-no incomes and no breadwinner; to train women and empower them economically; and to educate women

3.5. Gender issues

Despite advances in the health and education conditions of women, changes in community culture that have enabled many women to combine homework and engage in the labor market, their participation in economic activity remains limited when compared with the total number of women at working-age or total number of working force.

Poverty right, shortage of girls’ schools in rural areas, insecurity and traditions, and cultural practices such as early marriages are some of the factors that limit the opportunities for the education of girls in the Governorate. The gender gap in economic activities is very wide.

The Human Development Index identifies for Iraq gender inequality and fewer achievements for women, in particular in income and education. Generally speaking, young women are marginalisied in society, especially with regard to particular social positions. This marginalisation is due to traditions, mindsets and negative social stereotypes. Differences in education and care still exist in the family in favor of boys. Gender-based discrimination in society limits women’s access to employment, their freedom of choice and their ability to make decisions. On all three, women are severely constrained compared to men.

Early marriages are common. Typically, females in rural areas do not pursue studies for as many years as females in the city. Marriage rates of underage girls are on the rise, although health institutions warn that the risk of death during pregnancy or delivery for women aged 15-19 is double this for women aged 20-24.

3.6. Civil society and media

In the Iraqi context, it is common for civil society organisations (CSOs) to be named munadhamat ghayr hukumiya, or “non-governmental organisations”; indeed, the federal-level agency responsible for the registration of such groups is known as the NGOs Directorate. CSOs are new forms in the Iraqi context. In the Ba’thist period, civil society as a concept was not recognised and many of the civil-society functions were either repressed or incorporated into the state. Almost immediately after the fall of the old regime and the virtual collapse of the Iraqi state in the spring of 2003, the Iraqi CSO sector began to emerge, and it has since grown exponentially.

The geographical location appears to be an important factor shaping the nature of CSOs in the various governorates. The differences are ascribed not to the nature of the population of each province per se, but mostly to the regional differences in the security climate, in which CSOs have developed in the past 8 years. Capacity gaps in parts of Iraq (such as Muthanna Governorate) have experienced relative stability since 2003.

Civil society in Iraq is in its infancy, and is highly dependent on donors for its development.

54 LADP in Iraq – Muthanna PDS

Media over the past years has developed in its reading, audio and visual means and tools. The communication and information technology revolution led to major changes in the global media discourse, as it led to extreme speed, extensive spread and multiple alternatives, all of which led to so-called globalization. In the context of cultural globalization, it has become difficult to control the flow of information, cultural and media messages with all their implications and perhaps their risks. Cultural indicators, such as literary, intellectual and artistic production, number of newspapers and readers, number of libraries, museums and symposia, number of sites and users of the Internet, etc. of standards for measuring the development of living standards and quality of life.

It is necessary to improve the content of cultural and media materials from news, cultural programs and artworks, and the need to encourage national talent to share their innovations in order to attract attention and maintain a close relationship between citizens, cultural and media bodies. This requires the development of cultural and media facilities, as well as refinement of human resources skills working in this field.

4. SWOT analysis of Social Services sector in the Governorate

Points of Strength Points of Weakness  Sustainable population growth and a large proportion of  A large number of illiterate people over the age of 10 young people years, as well as those without completing any  Existence of instructions to promote education and educational level special education  Lack of standards in schools such as number of students  Suitable teaching staff (teachers) in the province per teacher, number of students per class, etc.  Availability of good database for the education sector in  An insufficient number of school buildings and many of the province them in poor condition  The existence of incomplete school buildings that can be  Lack of specialized teachers, especially in English and invested by the private sector mathematics  The existence of a number of colleges in Al-Muthana  Insufficient financial resources for the Directorate of University classified into several disciplines. Education resulting in the shortage of many service staff  The existence of specialized centers and health centers (such as guards and service workers) distributed throughout the province.  Lack of some services (such as water, electricity, roads  Adopting the principles of inclusive education and sanitation services for some schools) and lack of  The use of technology and modern computer systems, access to some rural schools and training employees on a number of advanced  The incentive to enrol in vocational schools is very weak programs that contribute to improving health services  Weak infrastructure of information and communication  Inclusion of many low-income families with the support systems and knowledge technology of the protection network and the welfare system  Lack of legislation and regulations (such as national youth  The existence of scientific institutions such as the policy) or lack of suitability of existing ones (some university and the Institute, which can be invested in the legislation needs to be updated) development of the educational and social environment  Poor institutional performance in support of vulnerable in the province. groups and low effectiveness of programs and initiatives that seek to assist vulnerable groups in responding to socio-economic challenges  Weak or lack of coordination between workers in some important sectors (such as education and health) and between the public and private sectors  Poor performance and experience of cadres specialized in public administration, sociology and management of youth institutions.  A relative shortage of some sports and recreational facilities for young people  High illiteracy rates for women and low enrolment of women in education, especially in rural areas  Poor awareness of women's rights and role  Lack of medical personnel in certain specialties, and difficulty in attracting cadres  Old standards of job descriptions, weak pay systems and incentives  Poor health infrastructure

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Opportunities Threats  An increasing number of people of working age,  A heterogeneous population distribution in most areas of representing an opportunity for economic development the governorate (linked to water, work and services),  The presence of international organizations working in with 40% of the population concentrated in one district. Muthanna to support the educational process  Lack of allocated lands for school buildings in urban  Possibility to invest in private education (pre-school, centers, especially in Samawah and Rumaythah primary and secondary education) by easing restrictions  Poor cooperation and coordination between the and facilitating procedures Directorate of Education and service departments  Increased community awareness on the importance of (electricity, water, etc.), which negatively affected the education and enrolment of children in educational availability of such services in many schools institutions  Poor compatibility between the outputs of the education  The possibility of establishing a partnership between the system (supply) and the needs of sustainable university and the private sector to help meet the needs development and the labor market (demand). of the labor market  The lack of an integrated vision to promote social  The presence of many organizations offering specialized development and the social integration of certain groups, courses or training in cooperation with the public sector while adopting social policies and partial or biased and international organizations. actions instead  Participation of faculty members in the university in  Insufficient services available to youth and the lack of a regional and international trainings, seminars and comprehensive national youth development policy conferences  The weak role of women in economic activity is linked to  The possibility of using or increasing the use of grants and prevailing social culture, which negatively affects the international projects in the fields of higher education professional status of women and contributes to and scientific research discrimination against them  Health services sector attracts foreign cadres.  The weakness of the local basic services sectors led to  Sign bilateral agreements and protocols with poor public health (such as sewage and water services, (governmental and non-governmental organizations) and health nutrition, the environment, etc.) international organizations to achieve development in  Old legislations that need updating the province  Poor coordination between the public and private health  The government assist to spread awareness on rights, sectors. inclusiveness and health  Civil society organizations support the health services sector  Government support for the development of the health services sector.

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5. Unified SWOT analysis at the level of the Governorate

Points of Strength Points of Weakness 1. A distinct geographical location located on the main commercial transport routes in 1. Weak investment environment to attract capital, which includes areas of procedures, Iraq marketing, land allocation, administrative corruption and incompetent cadres 2. Stable security situation 2. High costs of producing goods and services and weak competition with imported products in 3. Availability of raw materials for types of industrial activities, especially construction and terms of price and quality chemical industries in very large quantities 3. Poor institutional performance due to poor public administration and administrative 4. A good legal environment for organizing and guiding development policies for all sectors management and lack of organized administrative structures to lead and guide the industrial through the availability of many laws and regulations and tourism sector 5. The development elements provide raw materials and large land for exploitation in industrial 4. Weak mechanisms to protect the province's resources, which led to the unjust exploitation and agricultural development in addition to the availability of surface and groundwater such as archaeological sites, ground and surface water, raw materials used in the industry, resources in good quantities as well as natural and archaeological sites. which led to the unsustainable use of them meantime affecting the rights of future generations 6. Human Resources and Labor Force, where the age group between the age of 18 and 63 5. Weak financial capabilities of government institutions due to lack of financial allocations and exceeds 45% of the population in addition to sustainable population growth rates of up to weak means of collecting revenues and strengthening budgets 2.25% per annum, as well as the availability of cadres with expertise in various disciplines 6. Lack of trained professional human resources due to weak training programs and failure to 7. Good level databases for some sectors that allow for appropriate decisions for their development of training institutions as well as lack of qualified training centers development 7. Weak infrastructure of different sectors 8. Available infrastructure that allows the sustainability of service delivery within certain limits 8. Weak coordination between government institutions and the inconsistency of many laws and and can be invested by the private sector regulations in force, especially in the field of investment, agriculture and municipalities 9. The existence of educational institutions in the province such as the University of Muthanna 9. Poor quality of services provided in the fields of municipal, educational, health and other and the Technical Institute can be used as research centers in addition to the educational services and recording a significant deviation between actual reality and national standards tasks to produce studies and find solutions to the problems of the province and prepare 10. Weak databases and infrastructure of information and communication systems and lack of use feasibility studies for development projects and services to achieve tangible growth in of modern technology to create an integrated information system that supports decision- addition to the existence of vocational high schools to provide the community with vocational making and follow-up middle cadres of various specialties 11. High rates of poverty, unemployment and illiteracy in the community, especially for females 10. The existence of advanced programs and devices managed by trained cadres to provide 12. Weak enforcement of laws and regulations by government institutions services in some sectors and in certain percentages 13. Lack of awareness programs for citizens to spread guiding information that assist in the 11. The existence of a long-term strategic plan (structural plan) that guides the development implementation of development programs such as consumption rationalization programs, the process in the province application of regulations, laws and others 12. The availability of good local capital to contribute to development in addition to the presence 14. Poor matching between outputs of the education system (supply) and the needs of sustainable of many private sector institutions who have good experience in the fields of trade, industry development and the labor market (demand). and agriculture 15. Poor coordination between the public and private sectors in the planning and implementation 13. There are many trade union and professional organizations in the province of development programs 14. The existence of large areas that can be exploited in the production of energy through clean 16. Weak private sector capacity to implement development plans in terms of financial, energy sources such as the sun and wind technological and administrative capabilities

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Opportunities Threats 1. Having a large demand for goods and services in the local market 1. Weak working banking system in the province and the lack of banking services provided 2. Presence of protection network and welfare system to support families and low-income by banking institutions community groups to improve living conditions 2. International competition (especially from neighbouring countries) to attract investment and 3. Warka Archaeological City joining the World Heritage List weak ability of the Iraqi investment market to compete 4. The possibility of support from Iraqi embassies abroad to promote investment opportunities 3. The country's financial crisis due to low world oil prices and the war on terror in the country, including Muthanna 4. The overlap of some powers and authorities between the central government and the local 5. The presence of many international organizations and programs supporting Iraq in the government, which negatively affects the progress of work and the provision of services process of development and progress in multiple areas 5. High population growth requires increased service delivery and development programs suited 6. The existence of a number of government initiatives and strategies to improve the to growth average agricultural, industrial and private sectors 6. Frequent low water level of Euphrates River. 7. Iraq out of Chapter VII, which includes the imposition of international sanctions and the 7. The multiplicity of regulators and political interventions possibility of better and easier access to capital and 8. The Government's orientation towards activating the principle of partnership with the private sector and working to provide the legal environment for it 9. Many investment opportunities in various sectors to attract capital and expertise in the technical and administrative fields 10. The improvement of the security situation in the country and the strengthening of political relations with the neighbouring countries opens new opportunities for the establishment of development projects with neighbouring countries, especially Saudi Arabia 11. International and governmental support for the use of alternative energy sources such as solar and wind energy

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VI. GOVERNORATE ADMINISTRATION

1. Governor and Governorate Council

According to Article 1 of the Law of Governorates Not Incorporated into a Region (Law No. 21 of 2008, as amended by Law 15 of 2010), a governorate is “an administrative unit in its geographic boundaries consisting of qada’as (districts), nahiyas (sub-districts), and villages.”6 In all 15 governorates not incorporated into a region (and not otherwise subject to a constitutional dispute), Law 21 applies to governorate council, district and sub- district councils, and the governor. Law No. 21 governs the rights and powers of the Governorate Council and Governor, as well as the procedures for their election.

Per Article 2 of the Law, “The provincial council is the highest legislative and oversight authority within the administrative boundaries of the governorate and shall have the right to issue local legislation within the boundaries of the governorate [local laws, instructions, bylaws, and regulations to organise the administrative and financial affairs] so that it can carry out its affairs on the basis of the principle of administrative decentralisation and in a manner that would not contradict the Constitution and federal laws.” The Provincial Council enjoys moral character and financial independence. It is not under the control or supervision of any Ministry and has independent finance.7

The governor is the highest executive head in the Governorate: “The governor shall be considered the highest- ranking executive officer in the governorate at the rank of a deputy minister as regards rights and service” (Article 24). He is empowered as a competent minister to take the administrative and legal measures against state employees working in the governorate in accordance with applicable laws. The governor is elected by the provincial council and exercises the powers granted to him by law. The Governor is elected by the Governorate Council and exercises the powers vested in him by the Governorate Council.

2. Governorate Departments

According to article, 45 of Law No. 21 as amended of 2008 for governorates not incorporated in a region. A gradual transfer of sub-directorates, agencies, jobs, services and competencies exercised by the Ministries of Municipalities and Public Works; Labor and Social Affairs; Construction and Housing; Education;,Health; Agriculture; Finance; Youth and Sport; along with their financial allocations in the general budget and the staff and workers to the provinces within the scope of their tasks outlined in the Constitution and the relevant laws. The role of the ministries remains in planning for the public policy.

The law set a time limit of two years for the implementation of the transfer procedures, but the problems and political trends obstructed transfer procedures. By the end of 2017, the health, education, agriculture, sports and youth departments were transferred only, while the Ministries of Construction and Housing and Municipalities, Finance, Labor and Social Affairs were not transferred.

The Directorate of Administrative and Financial Affairs was created to undertake the tasks of organizing and managing the financial and administrative issues of the transferred departments and directorates according to the law.

Advisory Board. Per article 34 of Law No. 21, each governorate must have an advisory panel of no more than seven experts. The panel includes employees specialised in legal, technical and financial affairs chosen by the governor and are directly linked to the governor and work under his supervision.

Planning and Development Council. This council was reformed according to the letter of Higher Coordination Committee for Provinces No. 28/1 in 8/1/2017is created on mandate by MoP (letter No. 6/22296/4 issued on 7 Nov 2012) under the chairmanship of the governor and the membership of the deputy governor, General Directors of Investment, Education and Health Directorates, as well as Governor Technical Deputy, Directors of Administration and Finance, Muthana planning and directors of the transferred Directorates (article 45). Furthermore, delegated members were added according to the subject matter of each meeting from academics,

6 Official English translation: http://iraq-lg-law.org/ar/webfm_send/765. 7 Supreme Court Advisory Opinion No. 16 recognies the authority of governorate councils to raise local revenues.

59 LADP in Iraq – Muthanna PDS civil society organisations, private sector in addition to the Directors of non-transferred Directorates according to the law. The Planning Department in the governorate was commissioned to serve as the secretary of the council.

Department of Education. This is directly related to the governor to ensure the administrative hierarchy in accordance with the regulations in force. The Director General is responsible for the implementation of the national educational policy in the governorate and supervision of the process of education, as well as projects in the field of education to ensure high-quality educational service provision to citizens.

Department of Health. This is directly related to the governor to ensure the administrative hierarchy in accordance with the laws in force. The Director General is responsible for the implementation of the national health policy in the governorate and supervision of the process of health, as well as projects in the field of health to ensure high-quality health services provision to citizens.

Department of Finance. The importance of financial aspects in the process of transferring functions, responsibilities and powers is made clear in the application of Article 45 of the Second Amendment to Law No. 21; therefore, a series of financial procedures must be proposed in accordance with financial acts and regulations in force, taking into account a range of improvements and procedural changes in line with the transfer of functions and powers in the governorates.

Coordination and Monitoring Office. Responsibilities of the Office include: daily administrative, organisational and coordinating work to ensure communication between the governor and the (decentralised) departments under the governor for carrying out the responsibilities entrusted to them; coordination with ministries with regard to national policies and standards to be implemented by the Governorate departments; monitoring of the implementation of Governorate directives and the general ministerial policy decisions; preparation of reports on the performance of the departments – including taking into account the reports of the external oversight bodies; prepare other reports as requested by the Governor, including for presentation to the Governorate Council.

