ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Inadequate security and stifling bureaucracy are preventing the return of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and flow of investment into the northwestern Iraqi province of Nineveh, the US Ambassador to Iraq Matthew H. Tueller told Rudaw on Wednesday. "One of the issues that we consistently hear is concerns about security. Of course there are improvements, and we welcome the appointment of the new governor. But it is necessary that security be provided for Mosul and other areas of Iraq by the people of Iraq and by locals in particular,” US ambassador Tueller told Rudaw English on the sidelines of the Nineveh Investment Forum. “The presence of groups that are not invested in the building up of a prosperous, secure, sovereign Iraq is impeding often the return of displaced persons. It is imposing burdens on businesses that would like to operate without interference, so we need to have a security structure and a security atmosphere,” added the ambassador. The Ninawa Investment Forum, organized by the Iraq Governance and Performance Accountability (IGPA) project and funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), commenced Wednesday in Erbil, the Kurdistan Region’s capital. The purpose of the conference, according to its organizers, is to assist in the rebuilding of Nineveh. Much of the province was destroyed during war against the Islamic State (ISIS). Nineveh’s biggest city, Mosul bore witness to fierce urban clashes in the battle for its recapture from ISIS in 2017. Much of the city still lies in ruins, with basic public services yet to be reestablished – deterring locals from returning home. More than half a million Nineveh residents remain displaced from their homes, according to the International Organization for Migration. IDP return to the province has been further slowed by the presence of militia groups and the lingering threat of ISIS remnants. According to ambassador Tueller, bureaucratic red tape is another factor hindering economic development in the area. “The second thing I often hear is some of the obstacles that are put in place by bureaucracy…we welcome reforms in the government in order to create conditions and an atmosphere that will make it easier for private sector investment to flow into Mosul and other areas of Iraq in order to create these jobs for young people,” he added. Excessive bureaucracy has slowed down development in Nineveh but has done little to defend against rampant corruption in the province or nationwide. Iraq ranks as the world’s 12th most corrupt country, according to Transparency International, while an investigation into corruption in Nineveh found nearly $64 million had been embezzled by provincial officials. The province’s administration is currently in turmoil. Its provincial council – legally dissolved by an Iraqi parliament vote on October 28 - voted to sack governor Mansour al-Mareed. He has disputed the vote’s legality. Retired Nineveh Operations Command commander Najm al-Jabouri – a speaker at the investment conference in Erbil – currently acts as governor, despite the legally questionable provincial council vote that saw him gain the position.
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