Outdated industrial infrastructure, ghost employees hamper Iraq's economic growth, says MP

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraq's economic and industrial progress is being stifled by outdated infrastructure and a bloated public sector, according to Muwaffaq Hussein, a member of the Iraqi Parliament's Economic Committee.

Hussein pointed to the Ministry of Industry and Minerals as a prime example, stating its factories are antiquated, with the newest dating back to the 1980s. This, he argues, renders them unable to compete with imported goods.

"Improving Iraq's economy and industry requires genuine political will to solve the problems of the ministry, restructure it, and modernize factories," Hussein asserted.

He further highlighted concerns about the ministry's workforce, claiming that of its 106,000 employees, 66,000 are effectively "ghost employees" who do not work.

The issue of a bloated public sector extends beyond the Ministry of Industry and Minerals. The Iraqi Central Statistical Organization reports that the total number of public sector employees is 1.032 million.

Observers have noted this figure is excessively high compared to other countries in the region and have called for urgent action to address it.

The Ministry of Interior employs the largest number of public sector workers, with 556,000 on its payroll. This is attributed to the extraordinary security situation in Iraq in recent years.

Further exacerbating the situation, a study revealed that thousands of public sector employees are illiterate, and the proportion of women does not exceed 34 percent.

In addition to the 1.032 million public sector employees, Iraq also has approximately 310,000 troops, including 125,000 members of the Popular Mobilization Forces. This brings the total number of individuals employed by the state to around 1.7 million.