3. Governorate Administration structure

Figure 14 Structure of Muthanna’s Administration

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4. Governorate budget

Based on Article 44 of Law No. 21 as amended, the financial resources of the governorate are comprised of the following:

8. The budget transfers to the governorate from the federal government in accordance with the constitutional criteria - as sufficient to carry out its missions and responsibilities in accordance with its population and the degree of deprivation, so that balanced development of the different regions of the country is ensured. 9. Revenues accrued in the governorate – except those from oil and gas – including:  Revenues generated from the governorate services and investment projects;  Proceeds from taxes, fees and fines imposed in accordance with federal and local regulations in force within the governorates – incl. (1) taxes imposed by the Council on companies operating in the governorate in compensation for environmental pollution and damage caused to the infrastructure, and (2) half of the revenues accrued from border crossings in addition to petrodollar amounts;  Proceeds from the sale and lease of public movable and immovable assets – including rent land used by companies;  Donations and gifts that may be received by the governorate in a manner that does not contradict the Constitution and federal regulations; 10. A share of the revenues of local authorities. Local authorities must allocate a fair share of the revenues to their administrative units so that it is sufficient for the latter to carry out their missions and responsibilities in accordance with the governorate population.

The procedure of preparing the annual budget is as follows:

 The Governor submits a draft budget for development of the governorate, its districts and sub-districts to the Governorate Council for approval; the Council needs to endorse the draft budget;  The Council approves the draft depending on the plans set and submitted by the Councils of qadhas and nahias to the Ministry of Planning. On principle, the most affected areas within the governorate must be given priority and governorate allocations must be distributed to qadhas and nahias proportionally to their population after the exclusion of strategic projects that benefit more than one qadha or nahia, given that project cost does not exceed 20% of the governorate allocations;  The Governor has exclusive power to implement the approved budget and the Governorate Council is responsible for implementation monitoring; . Following audit by the Federal Audit Bureau, and if necessary, budget adjustments are carried out in the budget of the following year. Currently provisions of article 44 are not applied for many reasons including the clinging of Ministry of Finance to its traditional methods in management of the budget, which requires a change in the financial allocations management approach, and flexibility in applying the legal texts, especially after creation of the Directorate of Administrative and Financial Affairs by the Governorate to manage and regulate the governorate budget.

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VII. SWOT ANALYSIS

The elaborated overall SWOT analysis has been divided into three main parts – Economic Development, Social Services and Basic Services.

Economic Development Strengths Weaknesses  Advantageous geographic location and stable security situation  Weak investment environment incl. in industry, agriculture and tourism – linked to weak regulatory  Availability of raw materials for some industries – esp. cement industry, food salt environment, overlapping or inconsistent regulations, statutory limitations periods, difficulties of (input for most chemical industries) allocating land for investment purposes, weakness of the banking system, weak investment culture,  Market demand (local and external) for local goods and services lack of training for staff of the Investment Agency, low performance efficiency of staff.  Investment Law No. 13 (2006) and its amendments facilitates investment and  Weak competitiveness of local agriculture products due to high production costs, low productivity, and secures guarantees. low quality  Conditions present for agriculture development – e.g. large arable land areas,  Lack of bodies and mechanisms to promote tourism in Muthanna – e.g. tourist maps, marketplaces for adequate water resources, human resources capable of working in the agriculture handicrafts, organised events for tourists, visitors attraction sector  Poor protection of and damage to archeological sites – incl. illegal digging/pillaging a  Conditions present for tourism development – ancient sites; multiple handicraft  Weak financial capacity of relevant departments to implement programmes that support the tourism industries; desert tourism (Badia Samawah); local tourist companies; CSOs sector concerned with heritage preservation; etc. The Governorate Administration has  Human resource deficit in tourism and the archaeological sector expressed interest in developing the tourism sector – as evidence in the  Lack of human resource trained in the field of tourism and hospitality representation in the Governorate of official institutions (the Department of Tourism and the Department of Antiquities and Heritage).  University presence. Opportunities Threats  Possibility for support from trade attachés in Iraqi embassies to promote the  Lack of coordination between the relevant sectoral ministries and sometimes conflicting instructions promising investment opportunities in Iraq, incl. Muthanna given to investors in the investment process  International organisations working in Iraq in the agriculture sector  International competition (esp. neighboring countries) in attracting investments and inability of the  Government initiatives to support the agricultural sector (launched every 5-year Iraqi investment market to compete period)  Weakness and failure of the banking sector to finance projects  Good demand for agricultural products in the local market  Financial crisis repercussion in Iraq  Improvement of legislation in the field of investment process, agriculture and tourism

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Social Services Strengths Weaknesses  Sustainable population growth trend  High share of illiterates. Almost 32% illiteracy among people over 10 years of age – compared to 11%  High share of children and young people country average. Higher than average share of people who can read and write but have no completed  Regulations are being introduced in support of education and the enhancement educational level. of private education in particular  Lack of standards for schools – e.g. number of students per teacher, number of students per class, etc.  Adequacy in educational staff (teachers) in the province  Increasing number of students per teacher  Integrated information base regarding school buildings and planning  Insufficient number of school buildings – many of which in poor condition  Existence of school buildings which can be used after investment  Shortage of specialised teachers, in particular in English and Mathematics  Integration of the Education Directorate in the Governorate  Insufficient financial resources of the Education Directorate – resulting in many services missing (e.g.  Parents willing to support the education process guards)  Possibility to issue local legislation to support the education sector and  Lack of services (esp. water, electricity and roads for some schools) and lack of access to some rural encourage private education schools  Muthanna University has 15 colleges spread over 3 campuses.  Very low motivation for enrolment in vocational schools  The existence of powers for educational institutions can be invested in the  Weak ICT infrastructure and knowledge technology development of the educational environment in the province  Lack of legislation and regulations (e.g. national policy for youth), or lack of relevance of existing ones  Opening of modern scientific departments and establishment of new scientific (need of modernisation of some legislation) colleges and technical college in the Governorate  Weak institutional performance in supporting vulnerable groups – as reflected in low degree of  Availability of experienced medical, health, and administrative staff effectiveness of programmes and initiatives aimed at helping vulnerable groups to respond to socio-  Expansion of health services through establishing specialised centres and modern economic challenges hospitals  Poor/lack of coordination between actors in a sector (e.g. health, education) and between the public  The principles of comprehensive education adopted and the private sectors  Availability of health service system systems and directions  Weak performance and experience of specialised staff in the technical and administrative management  Utilisation of modern computer systems; training of staff to apply these in e- of youth institutions governance programme  Relative shortage of some sports and recreational facilities for young people  Training courses for all specialisations and staff in the Health Department  High illiteracy and low education enrolment rates for women, especially in rural areas  Lack of awareness of women’s rights  Lack of medical staff in certain specialisations; diifficulty in attracting staff  Outdated job description criteria  Poor wages and incentives system  Poor and imbalanced health infrastructure Opportunities Threats  Increasing number of working-age population, which presents an opportunitiy for  Imbalanced territorial distribution of the population (linked to climate, water, etc.) – with over 40% of economic development the population concentrated in 1 district  Presence of international organisations working in Muthanna to support the  Poor social conditions and low level of economic development factor in emigration and in the educational process marginalisation of certain groups  Possibility to invest in private education (pre-school, primary, secondary) by  Lack of land for school buildings in urban centres – esp. Samawah and Rumaitha easing restrictions and facilitating procedures  Most school buildings do not belong to the Ministry of Education

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 Increasing awareness among society of the importance of education and of  Weak cooperation and coordination between the Education Directorate and service departments enrolling children in educational institutions (electricity, water, etc.)  Possibility to establisha partnership between the university and the private sector  Poor matching of education system outputs (supply) and the needs of sustainable development and the (consultant office, construction lab) – to help meet the needs of the labor market. labor market (demand)  A number of civil actors offer specialised trainings/courses, in collaboration with  Lack of an overall vision to promote social integration – and instead, dependency on (mostly) partial the public sector and international organisations. social policies and procedures  Participation of university faculty in regional and international courses, seminars  Lack of a comprehensive national policy for youth – resulting in insufficient positive impact of services and conferences provided to young people  University placement strategy adopted to build graduates' capacities  Discrimination against women is a deeply influential cultural factor  Possibility to increase the use of grants and international projects in the fields of  Weak role of women in economic activity – linked to the prevailing social culture in families, which higher education and scientific research affects negatovely the professional status of women  The health service sector attracts foreign employees.  Weak municipal/basic services sectors reflect in poorer public health (sewerage, running water,  Governemnt willingnes to attract foreign investors and promote local investors sanitation, healthy food, healthy environment, etc.).  Bilateral agreements and protocols signed with (governmental and non-  Certain outdated legislation needs to be modernised governmental) international organisations  Poor coordination between the public and private health sectors.  Government helps to disseminate awareness regarding rights/inclusion and health.  CSO support for the health service sector  Local governments support the development of the health service sector. Basic Services Strengths Weaknesses  Experienced engineering and technical staff in the road/bridge, water and sewage  Low operational investment and financial allocations for all types of basic services sectors  Outdated road network in meed of rehabilitation and upgrading  Data on all implemented/planned projects, staff and vehicles available in the Road  Frequent traffic offences Directorate's database  Dependency on the Roads Directorate for key functions, incl. training of engineering /technical staff  Modern existing electricity operating stations – incl. 20 minor stations, 10 of which in project management and use of IT; equipment maintenance; repair of roads; GIS availability; etc.; installed after 2007, and 10 upgraded stations. Electricity networks include 20%  Insufficient electricity generation in the governorate – ca. 300 MW for 24 hours of operation new and 30% recently upgraded networks. compared to 640 MW demand  Staff in the electricity sector are able to train new staff. Support is needed to  Greatly overused electricity network (stations, transmission wires, networks. etc.) facilitate training.  Old networks have direct effects on the stability of the electric power supply and cause frequent  Ample surface and groundwater resource – e.g. the Euphrates, the desert of failures as well as drain manpower and financial resources Samawah  Lack of specialised staff in the electricity sector – 1450 staff are required, 568 are available  3 existing central projects on Rumaitha River for the production of drinking water  Lack of mapping for older water networks with conveyor lines, 100 water parks and 42 desalination plants  Need to replace the old water networks and distribution lines  A training centre exists which administers courses according to annual plan – incl.  No water meters installed for houses, no water tank system used to pay for water in management, computer programmes use, etc.  Lack of cadres in some departments in the water sector (maintenance and collection)  1 existing GIS department with good equipment and qualified staff – this can  Lack of mechanisms to track failure and leakage in the water network support networks mapping  Lack of ground water tanks, pumping stations and network coverage in urban centres and new

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 Availability of engineering and technical staff with experience in network residential complexes maintenance  Lack of adoption of modern technology in wastewater management  Preliminary designs and maps of sewage networks and treatment plants exist for  There is misuse of the runoff collection system, especially in areas not served by the sewage all districts and sub-regions. A small area should be re-checked and approved network. Legislation to stop is are not activated. before starting projects.  Weak technical expertise in the field of waste collection and processing  Availability of engineering, technical, legal, financial and administrative staff in  The shortage of land eligible for residential construction in urban areas of some cities most municipal institutions with experience in the field of managing most of the  Complexities of procedures for allocating land outside the boundaries of the basic design for municipal works. These enhance their capabilities through training and residential purposes development.  Availability of large and open land – this can be acquired and invested in (to bring financial resources) in accordance with updated plans.  Level of adoption of modern technology in municipal service provision – e.g. GPS system for tracking of assets and equipment, GIS use for identification of routes and boundaries of streets, etc. Opportunities Threats  Availability of some basic conditions for road rehabilitation - raw materials, asphalt  Interference of powers between the central and local government, which adversely affects the and cement plants, large number of construction companies and manpower conduct of business.  Support from the local government to finding solutions to road problems and  Weak coordination between ministries and local governments and the intersection of directives and obstacles controls issued by both, which negatively affects the performance of the Governatore’s  Possibility of sending technical and administrative staff of the Road Directorate departments. abroad to develop their capabilities  Lack of awareness and frequent objections against the implementation of projects  Large competition from the part of contracting companies for the implementation  Frequent failure of the local production of asphalt and failure to meet the required specifications of transdport projects  Lack of financial allocations earmarked for project implementation  The possibility of rehabilitating and developing the road connecting Iraq with Saudi  Frequent power failures and lack of fuel processing by refineries, which affects the work of asphalt Arabia so that it is used as a border crossing terminal. and cement plants.  There is a vision for the development of the services related to electricity sector  Roads are exposed to acts of tampering and vandalism, especially through the digging of these roads and a call for alternative plans. and the implementation of underground arches randomly.  The use of alternative energy to address the acute shortage of energy and to  Lack of allocations that include operation and investment plan budgets in the electricity sector. Only supply power to some subscribers of professions that don't require a lot of energy 20% of the requirements of the directorate and 35% of the plan requirements were covered by the as well as supplying power to appliances that could work on alternative energy and budget in the previous years. the use of fuel instead of electrical energy.  The unavailability of intelligent programs for monitoring electricity network performance and  The involvement of the private sector and taking advantage of the possibility of the improving network management at times of extreme loads as operation is controlled manually due installation of networks, doing maintenance and collecting electricity returns. to the unavailability of specialised control centres.  There is an opportunity to produce hypo, which is used to sterilise the water locally  Lack of financial allocations and uncertainty about allocating funds which have negative impacts on to provide the raw material namely table salt (salted Samawah). the possibility of increasing human and technical resources.  The presence of international organisations supporting the water sector in the  The rapid increase in loads as a result of population growth, the spread of unstructured complexes establishment of desalination plants and the processing of some spare materials and infringements of electricity network, the increase in electrical appliances with high consumption, and the organisation of courses to develop the capabilities of staff and the and the lack of control over imported devices. implementation of some subnets  The difficulty of allocating lands for electricity infrastructure.

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 The existence of rehabilitation and training centres in the Directorate General of  Lack of modern systems used in the world, such as SCADA system to monitor pressure in the pipes sewage and identify areas of overrun and fractures  The presence of engineering consulting office and engineering specialties are  Lack of a network of water for watering gardens to avoid the use of drinking water in watering available at the University of Muthanna  Strong dependence of water sources on the climate - frequent low water levels (the Rumaitha River)  The existence of social satisfaction in the case of provision of sewage service and or floods of rivers (Euphrates River) withdrawal of rain water  Financial Crisis and stop the projects in the construction phase or lack of funding for filtration and  The existence of modern techniques for wastewater treatment and recycling wich sterilisation (alum and chlorine). could be used  High maintenance costs of backup materials/membranes, cotton filters, pumps, etc.  Weak government support for staff in terms of training, salaries and incentives, etc.  Multiplicity of regulatory bodies and political interventions  Water pollution and lack of awareness among citizens in the need to rationalise water consumption  Tribal objections to water pipelines and networks delay the implementation of projects and make companies reluctant to implement water projects  Non-activation of the legislation of the excesses on sewage and rain networks  Lack of processing of electric power to water lift stations and treatment plants  Low oil prices and its impact on the budget of municipal institutions  Poor coordination between the service departments and municipal departments  Poor cooperation of the citizen with the municipality

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VIII. STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES

In order to build effective strategies, it is necessary to develop a vision that guides the course of these strategies in the interest of the citizens of the province. On this basis, a vision was formulated for the governorate, taking into consideration the specificity of the governorate, its potential and ambition during implementation of the local development plan of the governorate.

VISION: An attractive province for industrial and agricultural investments, which has advanced trourism and globally known archiological sites, as well as available basic services to achieve the welfare of the citizens.

Based on the analysis made and the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats identified, four strategic objectives for the development of Muthanna Governorate have been articulated for the period 2018–2022. . These objectives are grounded in several trends including: accelerating the process of development and entrenching its sustainability; achieving balanced development across the governorate areas; continuing to improve the standard of living of citizens; improving their quality of life; caring for vulnerable groups of society; and reducing unemployment. . The objectives also include the development and efficiency of local work force, the contribution of the private sector to the development process, the promotion of a knowledge-based economy, the growth rates of the local economy, the efficiency of its performance, and the improvement of its competitiveness. . Finally, they reflect the changing global situation, which is dominated by globalization and intensive competition based on achievements in the fields of globalization and technology.

The four strategic objectives are as follows.

