Iraq’s Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said Thursday it was imperative to trim the size of the government, the biggest in Iraq’s contemporary history. He also added that official graft must be seriously tackled, and called on parliament to expedite bills he said were lagging, and hampering his government’s work.
“Reducing the size of the government and all unnecessary positions has become an urgent need,” Maliki said in a televised address. “Changes also are necessary in the number of ministries,” he said, suggesting the 45 ministries now in government were too many. On February 27, Maliki had given all ministers a 100-day deadline to prove themselves, warning their work would be assessed during that period and “changes will be made.”
But the day before the deadline was set to expire, he indicated no top politicians would be dismissed for poor performance, insisting his remarks had been misunderstood.
