Written by Dr. Adnan Bahia /Babylon June 2021

 The negative societal view of the Iraqi economy creates a great social and political risk, as unsustainable development and the unfair distribution of oil revenues have led the majority of the population to believe that democracy is failing them, a faltering path that does not lead to accountability and does not guarantee transparency, in other words one cannot manage what one cannot measure.

The lack of transparency and access to information means that citizens realize that oil revenues are not managed in their interests, but ignore the large amount of revenue flowing into the country, how spending is done, and what other sectors have growth potential but are ignored.

 Furthermore, communities lack awareness of the environmental and social rights that oil companies operating in their regions and large foreign and national companies in the rest of the ministries must grant, and therefore do not demand any rights, and the Government deliberately or unintentionally turns a blind eye to ignorance, poor experience or corruption. Citizens' lack of awareness of their rights, lack of know-how in the state budget and revenues, and the inability to call for transparency to hold officials accountable prompt them to refute the concept of democracy, one of the most important indicators of which is the weak faith in change through elections that are at the heart of democratic action, and this not only threatens Iraq's stability, but will also have a dilapidated impact on the entire virtually unstable Middle East region and needs to be addressed comprehensively and immediately.