Strategic objective 1: Increased access to improved public services in rural areas and improved living conditions

The strategic objective responds to the identified needs and opportunities for improving public service delivery. The objective is of central importance, since infrastructure and public services exert significant impact on economic development, the provision of social services, and the quality of life in the Governorate. Achieved effects in this regard will lead to tangible changes in the quality of life in rural areas and the development of the Governorate's economic potential. In this sense, the achievement of Strategic objective 1 will have a significant impact on the achievement of the remaining strategic objectives of the PDS.

Strategic objective 2: Enabling environment for economic development

Economic development is a major driver of people's well-being. The availability of investments depends on the quality of infrastructure, legislation and workforce, as well as on adequate promotion of the governorate.

Strategic objective 3: Developed social services to support socially disadvantaged groups

Together with education and healthcare, social services help secure good quality of life for citizens, as well as qualified staff for the development of the economy. Social services access and quality also relate to the quality of infrastructure.

Strategic objective 4: Good governance

The process of transferring functions from national to local level requires activation the principles of good governance. At the local level, procedures, mechanisms and capacity should be established to assess the quantitative and qualitative needs of development policy and service provision. The implementation of EU good practices will increase the efficiency of the process.

Good governance entails effective organisational structures, the provision of adequate number of experts in the different sectors and their training, the preparation of effective legislation, the provision of required technical equipment and facilities, and the procurement of the necessary financial resources. Good governance also provides an opportunity to introduce and implement new and modern approaches to managing priority areas.

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IX. PROGRAMMES (PRIORITY AREAS FOR DEVELOPMENT)

The following programmes are outlined on the basis of the SWOT analysis and the identified strategic objectives (above), with attention to interventions in areas where the Governorate Authority has the power to implement specific projects and activities.

1. Programme 1: Improve the transport network

Rationale

The transport sector is concerned with the provision, maintenance and safety of public roads, bridges, intersections and tunnels, and the regulation of their use.

Improvement and rehabilitation of the existing road network and associated rural road networks will increase safety, reduce transport costs and stimulate economic activity across sectors (e.g. tourism), and increase access to facilities. It may be appropriate to study the possibility of establishing a new railway linking Samawah and Salman. Investments in the desert region in the central part of the governorate or the port of Gemayma at the border with Saudi Arabia may improve the degree of reliability in transport services between Muthanna and other governorates on the one hand, and between Iraq and its regional neighbours (especially Saudi Arabia) on the other. Reduced transport costs could stimulate commercial transport in particular, and thereby increase the competitiveness and prosperity of the governorate – through more effective transport services inside and outside Iraq.

Critical strategic issues: . Outdated existing road network in need of rehabilitation; . Frequent traffic accidents; . Dependency on the Roads Directorate for key functions, incl. e.g. training of engineering and technical staff in project management and use of IT; equipment maintenance; repair of roads; GIS availability; etc.; . Ineffective regulation of maximum speed and permissible weight of vehicles; . The need to study and organize transportation lines inside the governorate and with other governorates.

Vision

Improved and rehabilitated network of bridges and roads, with higher absorption capacity that minimises damage and reduces travel time, incidence of traffic accidents and environmental impact.

Specific objectives . Specific objective 1: Developed and rehabilitated transport network (primary, secondary, rural) . Specific objective 2: Improved performance efficiency.

Attainment of Specific objective 1 will result in developed transport infrastructure, with improved quality of roads in the governorate. This will help increase rural accessibility and improve the links between existing urban centres. Conditions for reducing road accidents will be secured. It will be possible to make economic activities faster and cheaper. Specific objective 2 centres on improving the capacity of staff in the transport sector in project management and work with specific information technologies. This will provide better archiving and management of transport network data. The necessary equipment for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the network and its support will be provided. Information campaigns on road safety will be organised to address road traffic accidents.

Strategic objective 1: Increased access to improved public services in rural areas and improved living conditions Programme 1: Improve the transport network Specific objective1: Developed and rehabilitated transport network (primary, secondary, rural) Activity Type of project Name of the project Short description 1 Research and Preparation of transport  Explore and identify priority areas for new infrastructure Study infrastructure development development and rehabilitation of existing roads in order programme to improve transport accessibility in the governorate.

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2 Research and Investigating the potential for  Explore and identify the possibility of and needs related Study a Samawah– Al-Jamema to establishing a new railway connecting Samawah and border port rail connection Al-Jamema port. 3 Technical/ Developing the existing  Plan, secure funding for and build new roads and bridges Investment transport network in areas that will improve transport accessibility to rural areas and between major urban centres. 4 Technical/ Rehabilitation, maintenance  Organise and implement the rehabilitation and Investment and furnishing of roads maintenance of the existing road network and furnishing of new and existing roads. 5 Technical/ Increasing the capacity of  Organise and implement the extension of existing roads Investment existing roads by adding second corridors for roads whose maximum capacity has been reached. 6 Technical/ Rehabilitation of existing road  Rehabilitation of existing road between Samawah, Al- Investment between Samawah, Al-Salman Salman District and Al-Jamema Port District and Al-Jamema Port Specific objective 2: Improved performance efficiency Activity Type of project Name of the project Short description 1 Capacity Building Building the IT skills of staff  In the course of the 5-year period, organise and conduct and Institutional training courses to enhance the IT skills of staff. Development 2 Capacity Building Building the project  Organise and conduct training courses to enhancing the and Institutional management skills of staff project management skills of staff. Development 3 Capacity Building Increasing the efficiency of  Organise and conduct training courses to build the and Institutional staff in data archiving efficiency of staff in modern data archiving. Development  Purchase the necessary software. 4 Capacity Building Promoting the use of GIS  Purchase the necessary GIS software. and Institutional  Organising and conducting training courses in GIS for Development staff. 5 Awareness Promoting transport systems  Plan, organise and carry out an information campaign and road safety among the population on the need to comply with traffic regulations. 6 Technical/ Purchase of equipment for  Plan, organise and purchase necessary equipment for the Investment road maintenance and maintenance and rehabilitation of roads. rehabilitation 7 Research & Study Study and organization of  Carry a recommendation study on organizing efficient internal and external internal and external transport to other governorates transport to other governorates

2. Programme 2: Improve the electricity service

Rationale

Electricity is an essential service and one of the pillars of civilised development. Activities across the social, industrial, agricultural and commercial spheres of life depend on access to electricity. Serious procedures need to be taken to improve the efficient use of power (generation & Consumption), and move toward “sustainable energy”. This will contribute to the effective realization of this objective.

The electricity sector in Muthanna is managed by the Ministry of Electricity, the Directorate of Distribution and the Directorate of Transport Networks and the Directorate of Energy Production. Transmission lines of 400 kV enter Muthanna from north to south, with no transfer station inside the governorate. Transmission lines of 132 kV enter transfer stations in Nasiriyah and Diwaniyah, where energy is converted to 33 kV and then to 11 kV. Power is then fed to the majority of districts in Muthanna at 11 kV (except for some neighbourhoods that feed on land lines, or certain streets where 11 kV to 380 volt lines feed shops, houses and street lighting). Measures need to be taken to increase the energy efficiency (generation and consumption) in the governorate. The elaboration of a Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan (SECAP) will contribute to the effective realisation of this objective.

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Critical strategic issues:

 Electricity generation in Muthanna (ca. 300 MW) is insufficient – the load at peak is 640 MW network uses 640 MW for 24 hours of operation in 2017; . The electricity network is greatly overused (stations, transmission lines, etc.); . Old networks have direct effects on the stability of the electric power supply, causing frequent failures and waste of manpower and financial resources; . Lack of transformation station of 400 KV in the governorate; . There is deficit of specialised staff in the electricity secto: 1450 staff are required, and only 568 are available.

Vision

Citizens and businesses are provided with electrical power in a continuous and stable manner for all types of activities (domestic, commercial, government, industrial, agricultural).

Specific objectives . Specific objective 1: Improved quality of supply network; increased production capacity . Specific objective 2: Improved performance and fees collection . Specific objective 3: Sustainable energy promoted through energy efficiency and RES.

Attainment of Specific objective 1 will help overcome issues with electricity access. Specific objectives 2 and 3 are aimed at improving institutional performance and the collection of fees for use of the electricity supply network; this should motivate people and the industry to reduce their electricity consumption by purchasing modern electrical equipment with low energy consumption and the use of RES.

Strategic objective 1: Increased access to improved public services in rural areas and improved living conditions Programme 2: Improve the electricity service Specific objective 1: Improved quality of supply network; increased production capacity Activity Project type Project name Short description 1 Research and Mapping of electricity  Map the existing electricity supply network; research and assess its Study supply network condition and needs for rehabilitation to reduce power interruptions. 2 Technical/ Rehabilitation  Develop and implement rehabilitation programme for the electricity Investment programme for the supply network, focusing on industrial areas, areas in urban centres electricity supply and areas with high density of inhabitants – in order to reduce network overload cases and achieve the electricity supply standards. 3 Technical/ Electricity production  Develop and implement an electricity increased production Investment increase programme programme, incl. construction and commissioning of renewable energy systems. Specific objective 2: Improved performance and fees collection Activity Project type Project name Short description 1 Research and Improving  Develop models to improve the measurement and collection of fees Study measurement and the charged for the use of the electricity supply network, corresponding collection of electricity to the specificities of the individual regions in the governorate. supply charges 2 Technical/ Installation of smart  Develop and implement a programme for installation of smart Investment meters meters and other appliances that allow to measure the actual electricity consumption. 3 Capacity Programme to motivate  Plan and implement a programme to motivate staff and attract new building and staff and attract new employees. institutional employees development 4 Capacity Capacity building of  Organize and implement trainings to build staff competency in IT building and staff in IT skills over 5 years period. institutional development 5 Capacity Capacity building of  Organise and conduct training courses to build the efficiency of staff building and staff in project in project management.

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institutional management development 6 Capacity Improve staff  Organise and conduct training courses to build the efficiency of staff building and competency in data in modern data archiving. institutional archiving  Purchase the necessary software. development 7 Capacity Promoting the use of  Purchase the necessary GIS software. building and GIS  Organising and conducting training courses in GIS for staff. institutional development Specific objective 3: Sustainable energy promoted through energy efficiency and RES Activity Project type Project name Short description 1 Research and Elaboration of  Measures need to be taken to increase the efficiency of energy Study Sustainable Energy and production and consumption in Muthanna. The elaboration of a Climate Action Plan Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan (SECAP) will contribute (SECAP) to the effective realisation of this objective. 2 Awareness Awareness raising on  Plan, organise and carry out information campaign among the the need to reduce population on the need to reduce electricity consumption by electricity consumption purchasing modern electrical equipment with low energy by citizens and consumption and use of modern technology to manage loads companies including use of Energy Saving Devices. 3 Technical/ Apply the use of solar  Research the applications of solar energy in government institutions Investment energy: as a first step in and study the feasibility of using them, as a first stage governmental  Develop a plan of action to initiate the use of solar energy in institutions government departments  Use of some solar energy applications such as solar water heaters, solar panels for lighting and other uses in government departments  Cooperation with international organizations in support of this trend

3. Programme 3: Improve the water supply service

Rationale

Drinking water is considered a basic service for human life, and one of the most important rights whether man lives in the city or in the countryside. This sector is also important in the growth of other sectors and for all activities.

It is necessary to create a balance between available water resources and water demand. This requires the application of strict and effective demand management measures, the mixing of unconventional water resources such as treated water, increasing water treatment systems, and continuing to support and motivate farmers using modern irrigation techniques to reduce pressure on water sources entering the governorate. Strict measures must be applied to rationalize consumption, and water standards must be linked to appropriate tariffs that take into account trends in consumption and sustainability of water resources.

The quality and efficiency of water services must be improved to meet the standards, in terms of quality specifically. There is a need for improvement in terms of volume of coverage, reduction of network losses and improved quality of service. A large proportion of the population is still dependent on water supply from water tankers, at a much higher cost than the network. Addressing this issue requires intensive efforts to raise the technical efficiency of existing water purification plants, to reduce water seepage from the network, and to improve protection from pollution. Finally, expanding the role of the private sector can contribute to increasing the water provision and water treatment services and the available financing, thereby increasing the coverage and quality of services.

In Muthanna Governorate, water service delivery is managed by the Water Department of MoCHMPW. The mission of the Depatment is to achieve the delivery of potable water: . to all people in the governorate, in all districts and sub districts, urban and rural areas; . according to the standards adopted by the Ministry regarding water quantity and quality; . using various means available – determined by several factors, most importantly, water resource, geographical location, population size and available material capacity.

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Water resources themselves present a major problem, as they are affected by water scarcity in the Euphrates, high rates of salinity and pollution, and contamination by domestic water and through the outdated network.

Critical strategic issues: . Scarcity of water resources; . The existing water supply network has not been mapped – this prevents the elaboration of any master plans and effective planning; . Outdated water distribution pipes need replacing – the facilities are old (most installed decades ago), and there is 30% water leakage rate for Muthanna in average (as much as 42% in e.g. Samawah); . Difficulty to measure actual consumption, no water meters are installed for houses; . Lack of ground water tanks and pump stations; . The need to implement water supply networks especially in cities to promote fairness in distribution and control; . Lack of reliable data for evaluation and analysis of existing facilities – lack of modern systems (such as SCADA) for monitoring the status of the network (e.g. pipe pressure levels, etc.) to allow timely identification of problems and improve planning; . Lack of specialised equipment; . Shortage of staff in some departments (maintenance and collection) and weak capacities; . Encroachment of the network.

Vision

Potable water delivered to all people and businesses in the governorate, in both urban and rural areas, according to national standards of quality and quantity.

Specific objectives: . Specific objective 1: Upgraded water supply network that allows to attain water supply standards . Specific objective 2: Improved institutional performance and enhanced revenue.

Specific objective 1 responds to the need to identify and rehabilitate the old water network, and to increase the capacity to monitor the status of the network to allow timely identification and response to problems. Specific objective 2 responds to the need to improve the institutional performance, collection of charges for the use of the water supply network, as well as to improve the human resource capacity in the sector.

Strategic objective 1: Increased access to improved public services in rural areas and improved living conditions Programme 3: Improve the water supply service Specific objective 1: Upgraded water supply network that allows to attain water supply standards Activity Project type Project name Short description 1 Research and Mapping of the existing  Cary out mapping of the existing water supply network. Study water supply network Research and assess its condition and needs for rehabilitation in order to reduce losses. 2 Technical/ Water supply network  Develop and implement a rehabilitation programme for the Investment rehabilitation water supply network – with focus on urban centres and high- programme density areas – in order to reduce losses and reach the water supply standards. 3 Technical/ Water loss reduction,  Implement modern pressure monitoring systems in the water Investment realization of water supply network – to monitor pressure in the pipes and supply standards identify areas of leakage and fractures - in order to reduce losses and achieve the water supply standards. Specific objective 2: Improved institutional performance and enhanced revenue Activity Project type Project name Short description 2 Research and Models to improve  Develop models to improve the measurement and the Study measuring and collection collection of charges for the use of the water supply network of fees for use of the according to the type of consumption. water supply network 2 Technical/ Application of developed  Apply the developed models (above) and achieve 90% fee Investment charging models collection rate in the areas served. 3 Technical/ Installation of water  Implement a programme for installation of water meters and

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Investment meters and appliances appliances for measuring water consumption. for water consumption measurement 4 Capacity building Increasing the efficiency  Organise and conduct training courses for staff in the water and institutional of staff in the water sector to improve their performance and efficiency. development sector  Purchase the necessary software 5 Awareness Raising awareness on the  Plan, organise and carry out an information campaign among need to pay for used the population on the need to pay for used water water 6 Technical/ Purchase of equipment  Plan, organise and purchase equipment for the management Investment for management and and maintenance of the water supply network. maintenance of the network 7 Research & Study Eliminating  Set and implement action plan to eliminate encroachment encroachment on the network 8 Capacity building Building IT capacities of  Organize and execute courses to build staff competency in IT and institutional staff in the water sector over a 5-year period. development 9 Capacity building Capacity building of staff  Organize and execute courses to build staff competencies in and institutional in project management project management development 10 Capacity building Enhancing staff  Organize and execute courses to build the capacities of the and institutional competency in data staff and the skills in modern information archiving development archiving  Purchase necessary software 11 Capacity building Promote the use of GIS  Purchase the software of GIS and institutional  Organize and execute courses to build the staff competency development and enhance their skills in GIS

4. Programme 4: Improve performance of wastewater sector

Rationale

The sector is important to the life and health of the society. It includes the collection, treatment and management of wastewater from homes, industrial, commercial, educational and other areas, surface water and runoff. The sector is of great importance for human health, quality of life, food safety, water availability. It is also important economically – e.g. as it serves to limit and mitigate environmental degradation, and as it helps improve the conditions for development of agriculture and industry (through water reclamation).

