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Iraq PM accepts electricity minister's resignation
[June 23, 2010]
BAGHDAD (AP)
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Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki could pick a new electricity minister as early as Wednesday, his spokesman, Ali al-Dabbagh, told The Associated Press. Three other advisers said Al-Maliki signed off late Tuesday on the resignation offer of Electricity Minister Karim Waheed. The minister offered to step down on Monday. Besieged with summertime temperatures that have topped 120 degrees, tempers among Iraqis are rising over the government's failure to provide reliable electricity. Many Iraqis get fewer than six hours of electricity each day, despite billions of dollars that have been spent trying to fix the nation's power grid since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. That has prompted protests in Iraq's southern cities in recent days as citizens wilt under lengthy power and water outages. A weekend protest in the oil hub city of Basra turned deadly when two demonstrators were killed after security forces opened fire on the rowdy crowd. Al-Maliki has urged Iraqis to be patient, saying it will likely take up to two years for the electricity grid to be fixed. But the ministry overhaul signals his recognition that the power shortages cast doubt on his ability to run the country at a time when he is struggling to hold on to his job following inconclusive parliamentary elections in March. Al-Maliki has been in office since May 2006. Al-Dabbagh said Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani was a top contender to run the electricity ministry on a temporary basis until parliament selects a permanent replacement to Waheed. Parliament is next scheduled to meet on July 14. |
