Local government key to Iraq success, official says

Establishing stable local governments in post-conflict Iraq is essential for the longterm stability of the nation, said Ross Wherry, Senior Reconstruction Advisor and leader of U.S. Agency for International Development's Washington-based Iraq Management Team.

Wherry discussed USAID's plan for Iraq and assessed its current success yesterday in Robertson Hall in a lecture sponsored by the Wilson School.

Wherry began his discussion by addressing a recurring concern of American taxpayers — that too many U.S. dollars are being spent in Iraq without any return to America. He emphasized that he believes the aid will be well worth its results. To create a stable Iraq, USAID needs to carry out specific restructuring plans. A most basic concern is the formation of a government system.

"It is important to establish some kind of local government structure to regain a semblance of order," Wherry said.

With the aid of representatives from various NGOs and U.S.-based companies, Iraqi citizens have chosen 88 neighborhood advisory councils and elected nine district councils. Iraq's government structure, Wherry said, is beginning to resemble New York City's in organization.

Local groups have "sufficient inherent legitimacy" that they can represent people in their area well, said Wherry. It is local governments, he said, that can most quickly address the disruptions of civil order which face Iraq today. Local officials best serve citizens' interests because "they can't get away from them," Wherry said.

In addition, minorities have a greater chance of finding a voice within local government than they do on a national scale, Wherry said. In the last three weeks, 67 Kurdish women's groups in northern Iraq have worked together to establish clinics for women. As of now, USAID estimates that 15 million Iraqis — one-half of the country's population — are involved in at least one aspect of the political process.

Wherry said local governments in Iraq, though still in the process of establishment, have already begun to serve their communities. Through these local governments, 3.8 million Iraqis have access to clean water, 5.3 million have access to drugs and medical care, and 3.5 million have access to sewage disposal systems, he said.

While Wherry spoke in positive terms of Iraq's political progress, he warned that the formation of a stable political system is not yet inevitable. "Local government is necessary, but not sufficient," he said. The next important step is building a receptive and accountable national government upon the foundation of the local government, he added.

USAID's Iraq reconstruction timeline ends in March 2006.