The sector is run by the Sewerage Directorate under MoCHMPW. A key problem is the widespread shortage of sewerage service in urban areas due to the negligence and apathy of the old regime and the high costs and maintenance needs.

Critical strategic issues: . Lack of sewerage network coverage of cities . Depreciated and damaged sewerage network (e.g. cracks and leakages) . Poor maintenance and operation of treatment plants . Outdated wastewater treatment methods . Lack of electronic control system to control the operation of pump stations . Areas of coverage exist outside sewerage network maps – due to missing data there is need for mapping of old networks . Lack of revenues and the need to change service fees collection system.

Vision

Urban sewerage systems, runoff collection systems, WWTPs and water reclamation facilities (for re-use of wastewater in agriculture and industry) operate in accordance with national environmental standards.

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Addressing the evident gaps in the sector requires critical policies, with relevance to service provision and to mitigate, reduce and stop environment degradation. A new institutional framework should be established to manage the sector efficiently and effectively and as integrated with other sectors such as the municipal sector. There is need to develop the technical and managerial capacities of staff in the sector, as well as to increase awareness among the population to ensure their support to efforts to attain the standards of the service.

Strategic objectives: . Specific objective 1: Upgraded sewerage network and facilities allow to attain sewerage standards . Specific objective 2: Sewerage system performance and revenue improved . Specific objective 3: Capacity of administration and staff improved.

Specific objective 1 responds to the need to identify and rehabilitate the old sewage network, as well as extend the sewerage system and modernise treatment plants and methods. Specific objective 2 is aimed to contribute to improved measurement and collection of charges for use of the sewerage network, improved human resource capacity and performance, and improved revenue. Specific objective 3 is aimed to improve the human resources and administration capacity in the sector.

Strategic objective 1: Increased access to improved public services in rural areas and improved living conditions Programme 4: Improve the sewerage and sanitation service Specific objective 1: Upgraded sewerage network and facilities allow to attain sewerage standards Activity Project type Project Short description 1 Research and Mapping of old sewage  Map old sewage networks; research and assess their Study networks condition and need for rehabilitation to reduce leakages. 2 Technical/ Rehabilitation programme  Develop and implement a rehabilitation programme for the Investment for the sewage network sewerage network, with focus on areas in urban centres and areas with high density of inhabitants – in order to reduce the leakages and achieve the sewage standards. 3 Technical/ Extension of the sewerage  Develop and implement a programme for extension of the Investment network sewerage network. 4 Technical/ Implementation of modern  Implementation of modern electronic control system to Investment control systems for pump control the operation of pump stations in order to reduce stations leakages. 5 Technical/ Modernisation of treatment  Develop and implement a programme for modernisation of Investment plants treatment plants – introducing new wastewater treatment, plant maintenance and plant operation methods. 6 Technical/ Improving the power supply  Build an emergency electricity supply line to pump stations Investment for pump stations and and treatment plants – to reduce the threat to operation treatment plants and performance from power failure and instability. 7 Legislation Regulatory changes  Assessment and draft changes to regulations regarding the regarding evasion from use of collection systems for payments evaders. collection systems 8 Research & study Partnership with the private  Partner with the private sector to manage, maintain and sector to manage and develop the treatment station maintain treatment stations Specific objective 2: Sewerage system performance and revenue improved Activity Project type Project Short description 1 Research and Measures to reduce  Investigate and classify the main polluters and Study pollution and contaminants. contamination.  Introduce mini filtering systems.  Link the issue of permits to the volume of pollution. 2 Awareness Awareness raising on the  Plan, organise and conduct an information campaign importance of wastewater among the population on the need to pay for sewage systems and the need to pay system access and use, on the role of wastewater systems for sewerage service to protect the environment from contaminated water, on the associated public health risk, and on what citizens can do to protect the system from misuse and damage. 3 Technical/ Purchase of equipment for  Plan, organise and purchase equipment for the Investment management and management and maintenance of the wastewater system. maintenance of wastewater system

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4 Research & Study Develop the fees collection  Develop a module to enhance fees collection system Specific objective 3: Capacity of administration and staff improved Activity Project type Project Short description 1 Research and Complaints system for  Create a system for receiving and responding promptly to Study sewerage sector complaints and alerts.  Train staff to accept and respond to complaints and alerts. 2 Capacity building Training on occupational  Organise and conduct training on occupational safety and and institutional safety health for staff employed in wastewater management – development incl. rules, risks, precautions and first aid in case of e.g. work at depths and in case of hazardous gases. 3 Capacity building Building staff capacity on IT  Organize and implement courses to build staff capacity and and institutional their skills in IT over 5 year period development 4 Capacity building Building capacity of the staff  Organize and implement courses to build the competency and institutional in project management and skills of the staff in project management development 5 Capacity building Enhance staff competency  Organize and implement courses to build the competency and institutional in data archiving and skills of the staffs in modern information archiving development  Purchase necessary software 6 Capacity building Promote the use of GIS  Purchase programs to use GIS system and institutional  Organize and implement courses to build the capacity and development skills of the staff in GIS

5. Programme 5: Improve municipal services

Rationale

Although there is a noticeable development in the level of services in most cities of the province, a great effort needed to reach the approved service standards. In addition, this sector is in conflict with other departments responsible for services within the street and the sidewalk such as water network, sewage system, electricity, and telecommunication, Municipalities suffer from encroachment on the basic designs and laws governing the work of municipal directorates.

Continued effort is necessary to develop the technical and human resource capacities of municipal institutions; to raise the efficiency of staff; to increase attention to generating financial revenues from municipal services; to optimise institutional structures; to review and improve the allocation of services depending on economic and social feasibility; to improve waste collection and processing and its management efficiency; and to maintain public health and safety would make of this sector a pioneer in the development process of the province cities.

The municipal sector includes services within the boundaries of the municipalities of cities. It includes the competences exercised by the municipal departments, namely the municipality's Directorate, which manages administratively and financially all the municipal institutions in the districts. The work of municipal institutions is governed by Law No. 21 (2008, amended) and Law No. 165 (1964, amended), in addition to laws and regulations issued by the federal government related to the work of municipalities.

Municipal services include the maintenance of streets, sidewalks, intersections, green/recreation and market areas; the development of cities in accordance with certain standards; care for traffic engineering; waste collection and operation of landfills in compliance with health standards.

Although there is a noticeable improvement in the level of municipal services in most cities in the governorate, a great effort is required to reach the approved service standards. In addition, the sector suffers from conflicting responsibilities with other departments – e.g. with regard to streets/pavement and water/sewerage.

Critical strategic issues: . Lack of financial allocations for the purpose of providing the required services . Weak technical expertise in the field of waste collection and processing . Need to update the municipal database . Need to rehabilitate streets and green areas.

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Vision

Municipal service delivery meets the growing needs of the urban population, it has improved efficiency, it supports private sector participation, and it improves the quality of life of citizens.

Specific objectives: . Specific objective 1: Efficient management of assets and resources and increased revenue . Specific objective 2: Integrated waste management strategy developed . Specific objective 3: Municipal services upgraded . Specific objective 4: High performance competency in Municipal Institutions.

Specific objective 1 responds to the need of information about public land and improving its usage. Specific objective 2 aims to contribute to the development of an integrated strategy in waste management and enhancement of staff capacities. Specific objective 3 aims to improve quality of streets and green areas through rehabilitation. Specific objective 4 aims to improve the competency of municipal institutions performance to provide better services and a better management of the resources.

Strategic objective 1: Increased access to improved public services in rural areas and improved living conditions Programme 5: Improve municipal services Specific objective1: Efficient management of assets and resources and increased revenue Activity Project type Project name Short description 1 Research and Public register of  Create a public register of municipal property, including data Study municipal property on the pre-designation of the land and the state of the adjacent infrastructure. 2 Legislation Review of legal procedures  The development of legislation will allow taking appropriate to protect public lands action to protect public land and prevent infringement. 3 Legislation Updated criteria for public  Develop updated criteria for public land allocation procedures land allocation procedures for various sectors. 4 Research & Partnership programme of  Develop of program to expand partnership and investment Study recreation areas and models and rental of lands such as establishing of recreation commercial markets areas and commercial markets, etc. Specific objective 2: Integrated waste management strategy Activity Project type Project name Short description 1 Research and Integrated waste  Develop an integrated waste management strategy on the Study management strategy principle of public-private partnership – to cover waste collection and processing services and design and construction of waste disposal, sorting and recycling facilities. Specific objective 3: Municipal services upgraded Activity Project type Project name Short description 1 Research and Mapping of the street  Perform mapping of the street networks and green areas. Study and green area network  Study and assess their condition and needs for rehabilitation. 2 Technical/ Rehabilitation  Develop and implement a rehabilitation programme for the Investment programme for the street street and green areas network – with focus on areas in urban and green area network centres and areas with high density of inhabitants in order to achieve the service standards. 3 Research & study Preparation of manual of  Prepare guiding manuals on how to do necessary procedures procedures for municipal to provide municipal services, and making them available to services the public 4 Research and Activation of urban  Review basic designs of the districts by updating the basic Study management and designs of the cities (Al-Salman, Al-Warka, Al-Daraji, Al- organization of cities Bussaya, Al-Majd, Al-Hilal, Al-Najmi and Al-Sowair) according to the needs of the population  Adopt laws and regulations that ensure conservation of cities and keeping the identified uses in the designs to accommodate the urban development dynamics.  Determine land use (outside the borders of the basic designs of the cities).

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Specific objective 4: High performance competency in Municipal Institutions Activity Project type Project name Short description 1 Research & Development of non-  Develop a monitoring system for non-fixed assets of the Study fixed assets system municipal institutions (vehicles, equipment , etc.) to monitor their performance and reduce costs of maintenance and fuel. 2 Capacity building Capacity building of staff  Organize and implement courses to build the competency and and institutional in IT skills of the staff in IT over 5 years period development 3 Capacity building Capacity building of staff  Organize and implement courses to build staff competency and and institutional in project management skills in project management development 4 Capacity building Improve staff  Organize and implement courses to build staff competency and and institutional competency in data skills in archiving modern information development archiving  Purchase necessary software 5 Capacity building Promoting the use of GIS  Purchase programs of GIS and institutional  Organize and implement courses to build staff competency and development skills in GIS

6. Programme 6: Ensure appropriate housing

Rationale

Housing plays an important role in providing comfort and welfare to the various social segments. It is appropriate to seek the private sector or investment sector in the production of housing units to support the development of plans and strategies to reduce the housing deficit. The existence of equitable and improved system to distribute lands and organized housing can increase the access of poor and low-income groups to shelter. Moreover, it is necessary to improve the technical skills of the labor force. Ultimately, each strategic objective should consistently support improvement of conditions and general conditions of housing with reasonable and affordable prices.

Critical strategic issues: . Insufficient housing supply . High prices of housing units, land and rents . Limited funding for supporting housing construction . Increased demand for housing in urban centers versus the lack of land allocation . Lack of suitable housing units in rural areas.

Vision

Adequate housing ensured for the largest number of households; increased options of housing type; increased loans provided by the Housing Support Fund and the Bank of real estate in line with the actual costs of implementation; private investment encouraged.

Specific objectives: . Specific objective 1: Established rural and urban regulating policies . Specific objective 2: Expanded housing programmes and access to housing for people with middle or low income . Specific objective 3: Informal settlements expansion reduced.

Specific objective 1 responds to the difficulties faces different housing activities whether in rural or urban areas. Specific objective 2 aspires to increase number of houses through setting appropriate programs. Specific objective 3 seeks to stop the expansion of informal settlements and creation of alternatives.

Strategic objective 1: Increased access to improved public services in rural areas and improved living conditions Programme 6: Ensure appropriate housing Specific objective1: Established rural and urban regulating policies Activity Project type Project name Short description

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1 Technical/ Activating the principle of  Distribution of lands and sales while adding the services costs Investment served neighbourhoods according to the principle of served neighbourhoods. People with limited income amounts are paid by instalments and acceptable guarantees. 2 Legislations Revisitingof rural area policies  Elaborate policies and programs appropriate to rural housing and reducing the element of informal settlements.  Activatef modern villages programmes and initiatives to organize this type of housing. Specific objective2: Expanded housing programmes and access to housing for people with middle or low income Activity Project type Project name Short description 1 Technical/ Expansion regarding allocation  Enable and target people with limited income to acquire Investment of lands appropriate housing through allocation of lands and expand on distribution of plots. 2 Technical/ Soft-term loans  Expand cooperation on provision of loans with soft terms to Investment establish housing units. 3 Awareness Encouraging the entry of  Encourage and enhance investment companies to enter into investment companies in the housing market in the governorate and execute some housing housing market policies through investment board in the governorate 4 Research & Study of the possibility for  Create cost effective housing units to be implemented by the Study constructing cost-effective private sector, targeting people with limited income. housing units Specific objective3: Informal settlements expansion reduced Activity Project type Project name Short description 1 Technical/ Provision of alternative areas  Establish areas with appropriate planning and design Investment specifications and moving the encroachers to these areas or resettling them according to soft terms. 2 Technical/ Soft-term loans  Expand cooperation on provision of loans with soft terms to Investment establish housing units. 3 Legislation Application of laws  Adopt strict regulations and activate laws to reduce unregulated encroachment.

7. Programme 7: Ensure conducive investment environment

Rationale

Investment is a driving force for development, driving up competitiveness, trade, productivity and economic diversification. Promoting investment opportunities is bound with creating an active business environment in the governorate, improving the investment climate, introducing benefits, incentives and guarantees that are regulated through investment law number 13 of 2006 as amended, ensuring the appropriate facilities and human resources. Successful investments generate multiple benefits – for the beneficiary, investors, society and the country development priorities. The investment process is regulated by Investment Law No. 13 (2006) and its amendments. Governorate Investment Agencies – the only official bodies concerned with the management of the portfolio of investments in governorates – are responsible for the implementation of this law. As such, they are responsible for identifying and promoting the comparative advantages of each governorate – from geographical location, natural resources, land, groundwater, etc. which underlie investment cooperation to achieve the development vision for the governorate. Attracting capital to implement plans that support economic and social development, in turn, contributes to raising the standard of citizens in the governorate.

In Muthanna: . In light of the sector situation in the governorate, it is worth mentioning that the cement factories form the largest volume of the private sector investments. Cement factories form the backbone of industry in the governorate Private sector capital has been raised for their rehabilitation and upgrading; this has resulted in the private- introduction of modern management methods; and ultimately, the availability of capital has generated a qualitative shift in the entire industry and economy of the governorate. . In the private sector, many small and medium industry projects are emerging in the governorate. However – in the context of dominant agriculture sector and trade in the labour market – these projects cannot make a qualitative impact on the economy of the governorate.

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The multi-year Muthanna Governorate strategy for the development of the industrial sector presents a targets plan in accordance with local conditions and opportunities, and in line with the corresponding national strategy. The challenges that stand in the way of attracting investments in Muthanna are many – and they are pertain to the overall investment climate in Iraq, namely: regulatory environment, statutory limitations periods, overlapping or inconsistent regulations, weak banking services, better competitive position of neighbouring countries, etc. The financial crisis has led to inability to deliver services to investment projects. Responding to all of these matters falls outside the scope of the local government.

Critical strategic issues:

At the local level, problems regarding investment and industry development that can be overcome through joint coordination between the relevant authorities can be summarised as follows: . Weakness of the local investment sector agency – evidenced by the difficult/unclear procedures for granting investment licenses and the weak marketing of investment opportunities; . Existing problems with land allocation for investment projects – complex procedures at government departments, as well as tribal problems; . Weak qualification of staff employed in the investment sector – regarding e.g. preparation of maps for investment projects, preparation of feasibility studies, use of effective marketing methods or promotion process, etc.; . Lack of skilled staff and poor qualification of technical staff in the industrial sector; . Weak follow-up process for the granted investment licences.

Vision

A competitive domestic industry, which capitalises on Muthanna’s strategic geographic location, contributes to a diversified economy and jobs creation, while using resources efficiently and effectively. Muthanna Governorate is placed in a capital selection position.

