May 8th, 2003, 08:17 PM
Below I have pasted an interesting article from 4/29 on the status of Iraqi ministries.
Some note worthy points:
1. Apparently ALL Iraqi ministries have been ordered to continue "business as usual," and can only make changes with the permission of a "coalition provisional authority."
2. Apparently ORHA will be setting up a semi-permanent office within the Iraqi Oil Ministry.
3. Apparently Mazen Jumaa, former Deputy Minister over Oil, is now running the show (more on that to follow)
Copyright 2003 Energy Intelligence Group, Inc.
International Oil Daily
April 29, 2003
SECTION: FEATURE STORIES
LENGTH: 954 words
HEADLINE: US Asserts Authority at Iraqi Oil Ministry
BODY:
A senior US official from the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance (ORHA) made a first visit to the Iraqi oil ministry in Baghdad on Tuesday, delivering instructions from ORHA chief Jay Garner that the status quo be preserved at the ministry for the time being.
In the first meeting since the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime and the occupation of Iraq by US forces, ORHA senior oil adviser Gary Vogler delivered a letter from Garner to Mazen Jumaa. Jumaa was deputy oil minister under Saddam's oil minister, Amer Rashid, and is now the highest official at the ministry since Rashid's disappearance and his surrender to US forces on Monday.
The letter, a copy of which was seen by International Oil Daily, contains general instructions that apply to all ministries, are effective immediately, and are to remain in effect "until they are replaced by directives, regulations, or legislation of a democratically established institution of Iraq." "Do not substitute or change any minister, official, or any other employee within the ministry without specific approval of a coalition provisional authority," reads the first point in the letter.
"Do not accept directives from any other than a coalition provisional authority," states the second point.
"All ministers, officials, and employees should continue their normal daily activities and report daily to their places of work until told otherwise," says the last of the three instructions.
According to Jumaa, Vogler -- who was accompanied by an officer of the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) -- requested that a meeting be organized for next Saturday with the directors of the seven departments of the ministry as well as the directors of the 15 companies under the auspices of the oil ministry. "The American presence here is a de facto situation. But at least we know who we are dealing with now," Jumaa told Energy Intelligence after his meeting with Vogler.
To help him do his job of helping the Iraqi oil sector resume operations, Vogler asked that the ministry officials give him a list of their priorities, Jumaa said. "We told him that the main problem we face is the lack of security and the fact that anyone from any political party can walk in and ask that we deliver free gasoline," Jumaa said.
Other problems are related to the lack of communication within the oil sector and the lack of coordination with other public institutions and facilities, including power stations, as the telecommunication network has been down.
After meeting Jumaa, Vogler said, "One of the things we heard in various ministries is we need some type of formal documentation identifying people in positions."
Officers from USACE have been coordinating with North Oil Co. in Kirkuk and South Oil Co. in Basrah to bring oil production back at a limited rate to satisfy domestic needs. However, there was no word at Vogler's meeting with Jumaa on who defines oil policy and whether the US will have a role when it comes to policy issues.
Vogler did not mention the oil advisory board of Iraqis and Westerners, which is being set up by the Pentagon to oversee policy at the oil ministry and is expected to arrive in Baghdad this week. But a coordinator from ORHA might establish an office at the ministry. "He mentioned we might like them to be present at the ministry, and my expectation is that they will have an office here," Jumaa said.
The oil ministry will not have a new minister, however, until an interim Iraqi government is established. A meeting of about 300 representatives of different political, ethnic, and religious groups returning from exile and from inside Iraq on Monday debated the form and characteristics of the future interim authority, and agreed to meet again in four weeks to select one.
The oil ministry, the only public building protected by the US Army from torching -- though not from looting -- after the collapse of the Baath government, was the first to reopen its doors to some of the employees and to pay April salaries.
For three weeks, however, the ministry has been functioning with minimal resources and without clear direction or any assigned authorities. Hit by this void, an ad hoc task force, which was set up 10 days ago at the initiative of senior ministry officials to try to jumpstart refineries and coordinate the pumping of crude from Iraq's oil fields, has all but come to a standstill.
"The best thing is to sit and wait until we know who is going to run the ministry and who will have the authority to issue directives," one member of the task force told International Oil Daily this week.
Vogler's initial meeting came more than one week after he, Garner, and other ORHA staff made their way from Kuwait to Baghdad, and days after Garner and his coordinators started meeting with city officials to present the ORHA objectives.
Jumaa, who was appointed senior deputy oil minister in February after serving in the higher education sector for the last 20 years, says he's convinced the US will leave things largely in the hands of the Iraqis. "The Iraqi oil sector is more than 75 years old and it has its own system that is working. They will rely heavily on the Iraqis once they see their capabilities," he said.
Even when it comes to exporting Iraqi oil, he said, those who have been handling this for years under the State Oil Marketing Organization should continue to do it -- but not before a government is set up. "We are ready to export oil, and we know the world wants to buy our oil. But there is a policy issue here, and we have to wait until there is an Iraqi authority to define such policy. We will implement whatever politicians decide," Jumaa said.
Ruba Husari, Baghdad
LOAD-DATE: April 30, 2003
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"Patience. We'll find them once we crush those inf ... erm ... the oppostion forces who punish their gentle public so evilly." "What about other poor countries where that is the case?" "They don't have pet ... erm ... poisonous gases raining down on their people. Besides, we're fighting for the democracy of the people. That was our goal all along."
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