Poor living conditions in Iraq exacerbated by inadequate municipal services

“Saddam managed to bring us back electricity six months after the 1991 [first Gulf] war and here they are after four years they can't offer stable electricity for two straight hours,” said Hazim Nasser Jawad, an Iraqi taxi driver, in response to Iraq’s poor municipal services since the U.S. invasion, according to an IRIN article Wednesday.

Frustration is on the rise among many Iraqis that now depend on small amounts of electricity from generators or what can be purchased from the black market. The government has been unable to provide reliable electricity for its citizens, and as a result, poor drinking water and disease are becoming more prevalent.

Electricity Minister Karim Waheed says the poor services are due to insurgent attacks on the power networks feeding Baghdad from the north and south. The severed networks have affected water pumping. Many citizens have openly protested the lack of basic services in hopes of compelling the government to do more to help, but few changes have occurred.

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