Specific objectives:

. Specific objective 1: Improved investment environment for domestic and foreign capital . Specific objective 2: Improved marketing and promotion of investment opportunities . Specific objective 3: Existing investments expanded. . Specific objective 4: Investment Board with high performance.

Specific objective 1 responds to problems with the local investment environment and allocation of land for investment projects. Specific objective 2 is aimed at overcoming the low capacity in preparing, marketing and promoting investment opportunities. Specific objective 3 is focused on encouraging existing investors to expand their successful investments, while offering better qualified workforce, and with attention to small industry.

Strategic objective 2: Enabling environment for economic development Programme 7: Ensure conducive investment environment Specific objective 1: Improved investment environment for domestic and foreign capital Activity Project type Project name Short description 1 Legislation,, Improving the system of  Review and evaluate the licensing system. Research & licensing  Develop a model, that simplifies the processes (simpler Study procedures, reduced administrative burden) – in order to improve the investment environment.  Improve the investment environment to attract local and foreign capital 2 Research and Establishment of joint  Motivate chambers, unions, scientific institutions and associations Study ventures with local or to participate in the implementation of investment opportunities foreign capital through the establishment of joint ventures with local or foreign capital.  Develop feasibility studies for establishment of joint ventures with local or foreign capital 3 Research and Feasibility studies for  Complete preliminary feasibility studies for all investment Study investment opportunities opportunities offered – in coordination with Al-Muthanna University and private consultants .

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Specific objective 2: Improved marketing and promotion of investment opportunities Activity Project type Project name Short description 1 Research and Investment map  Create an investment map for all sectors in cooperation with the Study relevant authorities. 2 Capacity Effective marketing  Develop a programme for adopting modern and innovative building & methods to promote marketing methods to promote investment opportunities. institutional investment opportunities development 3 Technical/ Online Investment Portal  Update and elaborate the investment website into an effective Investment of Muthanna online Investment Portal of Muthanna Governorate – to include Governorate the electronic services, all required data on investment opportunities, a guide to the procedures of the issue of investment licenses, feasibility studies and economic indicators for Muthanna, and anything else that investors may request 4 Awareness Programme for  Develop and establish a programme of exhibitions in cooperation exhibitions to promote with local and national institutions to promote investment investment opportunities opportunities. 5 Awareness Measures to promote  Coordinate with Iraqi embassies and commercial attachés in Muthanna investment countries to present investment opportunities in Muthanna. opportunities abroad  Develop information materials. Specific objective 3: Existing investments expanded Activity Project type Project name Short description 1 Capacity Establishment of special  Establish special coordination council for the investment and Building ; coordination council for industrial sectors – in order to help: Awareness investment and industrial  Encourage existing investors to expand their successful development; investments and to replicate them in other locations in the Programs and regular governorate. conferences to  Encourage partnerships between domestic and foreign investors. coordinate investment  Develop the industrial sector through the implementation of plans and development prepared for this purpose and coordination of efforts of relevant authorities. 2 Technical/ Support to vocational  Develop a programme to support vocational training centres to Investment training centres; provide training in the management of industrial projects and awareness Specialized training relevant skilled technicians. programs on  Develop programs to support people willing to expand their development and economic activities and expand their existing businesses expansion of business 3 Technical/ Support to small industry  Develop a programme to support the establishment of small Investment and entrepreneurship industry/entrepreneurship projects through the provision of financial and administrative facilities and local services. Specific objective 4: Investment Board with high performance Activity Project type Project name Short description 1 Capacity Training of staff of the  Design and execute training programs to improve the building investment board and performance competencies of the staff regarding preparation of improving their capacities investment plans and updating them, methods for promoting investment opportunities and preparation of investment opportunities feasibility studies. 2 Research & Efficient follow-up system  Design and execute a system to follow on the investment study on the investment opportunities and identification of hurdles that stand in the way of opportunities implementation.

8. Programme 8: Strengthen the local industrial sector contribution to the development process

The industrial sector is one of the main pillars of the local economy and is more important when viewed by its contribution to the formation of fixed capital and GDP. The industrial sector is one of the engines of other economic sectors. A multi-year strategy to develop the industrial sector of Muthana, represents a plan of targeting according to the local conditions and opportunities, and should be consistent with the national strategy of this sector.

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Critical strategic issues:

Several elements affected the growth of the industrial sectors some are internal and others are external. Key challenges are as follows:

. Investment Environment: Weak investment environment and inability to attract investment capitalal despite the existence of good investments in cement industry. The investment is not up to the level of available natural resources in the governorate, as well as weak investments in agricultural industry. . Funding: weak capacity of the banking sector to support the industrial sector and provide funding, loans and credit facilities to contribute in providing the required support to the industrial sector. . Competition: Weak competitive capacity of the local industrial sector versus the imported industrial goods resulted from dumping of market with cheap and bad quality goods. . Technical and administrative experience: lack of technical and administrative necessary capacities to improve the industrial sector due to limited training opportunities related to skills of the staff working in the sector. . Technology: There is a visible failure in the level of technology used in the industrial sector and its obsolescence due to weak investments, which led to weak and high costs of production as well as its inability to compete. . Marketing: The above-mentioned issues led to weak marketing approaches and inability of the local products to keep up with the imported goods. . Legislation: Failure of some current laws to ensure a supportive legal environment for the industrial sector.

Vision

Competitive local industry contributes to diverse economy, and creation of job opportunities using the resources effectively and efficiently.

Specific objectives: . Specific objective 1: Industrial sector organised by a local body . Specific objective 2: Improved business environment and infrastructure attract investments through competent licensing system . Specific objective 3: Job opportunities created to employ skilled technical labourers.

The first specific objective responds to the problem of absence of a sponsorship entity to the development of the industrial sector despite its importance. The second specific objective sets the foundation for development of the sector through an attractive investment environment. The third one responds to the need to increase the citizens’ income through employment and increased job opportunities.

Strategic objective 2: Enabling environment for economic development Programme 8: Strengthen the local industrial sector contribution in development process Specific objective 1: Industrial sector organised by a local body Activity Project type Project name Short description 1 Capacity Establish the coordination  Establish a special council for industrial development to assist in building and local council for the development of the industrial sector by applying the prepared institutional industrial sector plans for this purpose and coordination of relevant entities development efforts Specific objective 2: Improved business environment and infrastructure attract investments through competent licensing system Activity Project type Project name Short description 1 Technical/ Establishment of the  Identify the appropriate location of the industrial zone and investment industrial zone execution to make it an incubator to the industrial activities in the governorate 2 Research & Industrial investment map  To work on activation of investment industrial opportunities Study through investment board in the governorate and creation of investment map for the recommended industrial locations and their nature according to targeted products, as well as activation of one window shopping and simplified procedures

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Specific objective 3: Job opportunities created to employ skilled technical labourers Activity Project type Project name Short description 1 Capacity Training on industrial  Support the vocational training centers to provide training on building & projects managements industrial projects managements and qualifying skilled technical institutional labors development 2 Technical/ Support entrepreneurship  Support micro industrial projects and entrepreneurship through investment provision of facilitations, and local administrative and financial advantages

9. Programme 9: Strengthen the agriculture sector

Rationale

Unlike other economic sectors in Muthanna, the agriculture sector does contribute significantly to economic growth in Muthanna as well as Iraq. This sector is a strong feature in the identity of the Governorate: an agricultural province with large areas suitable for agriculture, significant work force in the sector and significant sector contribution to the GDP of the province and impact on income levels. Agriculture sector activities in the governorate are important factors of its economic and social development because they provide employment opportunities, increase incomes and contribute to food security.

The agriculture sector faces the following challenges: . Productivity. In general, agricultural production refers to the final products which can be consumed or provide raw material in the food/other industries. Despite the large areas planted annually with crops related to food security, fruits date palms and vegetables, the quantities produced are low per denim – as evidenced in the large volumes of agriculture imports in Muthanna (external or from Iraq). There are no official and accurate figures and statistics on the size of imports in the province due to the lack of specialised sources, market research or information system; but the reality indicates that there are large volumes of imports of agricultural crops in the province. When comparing the demand for basic foods and the available domestic product, there is deficit seen for most products – reflecting in a fragile food security situation in the governorate, despite its good agricultural potential. . Competitiveness. The quality of local agricultural products is relatively acceptable in terms of quality and level of productivity. Products such as date palms fruits and vegetables would be competitive if the production and marketing processes were improved; this would also raise productivity per acre and low prices per standard unit. In addition, policy protection of local products from dumping of cheap agricultural products from neighbouring countries is needed – also for meats, eggs and milk. . Storage capacity. The governorate has modest storage capacity for basic crops that cannot support an increase in production. Low storage capacity leads to product damage due to weak marketing (incl. dates). The total grains storage capacity of the Ministry of Agriculture in 10 000 tonnes; the number of silos of the General Company for Trade in Grains in Muthanna (under the Ministry of Commerce) is one; with 10 000 tonnes capacity. . Weak investment environment. The capacity to attract capital to implement projects in the agricultural sector is weak; there is need to ease the procedures for obtaining investment licenses and the establishment of projects. . Weak education. The low educational level of the population of Muthana is an obstacle before the agriculture sector development. There is a need for skilled technical staff, agricultural engineers and planning experts to implement the development plan. . Poor irrigation network. Agriculture in Muthanna is very heavily dependent on irrigation; irrigation is linked to the Euphrates (Shat al-Rumaitha). The availability and quality of water resources may be a condition for the success of the strategy. . Rehabilitation. The rehabilitation and completion of big irrigation projects and drainage projects is linked to the need of big investment and salinity levels. . Reform. The rehabilitation, reform and reprocessing of Ministry of Agriculture facilities throughout Muthanna will encounter the following limitations:  tradition of a state-run agricultural sector;  lack of skilled staff able to meet the needs of intensive reforms to be carried out;

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. Agricultural Industry Sector. The establishment and development of the agricultural industry sector in Muthana will be limited and restrained due to the following:  The need for significant investments in modern technology and technical knowledge;  The need to a new group of trained and opened business owners to free market dynamics;

The highest priority must be given to the completion and upgrading of the Al-Muthanna and Rumaitha irrigation projects, which will determine the area of land with irrigation projects on a large scale.. In addition to focusing on factors that increase the yield of one dunum, which will raise agricultural production clearly. The agricultural system to be developed in Muthanna Governorate, after the expansion of irrigation plans, needs to implement the relevant activities according to a specific timetable. When the two projects work together, agricultural production will increase dramatically, which entails the contextual design and partial completion of the entire network of facilities, i.e. agricultural roads, large grain storage containers, availability of agricultural inputs, advisory services, etc. In short, the whole farming system will be revitalised in Muthanna Governorate following the expansion of the irrigation scheme, which requires the relevant activities to be carried out according to a specific timetable.

The project of discharging water east of the Euphrates is also a major priority because of its central importance in preventing soil salinity which leads to soil fertility. This project plays a crucial role in land reclamation because it permits the removal of salt water from soil washing. After the completion of the drainage project east of the Euphrates River, the process of land reclamation and clearance of salinity and intensive cultivation in irregular soils can begin.

Critical strategic issues: . Low productivity and competitiveness – need for knowledge-based agriculture, R&D – incl. to improve production and marketing processes . Low storage capacity . Weak investment environment . Poor irrigation network, low irrigation capacity, many suspended projects . Outdated/inappropriate irrigation methods – need for R&D, technology . Low private sector involvement . Insufficient human resources.

Vision

An agricultural sector based on sustainable agriculture as a development approach; as such, it contributes to eliminating economic disparities and raising income and living standards – by enhancing productivity and job creation – while also preserving non-renewable resources (soil and water).

Specific objectives: . Specific objective 1: Irrigation capacity increased, suspended projects completed . Specific objective 2: Modern irrigation methods in agriculture adopted . Specific objective 3: Knowledge-based and technology-based agriculture promoted to increase agricultural and livestock production . Specific objective 4: Industrial, commercial and investment projects developed based on agriculture sector outputs . Specific objective 5: Improved institutional performance of agriculture sector directorates.

Specific objective 1 responds to the main weakness of the irrigation system (capacity). Specific objective 2 is aimed at capacity increase as well, while also strengthening the use of modern irrigation methods in agriculture. Specific objective 3 is focused on knowledge-based agriculture as an instrument for increasing productivity. Specific objective 4 boosts the activities of the private sector and creation of local markets. Specific objective 5 focuses on improving performance of governmental directorates’ functioning in this sector.

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Strategic objective 2: Enabling environment for economic development Programme 9: Strengthen the agriculture sector Specific objective 1: Irrigation capacity increased, suspended projects completed Activity Project type Project name Short description 1 Research and Preparation of irrigation  Analyse the status of suspended irrigation projects and prioritise Study infrastructure interventions (projects under this activity should be for specific development programme irrigation projects).  Develop priority investment programme.  Develop work plans for suspended projects . 2 Technical/ Implement the irrigation  In cooperation with the Ministry of Water Resources, complete Investment infrastructure the necessary planning, secure the funding and build the development programme prioritised irrigation projects. Specific Objective 2: Modern irrigation methods in agriculture adopted Activity Project type Project name Short description 1 Research and Best practices in irrigation  Conduct research on the use of irrigation methods and techniques Study methods, techniques and most appropriate to the nature and quantities of water resources practices in Muthanna in Muthanna. Identify best practices for their implementation. In coordination of Al-Muthanna University. 2 Technical/ Piloting of projects using  Plan and implement pilot projects for use of the proposed Investment best-practice irrigation irrigation methods (above). methods Specific objective 3: Knowledge-based and technology-based agriculture promoted to increase agricultural and livestock production Activity Project type Project name Short description 1 Technical/ Grants programme for  Develop a grants programme for scientific/applied research and Investment scientific research and innovation - in order to activate the role of the university as a innovation application research centre to conduct research to address the problems of the agricultural sector, esp. soil and water issues, irrigation methods and salinity treatment problems. 2 Technical/ Experimental pilot farms  Develop or implement experimental pilot farms throughout the Investment governorate to carry out research activities focused on field testing of new varieties of agricultural crops and animal breeds. 3 Technical/ Promoting local  Create business plans for (indicative) for agricultural projects in Investment entrepreneurship in the course of university research in the field of animals/plants. agriculture by providing  Create model for projects, economic feasibility, methods of ready to implement management and marketing of the products and cadres required models for small private for them in addition to the production techniques. business in the area of  Provision of consultancy and support for agricultural agriculture entrepreneurs during their start (Business incubation services) 4 Capacity Development of labours  Train and develop the farmers experience on best approaches for building skills in agriculture sector efficient and sustainable agriculture  Train/develop workers in the field of livestock on the best innovative approaches on improving and increasing animal products 5 Research & Adopt programs to  Develop programs in increase numbers of livestock in the study increase livestock governorate and their promotion Specific objective 4: Industrial, commercial and investment projects developed based on agriculture sector outputs Activity Project type Project name Short description 1 Research and Investment map  Create an investment map of the sites of proposed agricultural Study projects in the field of agriculture and livestock in cooperation with investment board. 2 Technical/ Establishment of modern  In coordination involving municipal institutions, the private sector Investment markets for agricultural and the Investment Authority, establish modern markets for fruits produce and vegetables, equipped with refrigerated stores, logistics facilities and quality control services. 3 Research and Establishment of farmer  Support the establishment of farmer cooperatives to improve Study cooperatives production and marketing.  Identify best practices in the region; analyse the potential of existing structures. Elaboration of models. 4 Technical/ Database system for  Establishing a database system aimed to provide all information on Investment agricultural sector the agricultural sector – and thereby support decision-making regarding agriculture sector development.

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5 Technical/ Grains store in the desert  Establish a grains store (low costs) in the desert, or close to the investment desert to support agriculture, market farmers yield and reduce the sufferings of transporting the yield to the governorate center 6 Research & Develop feasibility studies  Develop feasibility study in cooperation with Muthana university study for industrial projects that and industry and commercial chambers based on the outputs of rely on agricultural and the agriculture sector livestock production Specific objective 5: Improved institutional performance of agriculture sector directorates Activity Project type Project name Short description 1 Research and Design training programs  Develop a training plan targets the improvement staff Study performance and enhance their technical and functional knowledge 2 Capacity Development of working  Introduction of systems and advanced technological programs on building & methods methods of tasks implementation and training of staff on them, institutional specifically methods of follow-up, planning, statistical surveys of development agriculture sector resources

10. Programme 10: Develop the tourism sector

Rationale

The tourism sector stands to play a major role in supporting the local economy and jobs creation in Muthanna Governorate. While a number of sites present excellent potential for tourism, the tourism sector here is at an early stage of development.

