SULAIMANI, Kurdistan Region -- Sitting idly with a friend, Fatah Najib, 49, counts the names of those who have suddenly turned businessmen on his prayer beads.
Many Kurds these days wonder about the mushrooming of companies in their towns. Some have doubts as to whether the owners of these companies have made their fortunes legitimately.
According to figures from the Directorate of Company Registration in Sulaimani province, 400 new companies have been registered in Sulaimani, of which 40 are foreign. The total number of companies currently registered in Sulaimani amounts to around 3,850, 450 of which are foreign. Most of the foreign firms are Turkish and Iranian.
“We expect the number of companies to double in one or two years because the procedures to establish a company are easy and only require around a million Iraqi dinars (around $800),” said Soran Ahmed, in charge of the directorate that registers companies in Sulaimani province.
He said the government needs to introduce tougher conditions when it comes to signing deals with foreign firms as they can leave their projects unfinished and exit the country. “A large sum of money needs to be taken in advance from those companies as a guarantee.”
Ahmed added that around 200 companies left Sulaimani in the last two years after they could not get any contracts in the province.
Many people complain about the low standard of some of the projects carried out by companies.
“I am outraged that just as there is nobody to hold the politicians accountable, no one can bring the arrogant and greedy businessmen to account either,” said Shaho Latif, a Sulaimani resident.
Taban Jabar, head of the companies section at the Directorate of Planning in Sulaimani, told Rudaw that 15 companies have been put on a blacklist since last year, including three foreign companies.
“Those companies neglected their projects, missed deadlines or delivered poor quality work,” she said.
Officials in Sulaimani say around 70 percent of registered companies work in the construction sector and general trade.
“When it comes to construction, building roads and buildings, the government gives money and land to companies and this has prompted many companies to work in those areas,” said Ahmed.
As an example, there are just five companies in Sulaimani that work in the pharmaceutical drug trade compared to the large number of firms working in construction.
Sleman, a resident of Sulaimani, was among many who were cheated by a fraudulent company. A company known as Goal took money from people to start projects for them. Sleman was lucky that security forces brought the owners of the company to justice and he got his money back.
Hassan Nouri, head of Sulaimani’s Security Directorate, said the fraudulent companies have been referred to courts.
“We will continue to monitor companies to make sure they are not ghost companies and that they do not steal people’s money,” said Nouri.
Rudaw