Development of the sector requires strengthening public-private sector partnerships and making them more effective – by setting ambitious sector growth targets and identifying specific activities for implementation in order to: optimise the contribution of the tourism sector to economic, social and cultural development; the success of tourism institutions; and the preservation of cultural heritage and archaeological sites. Finally, such activities would allow Muthanna to take a place on the national and international map as a distinct tourist destination.

Critical strategic issues . Lack of bodies and mechanisms to promote the tourism sector in the governorate . Weak tourism services in the governorate . Lack of human capital in the governorate on the hospitality side or in the field of archaeology . Low awareness regarding the opportunities in and value of tourism among citizens of the governorate . Poor protection – and therefore illegal digging/pillaging and destruction – of archaeological sites . Lack of capacity in the excavation, conservation and exhibiting of archaeological remains.

Vision

Contributions from sustainable tourism support the local economy.

Specific objectives:

 Specific objective 1: Muthanna promoted to the level of tourist destination of interest to both visitors and investors  Specific objective 2: Qualified workforce developed in tourism and hospitality  Specific objective 3: Tourism awareness promoted in society.

Specific objective 1 centres on overcoming the lack of bodies and mechanisms to promote the tourism sector in the province, incl. weakness of tourist services; it also responds to the lack of adequate protection for archaeological sites and the lack of capacity in the excavation, conservation and exhibiting of archaeological remains. Specific objective 2 responds to the need for human resource development in the sector. Specific objective 3 responds to the low public awareness of tourism as a viable economic alternative.

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Strategic objective 2: Enabling environment for economic development Programme 10: Develop the tourism sector Specific objective1: Muthanna promoted to the level of tourist destination of interest to both visitors and investors Activity Project type Project name Short description 1 Research and Establishment of Local  Establish a local body, which will be responsible for developing Study, Capacity Council on tourism and implementing the work plan and tasks for development of building & the tourism sector. institutional development 2 Research and Elaboration of  Elaborate a programme for cooperation with the Investment Study programme for Authority in the presentation of tourism opportunities in the cooperation with the governorate – to help boost sector investments and strengthen Investment Authority partnerships with the private sector. 3 Research and Tourist map of the  Create a tourist map of the governorate – including tourist Study Governorate attractions and facilities, archaeological and heritage sites, recreational and sports areas, and local product markets (handicrafts as well as fruits and vegetables).  The map should be an interactive online tool, which allows print of map on paper. 4 Technical/ Building of local crafts  Build modern marketplaces equipped with logistics facilities for Investment markets and tourist sites local craftsmen at tourist sites – in coordination between municipalities, the private sector, and the Investment Authority and/or the new Local Council on tourism. 5 Awareness Programme of events to  In cooperation with governorate institutions and the private promote tourism in the sector, develop and implement a programme of exhibitions, fairs Governorate and sports events that serves to promote tourism opportunities in Muthanna. 6 Technical/ Modernisation of  Develop and implement a programme to modernise Muthanna Investment Muthanna Museum and Museum (Samawah) and to develop its services, incl. develop its its services online presentation and interactive and media products. 7 Awareness Including local  In coordination with the relevant authorities and tourist attractions in the routes companies, include tourism and archaeological areas in the for regional tourism governorate as stops in the routes promoted to foreign visitors, with specific attention to religious tourism in Iraq and entrants from the ports in Basra. 8 Research and Modernising the  In coordination with Al-Muthanna University, conduct research Study conservation and on the modern techniques for conservation and exhibition of exhibition of archaeological sites in the Governorate and analysis of best archaeological sites practices for their implementation. 9 Technical/ Improved access to  Develop and implement a programme for improving the access Investment archaeological sites and to archaeological sites and tourism places, incl. organised visits. tourism places programme 10 Awareness Measures to promote  Invite diplomatic missions operating in Iraq to organise visits to tourism opportunities tourist and archaeological sites in the governorate, in abroad coordination with companies and tourist offices.  In coordination with foreign universities and through diplomatic missions operating in Iraq, organise scientific and tourist visits to sites in the governorate for students in history and archaeology.  Elaborate relevant information materials, incl. newsletter. Specific objective 2: Qualified workforce developed in tourism and hospitality Activity Project type Project name Short description 1 Capacity Enhanced capabilities in  Develop and organise training courses for administrators and building & tourism planning local officials in the field of tourism – members of the newly institutional established Local Council on tourism and supporting development, administration. Human resources 2 Capacity Attracting young people  With support from local business, implement an awareness building & to vocational schools in campaign to attract young people to vocational schools in the institutional the tourism sector tourism sector

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development, Human resources 3 Capacity Developing the skills of  Hold high-level workshops and training courses to develop the building & workers in tourism skills of workers in tourism – incl. compliance with the codes of institutional conduct and ethics of the UNWTO – using competent trainers development, and in cooperation with CSOs and interested parties. Human Resources Specific objective 3: Tourism awareness promoted in society Activity Project type Project name Short description 1 Awareness Raising citizen tourism  In cooperation with CSOs and interested parties, organise awareness seminars to raise awareness among citizens on tourism and on how to deal with local and foreign tourists. 2 Awareness Promoting the benefits  Plan, organise and conduct an information campaign among the of tourism development population on the benefits of tourism development.  Organise school trips for students of schools and universities to promote awareness of the tourist landmarks of the governorate.

11. Programme 11: Improve health services quality and access planning

Rationale

Health care services should be comprehensive, integrated and high quality, distributed in a balanced manner between the regions of the province, and cover all members of society and its categories. It is necessary that health services managed and supervised by competent and efficient health institutions, and focus on prevention and quality of services to improve the health and quality of life of citizens .

Health institutions in the governorate should pay attention to the health services they provide, their organisational status, their human resources manpower – in terms of structure, tasks, duties, qualifications or competencies as commensurate with the job requirements.

As in all of Iraq, the health service system in Muthanna is based predominantly in public hospitals and health centers. The contribution of the private sector was limited to small hospitals spread in a number of Iraqi provinces. There are also private clinics that provide services at relatively high costs, which put pressure on the public health institutions. Hence, this required the State to allocate large amounts for health services and as mandated by legislative frameworks, to ensure the health rights of members of society.

As in all of Iraq, the health service system in Muthanna is based predominantly in public hospitals. The contribution of the private sector is limited to a small number of hospitals that provide services at relatively high costs. This puts pressure on institutions, as the state should monitor the large amounts of health services provided by the state through legislative frameworks to ensure the health rights of the members of society.

Critical strategic issues: . Poor coordination between the public and private sectors . Weak infrastructure and low number of healthcare centres in rural areas . Need of modernisation of some legislation . Delays in the health insurance system . Need for promoting healthy lifestyles . Lack of IT system and database specifically for monitoring in the sector.

Vision

A society that is healthy physically, psychologically and socially.

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Specific objectives:

. Specific objective 1: Improved quality and coverage of health services . Specific objective 2: Improved prevention . Specific objective 3: Research, information and technology base of health service strengthened.

Specific objective 1 responds to the imbalanced healthcare infrastructure, the need for planning skills, and the poor coordination between the public and private service provision. Specific objective 2 is entirely aimed at prevention promotion. Specific objective 3 is aimed at overcoming the lack of IT base in the sector and increasing the link between health service provision and medical/scientific research and scientific/technological developments in the field of health.

Strategic objective 3: Developed social services to support socially disadvantaged groups Programme 11: Improve health services quality and access planning Specific objective1: Improved quality and coverage of health services Activity Project type Project name Short description 1 Research and Preparation of health  Elaborate an updated map of healthcare infrastructure Study infrastructure  Prioritise areas for infrastructure investment. development programme 2 Research and Preparation of private  Elaborate a programme for coordination of the provision of Study provider coordination health services from the private sector. programme 3 Technical/ Monitoring system for  Develop and establish an effective monitoring system to Investment health service provision monitor the volume and efficiency of service provision – to track preventative care, diagnostic and therapeutic services, operations, emergency care, medical supplies, etc.. 4 Technical/ Investment programme  Implement an investment programme for building new Investment to increase and upgrade healthcare centres, in particular in rural areas, and healthcare centres rehabilitation and upgrading of existing centres. 5 Technical/ Health information  Strengthen the administration of health service provision – Investment technology programmes by implementing relevant IT programmes, e.g. to communicate information from primary and secondary healthcare centres to pharmaceuticals and medical supplies, to maintain patient records, to maintain records of maternal and child morbidity and mortality data, etc. 6 Capacity building Enhancing capacities in  Development and organisation of training courses for and institutional health service planning healthcare administrators in the fields of healthcare planning development Human Resources 7 Capacity building Adopt methods for  Use of customers’ satisfactions forms for the health services and institutional performance provided to improve performance and services in addition to development improvement evaluation of their returns. Also, setting this process as a work methodology followed in all over Iraq 8 Legislations Development of  Outline legislations to develop management systems and administration and operations, such as the possibility of using the health centers operation systems in the and their services by the private sector at certain times while health facilities sharing their revenues in line with the nature of these services to achieve competent management and services. 9 Technical/ Activate the health  Initiate activation of health insurance system through Investment insurance system to including the employees from some directorates of the enhance prevention and governorate in the health insurance system to promote the improve levels of services society culture in applying the insurance systems to strengthen the health prevention and improve levels of health services through the principle of competition in service providing by the private and public health services sectors. 10 Research & study Effective system to  Development of effective system to enhance the health enhance the revenues institutions revenues to secure sustainable health services and their improvement

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Specific objective 2: Improved prevention Activity Project type Project name Short description 1 Technical/ Expanding of vaccination  Implement a programme for increased vaccine coverage. Investment programmes  Perform screening of employees and ensure their safety from communicable diseases.  Linking supporting technology to the process of prevention 2 Awareness Promoting the benefits of  Plan, organise and conduct an information campaign among vaccination the population on the benefits of vaccination programmes. 3 Awareness Promoting preventative  Public awareness programmes on hygiene, WASH, etc. healthcare through  Awareness campaigns to prevent blood transferred diseases awareness and education  Awareness raising to reduce child mortality rates. 4 Research & study Develop the mechanism  Develop mechanisms and procedures to emphasize on of medical waste following a strict procedures on handling of medical waste management 5 Research & study Epidemic preventive  Design and execution of preventive system to monitor monitoring system epidemics by using information technology and advanced programs on preventive monitoring of epidemics and early warning Specific objective 3: Research, information and technology base of health service strengthened Activity Project type Project name Short description 1 Research and Survey assessment of  Assess the needs of the population by socio-economic Study needs surveys 2 Technical/ Health clinics database  Build a health database system to track the coverage of Investment health clinics 3 Research and Promoting research and  Promote the participation of Al-Muthanna University in Study studies in community research and studies that promote community health. health 4 Technical/ Establish health  Linking of all health sectors and facilities in the governorate investment information network with the information network to apply the medicine system center and sharing it with the private sector  Accurate and easily exchanged information between all different systems by using specific models such as the smart health card within the health information system at the level of the governorate

12. Programme 12: Improve social protection

Rationale

Reflecting on the social situation in the country in general and in Muthanna in particular, it is clear that the groups that need social attention are many. Although a number of policies and programmes have been implemented to reform the social protection system in the country, the effect on the population is limited and the majority of Muthanna’s population live in poverty. Prioritising social protection in the development of Muthanna is expected to contribute directly to improving the living conditions of the thousands of vulnerable families and individuals, and thus, to support social stability and peace.

Critical strategic issues: . For vulnerable groups and poor families:  Weak institutional performance in supporting vulnerable groups – as reflected in the low degree of effectiveness of programmes and initiatives in effectively helping vulnerable groups to respond to socio-economic challenges;  Lack of an overall vision to promote social integration – and instead, dependency on (mostly) partial social policies and procedures;  Lack of coordination and integration between actors in the social sector and between the public and the private sectors; . For youth:  Lack of a comprehensive national policy for youth – resulting in insufficient positive impact of services provided to young people;

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 Weak performance and experience of specialised staff in the technical and administrative management of youth institutions;  Relative shortage of some sports and recreational facilities for young people; . For women:  High illiteracy and low education enrolment rates for women, especially in rural areas;  Lack of awareness of women’s rights;  Discrimination against women is a deeply influential cultural factor;  Weak role of women in economic activity – linked to the prevailing social culture in families, which affects negatively the professional status of women.

Vision

A cohesive, secure and stable society based on effective institutions and on the values of self-realisation, participation, inclusion and social responsibility, where vulnerable groups enjoy protection and justice.

Strategic objectives

. Specific objective 1: Family and community environment conducive to the integration of vulnerable groups . Specific objective 2: Social protection programme developed . Specific objective 3: Social integration and improved participation of young people . Specific objective 4: Qualitative change in the dominant culture of gender discrimination.

The attainment of Specific objective 1 will contribute to overcoming of identified gaps and to meeting the needs of vulnerable groups. Specific objective 2 is entirely aimed at reform and development of social protection. Specific objective 3 is aimed at inclusion of youth in community life. Specific objective 4 targets the need to reduce gender discrimination.

Strategic objective 3: Developed social services to support socially disadvantaged groups Programme 12: Improve social protection Specific objective1: Family and community environment conducive to the integration of vulnerable groups Activity Project type Project name Short description 1 Awareness Promoting the importance  Plan, organise and carry out a public information campaign to of social work and volunteer promote awareness of the importance of social and volunteer work work at the levels of individual and community. 2 Awareness Building partnerships to  Organise a series of seminars and information meetings for support and expand social CSOs and the private sector in view of building partnerships to protection delivery support the delivery and expand the scope of social protection services 3 Awareness Awareness raising on the  Plan, organise and carry out an information campaign – incl. roles and shared implement specific programmes – to raise awareness about the responsibilities within a roles and shared responsibilities within the institution of marriage marriage. Specific objective 2: Social protection programme developed Activity Project type Project name Short description 1 Research and Development of criteria for  Develop clear and fair targeting criteria for categories of Study access of vulnerable groups vulnerable groups with respect to access to specific social to social protection protection measures.  Accurately identify priorities and categories that should receive care and support (e.g. female heads of household, disabled).  Continuously update the targeting mechanisms. 2 Research and Preparation of integrated  Prepare an integrated programme for support to vulnerable Study programme for support to groups, which links the system of social protection, loan vulnerable groups protection to poor families, consulting services, measures to get out of poverty and temporary unemployment, measures to stimulate economic activity.  Develop consultancy to support borrowers and small projects. 3 Human Building of planning  Develop and organise training courses for relevant Resources, capabilities in the area of administration staff on planning in the area of social protection.

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Capacity social protection building & institutional development 4 Technical/ Improved quality of  Improve the quality of child care services, esp. in care Investment childcare services institutions and rehabilitation centres, and home education for children. 5 Research and Development of financial  Apply conditional cash support system focused on certain target Study programme for target actions, based on identified priority sectors and target strategic actions economic activities. Specific objective 3: Social integration and improved participation of young people Activity Project type Project name Short description 1 Awareness Youth skills development  Implement a number of seminars annually to support skills programme development among youth, with focus on their roles in the process of comprehensive development of the community. 2 Awareness Promoting healthy lifestyles  Plan, organise and carry out an information campaign among among youth young people to promote health-conscious life choices (on e.g. sanitation/microbes, food nutrition, exercise, etc.) 3 Awareness Promoting the importance  Plan, organise and carry out an information campaign among of education and drug the population, especially young people, to promote awareness prevention among youth of the importance of education and drug prevention. 4 Technical/ Improving the sports and  Build new and rehabilitate existing sports and cultural centres Investment cultural centres network for work with young people. Specific objective 4: Qualitative change in the dominant culture of gender discrimination Activity Project type Project name Short description 1 Legislation Fostering women’s  Draft regulatory changes toward involvement of women in all participation in government bodies and permanent and temporary committees of government. 2 Awareness Promoting women’s rights  Plan, organise and carry out an information campaign to raise awareness of the importance of the role of women. 3 Research and Promoting women's  Prepare a 5-year programme to encourage women's initiatives Study initiatives 4 Research and Development of financial  Increase the amount of loans made to empower women and Study programme for target strengthen their economic role. actions aimed at women

13. Programme 13: Improve education quality and access

Rationale

Improving the performance and services of the educational system depends on the improvement of all its parts and stages. Effective education must be multi-channel, lifelong, and learner-centered for continuous self- development. The plan was based on the use and adoption of the scientific method to improve and develop the components of the education system in its various stages. Education is to be guide as a unified system so that all elements of the educational process are of equal importance and priority such as school building, administrative and teaching staff, educational environment and efficiency of the educational system. In total, the elements focus on improvement of services provided to the learner to ensure continues learning in the best possible manner.

It is possible to develop and improve the educational and teaching services for the various stages of education through the equitable distribution of educational and teaching services throughout the governorate and to develop an action plan to implement the short and long-term solutions mentioned in the above plan, as well as the emphasis on the importance of the school. Parents need to be encouraged to fulfil their obligations and responsibilities by sending their children to school while activation of compulsory education. It is necessary to work to provide an education seat for all the students by giving the construction of schools a priority, equipping them with necessary health and psychological requirements as well as advanced curricula to be a healthy conducive environment to the children and students. Furthermore, it is required to create an encouraging environment to private schools to compete with the public education while attending to its quality.

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Education is an important axis of socio-economic development. It stands to produce the educated and specialised workforce who can influence the development of the Governorate and take responsibility for it.

In both Iraq and Muthanna, education provision presents an integrated system aimed at the student as its outcome. Improving the performance of the system depends on improvement of all its different parts. In other words, effective education must be multi-channel, life long, learner centred, and based on the learner's capacity for continuous self-development. Improving education provision requires to apply the scientific method (1) to improve the components of the system at its various stages, and (2) to guide education provision as a unified process – so that all its elements are of equal importance: e.g. school buildings, school administrations, education providers, teachers, teaching aids, learning environment, and overall efficiency of education provision. Education provision should focus on the learner and provide life-long learning opportunities, while ensuring the best possible educational base.

Notably, the education sector in Muthanna is one of the largest in the Governorate. School staff and students comprise more than 30% of all residents of the Governorate. The sector employs more than 14 000 people (including staff, teachers, supervisors, etc.); and the total number of students is more than 240 000.

Critical strategic issues: . High share of illiterate persons – almost 32% among those aged 10 years and above, much higher than the country average (11%). The share of people who can read and write but have no completed educational level is also higher than the country average; . School buildings are insufficient in number and many are in a rather poor condition; . An increasing student-to-teacher ratio – there is need to set standards for schools, such as a standard number of children per teacher, a standard number of students in a class, etc.; . There is a shortage of specialised teachers, particularly in English and Mathematics; . Motivation for enrolment in vocational schools is very low; . Weak ICT infrastructure and knowledge technology; . Lack of services (esp. water, electricity, roads for some schools) and lack of access to some rural schools . Growth rates in education infrastructure and its requirements, and staff employment rates are not match with the demand rate on education services due to annual population growth of the governorate . Visible poor distribution of teaching staff that was indicated based on the different rates of students per teacher in the different administrative units . Weak planning that led to bad distribution of resources with visible discrepancies in distribution of schools buildings in the governorate indicated through student per class indicator.

Vision

Educational opportunities are afforded to all; quality education promotes scientific thought, creativity and values to prepare an educated and conscious generation.

The future of Iraq depends on securing a safe and healthy environment for learning, personal development and free thinking, and for acquiring the knowledge and willingness required to take on responsibility, work, respect the law, and value diversity, cooperation and solidarity with others. In Muthanna, the Governorate, Governorate Council and other institutions are committed to providing a place at school for every child and student – including, for the first time, schools that are built to meet all health and psychological needs, offer advanced approaches, and secure a learning environment that is attractive to learners.

Successful improvement of education services at the various stages of education also, importantly, requires equitable distribution of education services throughout the governorate, as well as public awareness – especially among parents – of importance of education and parents’ obligations and responsibilities in this regard. Efforts should also focus on facilitating a competitive environment for non-government education provision. Thus, the first steps to improved education sector in Muthanna are (1) increasing the competency and availability of teaching staff, and (2) improving the quality of education service provision.

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Specific objectives:

In light of the critical financial conditions in Iraq, and given the continuous increase in school enrolment and the school building deficit, the specific objectives for developing the education sector are as follows:

. Specific objective 1: Continued provision of education services and closing of gaps . Specific objective 2: Improved school and scientific environment, educational outputs in-line with the subsequent education, student participation, and human resource capacity.

The attainment of Specific objective 1 will contribute to the overcoming the lack of school buildings or their poor condition. Standards for the primary schools will be developed. The provision of basic public services in school areas will be planned and coordinated. The goal will contribute directly to the inclusion of a larger number of children in the education system and a reduction in the share of illiterates.

The attainment of Specific objective 2 will provide for a school environment that attracts more children and young people to schools, incl. vocational schools. The need for teachers in specific subjects and in rural areas will be met, and the opportunity to apply modern training methods will be provided.

Strategic objective 3: Developed social services to support socially disadvantaged groups Programme 11: Improve education quality and access Specific objective1: Continued provision of education services and closing of gaps Activity Project type Project name Short description 1 Research and Preparation of education  Develop a program to identify shortage from schools buildings Study infrastructure development in every administrative unit according to the education programme standards and identification of priorities  Identify priority school buildings where (1) works completion is at 85% and above, and (2) there is no lack in public services.  Study the opportunities to develop PPPs to complete these works for unfinished school building with 60% or more completion rate.  Study the opportunities to develop PPPs for work completion for unfinished school building with 60% or more completion rate.  Study the possibility to use non utilized governmental buildings to overcome the land shortage  elaborate an investment programme for works completion  Identify possibilities to use the land of old security buildings to build educational complexes – to overcome the land shortage.  Identify needs for school equipment (furniture, software, etc., and ensure necessary funding. 2 Research and Development of standards  Develop standards for primary schools, such as a standard Study for primary schools number of children per teacher or students per class, etc., and work on their implementation. 3 Research and Coordinating public service  Elaborate a programme for coordination of the provision of Study provision in school areas basic public services in the area of schools (electricity, water, legislations Binding legislations to roads, waste collection, etc.) achieve the standards  Passing of legislations that aim at applying the education standards, and fair distribution of infrastructure and educational staff 4 Research and Engaging the private sector  Develop a programme for outsourcing of schools maintenance Study schools maintenance to the private sector. Provision of public services  Develop a programme to coordinate provision of public services in schools in schools such as water, electricity, roads, collection of waste, etc. 5 Research & Investment programme for  Develop and implement an investment programme for study school building works completion of unfinished school buildings. completion  Develop a programme for outsourcing of schools maintenance Engagement of private to the private sector. sector in school maintenance

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6 Technical/ Establishment of centres for  Establish at technical schools maintenance workshops to repair Investment school equipment repair furniture and school equipment, equipped with requisite Investment program to equipment and supplies. continue building of the  Develop and execute an investment program to continue the schools buildings building of unfinished schools. 7 Technical/ Establishment of centres for  Establish at technical schools maintenance workshops to repair investment school equipment repair furniture and school equipment, equipped with requisite equipment and supplies. 8 Awareness Encouraging community  Develop a plan and implement an initiative for volunteer initiatives in school participation of parents and/or teachers in school rehabilitation rehabilitation – with support from international humanitarian organisations. Specific objective 2: Improved school and scientific environment, educational outputs in-line with the subsequent education, student participation, and human resource capacity Activity Project type Project name Short description 1 Technical/ Programme for increased  Develop and implement a programme for increased Investment extracurricular activities at extracurricular activities at schools, such as school trips, fests schools and exhibitions, painting of the walls and hallways with bright colours and attractive graphics, school garden. 2 Technical/ Introducing modern  Prepare schools – in terms of planning and equipment – for the Investment teaching methods, incl. IT implementation of modern teaching methods with help of Capacity information technologies. building & institutional development 3 Awareness Promoting the benefits of  Plan, organise and carry out an information campaign among education the population on the benefits of education with focus of rural areas to reduce dropouts from schools among girls, as well as reduction of dropouts in high school education. 4 Human Teacher development  Elaborate teacher development courses – in particular in English resources courses and Mathematics with focus on rural areas. Capacity  Collaboration with universities to develop joint programs for building & training of staff institutional development 5 Awareness Promoting vocational  Plan, organise and carry out an awareness campaign with education among youth business support to attract young people to vocational schools. 6 Human Training of staff in planning,  Develop and implement staff training program on planning, resources administration and IT administration and IT Capacity  Provision of data management requirements and introduction building & of modern systems institutional development 7 Human Development of  Develop a programme to train teachers in rural areas – as part resources programme for teacher of effort to encourage students to remain in secondary Capacity training in rural areas education (reduce drop-out rate). building & Introduction of modern  Design and execution of modern technological schools institutional technological programs to management programs, provision of their requirements with development facilitate management of the assistance of international organizations to control students’ schools and exchange of data and education staff, facilitate exchange of data with the data administration of education sector and offer training to administrations on operating them.

14. Programme 14: Improve higher education quality and develop its outputs

Rationale

There is no doubt that the education sector aims to build a technical scientific nucleus capable of development, creativity, and access to theoretical and technical education of high quality that enables it to prepare practical human cadres that meet the current and future needs of the society and enjoy competitiveness at the local and national levels. It is important to encourage scientific research and support, improve its level and link it to

94 LADP in Iraq – Muthanna PDS inclusive development goals. The University of Muthanna has become a major center for research, a scientific source for the development and building of human resources in the province. The provision of effective higher education is a prerequisite for the development of investment and industry. The higher education should fulfil the international standards and labour market requirements.

While they graduate the workforce with higher degrees in technical and academic fields, Higher Education (HE) institutions are responsible for graduating the leaders and innovators in all sectors of socio-economic life, as well as the educated workforce and experts who are able to lead and manage state institutions and public administrations toward sustainable, inclusive and equitable development of both Iraq and Muthanna. Further, targeted scientific and applied research as universities is uniquely positioned to support the formulation and implementation of policies and strategic development plans in the country. Finally, effective higher education provision is a prerequisite to investment and industry development, while it meets international standards and the requirements of the labour market.

Critical strategic issues:

 Weak education outcomes and scientific research outputs  Lack of financial allocation to improve learning environments and for scientific research  Lack of effective data management, which promotes lacks/inefficiencies and prevents expansion.

Vision

High-quality technical and academic education capable of graduating qualified and specialised cadres who meet the needs of the current and future society toward sustainable economic and social development.

General principles for developing the higher education sector:

 Develop qualified cadres in different academic and technical specialisations that meet the social and labour market requirements;  Provide the academic, psychological and social environment that supports creativity, excellence, innovation and talent development;  Develop command of the English language for students in their fields of specialisation;  Provide students with appropriate skills to use technology in their fields of specialisation;  Encourage scientific research and raise its level, especially regarding applied research that serves society and development;  Build a technical scientific nucleus capable of innovation and creativity;  Integrate the concept of citizenship in the education process – to help move away from radicalism;  Establish institutional links of HE institutions with the public and private sectors – so that the development of these sectors may benefit from the qualified capacities in HE institutions through consulting services and applied research;  Develop technical and scientific cooperation in the field of higher education and scientific research with international organisations and institutions – by e.g. bringing in international faculty for new/specialised courses – to keep abreast with contemporary global trends in higher education and research.

MoHESR has been keen to develop its strategic plans, to review the reports of the implementation of national initiatives and the national strategy for development of the HE sector, and to evaluate the implementation of these strategies and the development of the necessary operational plans. Under Government supervision, and while ensuring compatibility with national goals, the following two goals for the HE sector in Muthanna have been articulated: 1. Ensure access to high-quality academic and technical education that enables the preparation of human resources that meet the current and future needs of society and that are competitive at the local and national levels; 2. Encourage scientific research and raise its level, while linking it to the goals of comprehensive development; make Al-Muthanna University a centre for scientific and applied research, and a centre for human resource capacity development in Muthanna.

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Specific objectives: . Specific objective 1: Efficient and competitive education outcomes . Specific objective 2: Level of scientific and applied research raised . Specific objective 3: Support to implementation of e-Government programme.

Attainment of Specific objective 1 will contribute to improving the education outcomes and the educational base (learning environment). Specific objective 2 is aimed at improving the quality of research – specifically, at developing applied research. Specific objective 3 responds to the need for better data management (and thereby higher efficiency) in HE administration (and public administration as a whole).

Strategic objective 3: Developed social services to support socially disadvantaged groups Programme 14: Improve higher education quality and develop its outputs Specific objective 1: Efficient and competitive education outcomes Activity Project type Project name Short description 1 Research and Improving the quality of  Develop quality training programmes for students and Study training programmes at graduates of local institutions in the public sector based on best local public sector practice, performance indicators, processes and outcomes. institutions 2 Research and Boosting innovation and  Provide access to students and faculty to research laboratories Study initiative and projects, including through information technology (IT).  Expand options for students and faculty to access and use IT for study and research purposes. 3 Technical/ Enhance opportunities for  Facilitate and encourage private sector participation in (the Investment private sector participation development of) the education process, including through improving the environment for private sector participation.  Develop relevant practical skills training for staff. Specific objective 2: Level of scientific and applied research raised Activity Project type Project name Short description 1 Research and Identification of sector  In cooperation with public and non-government stakeholders, Study problems and solutions develop a programme for overcoming the main gaps in the sector, incl. the need of lecturers . 2 Technical/ Identification of relevant  Work with global publishing programmes to identify relevant Investment scientific and applied scientific and applied research fields. research 3 Technical/ Establishing centres of  Determine the centres and establish new centres of study and Investment excellence at Al-Muthanna research within Al-Muthanna University that are linked to the University comprehensive development strategy for Muthanna Governorate. 4 Research & Establish centre of technical  Establish a centre that focuses on distinguished technical Study innovation in technical activities and support. institute of Samawah Specific objective 3: Support to implementation of e-Government programme Activity Project type Project name Short description 1 Human Development of local  The development of local cadres supported to facilitate e- Resources cadres to support e- Government programme implementation. Capacity Government programme building & implementation institutional development 2 Technical/ Automation of data and  Purchase equipment and train staff as required for automated Investment information data processing.

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15. Programme 15: Strengthen good governance

Rationale

“Good governance” refers to the “competence and responsibility in the management of government institutions (public administration) to respond to the needs and development of societies through decision-making” (UNDP). According to UNDP, good governance is based on participation, transparency, accountability and efficiency in the optimum best use of resources. In addition to the rules of justice and fairness, it enhances the rule of law. The UNDP articulates nine attributes of good governance grouped in five broad principles: participation, rule of law, transparency, responsiveness, consensus-orientation (legitimacy and voice); equity, effectiveness, efficiency, strategic vision (direction); responsiveness, efficiency and effectiveness (performance); accountability and transparency (accountability); equity and rule of law (fairness). Inclusion, rule of law, transparency, response, guidance towards consensus building, equity, efficiency, accountability, and strategic vision.8 “Legitimacy and voice” and “fairness” correspond directly to UN principles of human rights. These attributes have to be taken concurrently and in parallel to achieve the aspired goal. Under the model of good governance, "the goal is to stimulate the potentials of individuals by enabling them to change their lives through a better government, not through a government that is less worthy or in other words a government that focuses on providing favorable environment to enable others to become producers rather than doing everything by itself.” The implementation of the principles of good governance directly affects development, stimulating investment and private sector development and vice versa. According to the World Bank, "the impact of the absence of good governance is not limited to the negative impact on the performance of the government sector but it reaches the private sector, because government administration contributes to the formulation and implementation of policies. These policies in turn determine the existence of a sound business environment and attractive investment or not” . According to the World Bank, good governance involves six aspects: voice and accountability; political stability and the absence of violence; government effectiveness; regulatory quality; rule of law; and control of corruption. . Good governance is seen as essential for the realisation of all human rights, including the elimination of poverty.9 The implementation of the principles of good governance directly affects development, stimulating investment and private sector development. While governance contributes to the formulation and implementation of policies, the absence of good governance is not limited to negative effects on public sector performance, but rather, it also undermines the existence of sound business environment and attractive investment climate.

Critical strategic issues:

While Muthanna Governorate is currently undergoing a decentralisation process, good governance has emerged as a distinct horizontal priority area. Indeed, almost all other priority areas (discussed above) present critical strategic issues related to good governance, namely: . Improving the performance of the administration, in terms of both (1) the division of functions between central and local government, and (2) the improvement of legislation; . Improving the main elements of public governance – development of strategic and operational plans of departments, budgeting, effective and efficient management of human, technical and financial resources; . Fostering a culture of human rights protection.

Vision

Strong, efficient and transparent government institutions contribute directly to achieving all development goals of the Governorate.

8 UNDP (1997), Governance and Sustainable Human Development. 9 UN CESCR (1999), General Comment No. 12: The Right to Adequate Food (Art. 11).

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Specific objectives: . Specific objective 1: Administrative reform and institutional development of local government . Specific objective 2: Integrity, transparency and accountability promoted . Specific objective 3: Rule of law and a culture of human rights protection established.

Attainment of Specific objective 1 will contribute to improving the performance of the administration and the main elements of public governance. Specific objective 2 is entirely aimed at promoting integrity, transparency and accountability as basic principles of good governance. Specific objective 3 responds to the need to spread a culture of human rights protection.

Strategic objective 4: Good governance Programme 15: Strengthen good governance Specific objective1: Administrative reform and institutional development of local government Activity Project type Project name Short description 1 Research and Functional review  Perform functional review of the administrative structures of local study of the government to identify the needs for change in its organisational administrative structure – to allow better allocation of functions and provision of structures of local necessary resources. government  Establish a committee for periodic monitoring of the state of and need for change in the administrative structures of local government – comprised of representatives of Muthanna Governorate (Directorate of Financial and Administrative Affairs), Al-Muthanna University (Faculty of Law and Faculty of Management and Economics), and experts. 2 Legislation Elaboration of  Elaborate changes to existing legislation as necessary to allow the changes to required changes in the organisational structure of local government. existing legislation 3 Research and Implementation  Develop and implement a performance measurement system based on study of performance establishing links between goals set and their achievement by measurement administrations (institutional level) and staff (individual level). system  Develop job descriptions for staff that reflect administrative functions.  Develop annual HR plans that reflect administrative goals.  Develop a system of criteria for objective evaluation of staff performance. 4 Human Increasing staff  Build a system for employee motivation based on employee resources, motivation performance, including bonuses, opportunities for additional training, Capacity position rotation, etc. building and institutional development 5 Human Building HR  Elaborate annual staff training plans that reflect administrative and resources, capacity through individual needs, in cooperation with the Muthanna Training Centre of Capacity training the MoHCM and other bodies. building &  Prepare a Memorandum of Understanding Coordinate with Al- institutional Muthanna University to implement workshops, training courses and development specialised continuing education for staff of government departments.  Organise and conduct training courses and seminars for staff on the basis of the annual training plans. 6 Technical/ Establishing  Carry out a study and analysis of the opportunities and steps needed to investment governorate e- build an electronic government in the Governorate. Determine the government services to be made available electronically at the initial stage.  Build information registers for the needs of e-Government. 7 Capacity Establishment of Create a local institution in collaboration with Muthana University and building & local centre of training and consultation centres concerned with the following: institutional administrative  1. Design and implement training plans to all activities included in the development development and local development plan. information  2. Monitor and evaluate the performance level of the organizational technology structures of the local institutions and suggest updating.  3. Provide advice on job description and drafting of manuals of procedures for services provided by the local institutions.  4. Provide technical support in IT and develop working methods in governmental institutions by using modern programs.

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8 Capacity Establish an Create local institution concerned with establishment of data and link the building & information data between the institutions to support decision taking on different institutional centre and administrative levels, and undertake the following tasks: development support decision  1. Design and manage databases and IT to ensure flow of data between making the governmental institutions.  2. Support the governmental institutions with technological programs (software) and training of specialized staff on operating and managing them.  3. Supply the governmental institutions with periodic reports on most important performance indicators according to their specializations.  4. Conduct and apply scientific researches in cooperation with the research and education centers to develop e-government model. Specific objective 2: Integrity, transparency and accountability promoted Activity Project type Project name Short description 1 Legislation Access to public  Draft local legislation (rules and bylaws) that regulates the disclosure by information the local government of information and data of interest to citizens – to raise the level of transparency in government work. 2 Legislation Citizen participation  Elaborate local legislation to regulate the civil participation in and civil in decision making control over the decision-making process. Promote integrity &  Formulate a concept for the management and facilitation of public transparency consultations . 3 Awareness Promoting a culture  Develop and implement information campaign to promote a culture of of integrity and integrity and transparency of governance. transparency Specific objective 3: Rule of law and a culture of human rights protection established Activity Project type Project name Short description 1 Awareness Promoting human  Develop and implement information campaign aimed to disseminate rights and public among society a culture and practices that promote human rights and property help preserve public property. preservation among society 2 Awareness Promoting human  Develop and organise seminars and information campaigns for security rights in the work of agency representatives to promote respect for human rights in the security agencies implementation of their duties. 3 Awareness Promoting the rule  In cooperation with tribal and religious community leaders, develop and of law among tribal implement seminars and information campaigns to promote respect for and religious the rule of law. communities

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X. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PDS

1. Financial resources

The governorate financial resources are as follows: 1. Operational budget for local administration and directorates of the governorate. 2. Investment budget to provinces development program. 3. Investment budget for the ministries in the governorate 4. Grants and other programs as a strategy for poverty alleviation and social fund for development among others. All budgets provided above funded centrally by the Ministry of Finance.

Central funding happens in two ways: 1. Amounts transferred from the account of Ministry of Finance in the Central Bank to the directorates of the governorate. 2. Reverse the revenues levied inside the governorate as a funding to the local directorates budget by calculating them as transferred amounts from the Ministry of Finance.

The budgets are utilized as followed: . Establish service projects: . Income generating service projects: water treatment stations, sewage and electricity projects, etc. . Non-income generating projects: roads, schools, cleaning services, roads lighting, etc. . Establish productive projects such as production plants that are income generating obviously. . Administrations of directorates’ operations expenditures.

Therefore, in light of the general budget indicators and projections for the next three years at the very least, they tend to be budgets to pay the obligations as a result of the state's entry into high obligations resulting from previous contracts, war expenses and the large size of the state's professional staff.

Hence, the government plan will face the following alternatives to follow and has to bear in mind the following: 1. The situation is considered exceptional and requires decisions and exceptional administration approach. 2. Patience is required with regard to the results of the decisions taken.

Working according to a normal contexts and decisions, as if the country is in a good position will not lead to any result. Thus, this will lead to exacerbate the crises, increased volume of demand for services, high poverty and unemployment indicators, poor economic conditions throughout the province and finally the failure of the province administration.

Three options are identified.

Option 1: Reduce costs of services. Directing the service institutions to reduce services costs by the following methods:

 First: review costs of services and work on reducing them through:  Introduction of modern technology in all parts of services production  Reorganize of work and its approaches, as the focus will be on the analysis of the costs of services, making necessary modifications on the stages that affect clearly the increase of cost.  Second: Activate working in partnership with the private sector in provision of services to ensure the principle of (best services with lowest costs).

Option2: Increase local revenues. There are different methods to increase revenues:

. First approach: Activation of levy. This is possible through the following two methods:  Revisit the mechanisms and approaches of levy, and there are different options and tools that can be followed by the relevant directorates.  Resorting to the process of debts selling (meaning calculating the debt value on the residential neighborhood for example, and receiving the amount from an entity or a company in the private

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sector against deduction from the debt value, while the latest collects the debt from the citizens according to the specified amounts). . Second approach: revisit the services fees  It is noted that the price of selling services does not commensurate with the cost of production, which leads to the existence of real losses not shown by the financial statements of service organizations. However, this process is subject to the powers granted in this regard and they are limited now due to restricting them in the federal ministries, and hopefully to activate these powers in the event of completion of transfer of powers to governorates.  The option includes reviewing appraising of the properties of the state in proportion with the actual price of the rent.

Option 3: Activation partnership with the private sector. This option will support the previous two options in reduction of services costs and increase the revenues by establishing income-generating projects. This broad domain and new option need a bold decision and procedures, because it is the most effective key to implement services and improve economic indicators in the governorate. The governorate enters into partnership with the private sector to implement service or productive projects, based on certain percentages of profit, and according to the determined share to the governorate utilizing the authority granted.

Following the three above options, the projected results are as follows: 1. Activate levy by recreation of the society culture of payment of services fees, fees and taxes, by utilizing different approaches of collection. 2. Reduce the actual loses by imposing prices appropriate to the costs of provided services. 3. Reduce costs of services leading to increase of financial revenues of service directorates. 4. Contribution in investment sector development by entering into genuine partnerships with the private sector.

2. Implementation structures

Introduction

The governorate of Muthana faces several challenges and opportunities in this critical period. The local development plan will be the mean that will lead the governorate during the next five years guided by the structural plan of the governorate as a base for its elaboration.

Most drafted policies and strategies in this plan correspond with the inclusive vision of the structural plan for Muthan province, as it is one of the most important elements to the development of the governorate. To achieve these strategies and policies, we need to identify the implementation procedures, which encompass organizational, legal and financial aspects.

These procedures need to look forward if they are meant to be effective; in addition, they need to aim at creating a pioneering leadership that can maintain the necessary momentum to take Muthana governorate in the forefront of the important and influential governorates at the national level.

To achieve the identified objectives in the local development plan, it is necessary to have a sponsoring entity for implementation of the plan responsible of implementation, follow-up and monitoring process, as well as updating the plan according to emergencies and recent developments at the local level.

The implementation structures are as set by the structural plan of Muthana. It established a model for an administrative structure at the general directorate level commissioned with implementation processes of the structural plan, but not implemented for several organizational, administrative and legal reasons.

Implementation models:

To allocate a governmental body capable of addressing the challenges during the plan implementation period, and capable to implement effectively the local development plan of Muthana, it is necessary to find a body distinguished with the following elements: . Administrative and organizational structure enhances exercise of tasks; . Appropriate legal framework to achieve more effective implementation;

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. Capacity to allocate available funds to development programs and projects through multiple sources of funds; . Optimal management and effective use of resources.

On this basis, a model was selected to assume this responsibility during the period of implementation of the plan 2018-2022. The selection of Planning and Development council as a possible entity with the elements mentioned above to be responsible for implementing, flowing-up and updating the plan. The council enjoys a legal presence, and government orientation to activate the functions of the councils of planning and development in the governorate, as well as the harmonization of the council’s objectives with the objectives of the plan and its implementation steps.

The council of planning and development shall adopt the implementation of the local development plan by commissioning its members to relevant committees consistent with the thematic areas of the plan, and according to what the council agree to move forward through one of the following models of implementation:

Model 1: Forming committees according to the strategic objectives of the plan

Works will commence according to this model by distributing the activities among the committees inside the planning and development council depending on the strategic objectives of the plans and as follows:

1. The committee of public services and their improvement. The committee will exercise the implementation of the first strategic objective as follows:  The program for improvement of transportation system  The program for improvement of electric services  The program for improvement of water supply services  The program for improvement of the performance of the water and sanitation sector  The program for ensuring access to good municipal services  The program for ensuring access to appropriate housing 2. The committee of economic development. The committee will exercise the implementation of the second strategic objective as follows::  The program of development the investment climate  The program of increasing the contribution of the industrial sector in the process of development  The program of improving the economic performance of the agriculture sector  The program of activating the tourism sector 3. The committee of social services. The committee will exercise the implementation of the third strategic objective as follows:  The program for development of health services and increased access  The program for development of social protection approaches  The program to improve the quality of education and access  The program to improve the quality of Higher education and development of its outputs 4. The committee of good governance. The committee will exercise the implementation of the programs of the fourth strategic objective.

Model 2: Forming committees according to the types of programs listed in the plan

Working according to this model will be based on distribution of the work on committees inside the council of planning and development according to the types of programs and projects of the plan (201 programs). The projects are consolidated into groups according to type of project, and as follows:

1. Committee of research and studies: This committee is responsible to follow on implementation of the programs and projects listed in the development plan and they are close to (60) programs. These programs have common research nature aiming at developing the current situation, finding solutions to the problems of the sectors and improving services 2. Committee of capacity building and institutional development. This committee is responsible to follow on implementation of the programs and projects listed in the development plan and they are close to (45) programs. These programs have a common character aiming at improving the competency of the human resources of the institutions in the governorate leading to the higher performance institutions. 3. Committee of legislations. This committee is responsible to follow on implementation of the programs and projects listed in the development plan and they are close to (11) programs. These programs have a

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common character aiming at improving the legislative framework of the development processes to achieve the objectives of the project. 4. The committee of raising awareness. This committee is responsible to follow on implementation of the programs and projects listed in the development plan and they are close to (29) programs. These programs have a common character aiming at raising awareness of the community and enhance the community culture with regard to the objectives of the development plan. 5. The committee of the technical projects. This committee is responsible to follow on the implementation of the programs and projects listed in the development plan and they are close to (56) program. These programs have a common character aiming at implementation of investment projects through different funding sources that have positive outcomes in improving the local development indicators.

Model 3: Tasking the sectoral directorates to implement their plans after identification of the duties of each one of them

This model is based on tasking the sectoral directorates each according to its competence to implement the local development programs after sorting the responsibility of each sectoral directorate and their share from the programs and projects.

3. Follow-up and evaluation

The existence of follow up and Evaluation system is very important to the process of implementation of the development plan and updating. It represents the feedback that explains the outcomes of the implementation of the plan. The M&E outcomes represent the basis for updating the indicators and establishing the plans, or updating the current plan. Practicing the M&E will take place at two levels, as follows.

Level 1: Monitoring and Evaluation by the regulatory entities represented by the provincial council and its specialized committees. The council will task committees according to its bylaws to follow on the implementation of the plan and evaluate the levels of implementation according to a report issued for this purpose.

Level 2: Monitoring and Evaluation by the local government in the governorate. It will adopt a successful model of Monitoring and Evaluation that relies on achieving the requirements mentioned below to ensure the success of the follow-up system, as follows:

1. Nomination of an entity to do the Monitoring and Evaluation. The council of planning and development nominates a working team shouldered with the process of monitoring and evaluation of the development plan programs. It is preferred to task the participating parties in setting the plan to do this task because of their extensive knowledge with the objectives of the plan, and its indicators at the macro and micro levels, as well as diagnosis of the points of weakness in the plan and visualizing the future necessary measure to avoid them in the future. 2. Design the M&E and developing of follow-up models to the objectives and indicators of the plan. The M&E team will design a special system to M&E the outcomes of the plan implementation according to the indicators of the development sectors. This mission will focus on implementing the following procedures:  Design the operations maps models to the flow of information system related to the follow-up process;  Design the follow-up models to every indicator and identification of the responsible entities and their timelines;  Design of data collection models and extraction of indicators related to plan indicators and for every sector;  Design the final M&E reports and identification of timelines of every report and referring them to the committees of the council of planning and development for follow-up. 3. Recommending the necessary update to the plan according to the outcomes of the M&E, and laying the foundations to build the future plans.

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SOURCES

Statistical sources:

 Muthanna Governorate data – incl. Departments of Statistics, Education, Electricity, Health, etc.  COSIT  Ministry of Planning annual statistics  World Bank, World Development Indicators database

Main cited and consulted analyses/studies:

. Structur Plan of Muthanna Governorate . Reports of the sectoral directorates in the governorate . National Development Plan 2013 –2017 . JAU (2015), Missan Governorate Profile: http://www.jauiraq.org/documents/381/GP- Missan%202013.pdf. . NGO Consultation Committee for Iraq (Dec 2015), Muthanna Governorate Profile: https://www.ncciraq.org/images/infobygov/NCCI_Muthanna_Governorate_Profile.pdf. . UNDP (2014), Iraq Human Development Report 2014: http://www.iq.undp.org/content/dam/iraq/img/Publications/UNDP-IQ_IraqNHDR2014-English.pdf. . UNDP/UN-Habitat (22 Nov 2016), LADP Strategic Urban Development Framework for Governorates in Iraq: Indicator Technical Brief. . World Bank (2016), Doing business 2017: Equal Opportunity for All – Iraq: http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/168391478509657720/Doing-business-2017-equal-opportunity- for-all-Iraq. . World Bank (2017), “The World Bank in Iraq: Overview,” updated 01 Apr 2017: http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/iraq/overview. . World Bank (03 Feb 2017), Iraq: Systematic Country Diagnostic (Report No. 112333–IQ): http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/542811487277729890/pdf/IRAQ-SCD-FINAL-cleared- 02132017.pdf.

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