Iraq Trade Ministry: Ration card system to be cancelled in 2014

Iraq’s Trade Ministry affirmed on Sunday that the ration card system will be cancelled in 2014 and will be reserved to poor families.
The Ministry revealed new mechanisms to improve the ration card system meanwhile.

In a press conference held at Iraq’s Trade Ministry on Sunday and attended by Alsumarianews, deputy minister Souwayba Zankana argued that no country in the world distributes ration cards among all the components of the society which leads to using up the State’s budget. The present ration card system will be cancelled by the end of 2014 while a new mechanism will be adopted in a way that reserves ration cards to poor families, she added.

“The ration card system in the world focuses on the poor class of the society”, the deputy minister noted stressing the necessity to help sustain poor families by improving the ration card system and boosting the social care network”, Zankana said.

Iraqi Trade deputy minister stated that there is a joint team with the social care network that will be working till the end of 2014 on identifying the poor classes in society in order to extend them support.

“A new mechanism will be set to improve ration cards through a three-folded program that consists first of adjusting the food material contracting mechanism, second organizing the distribution of ration cards and third organizing the work of ration agents in the regions”, she revealed.

“The cash purchase mechanism at Iraq’s Trade Ministry was cancelled in order to make the purchase mechanism of food clear before foreign, Arab and Iraqi firms in light of unbiased competition”, the deputy minister said adding that the Trade Ministry has obtained the ministerial council’s approval to form a central committee headed by the Trade Ministry and charged of negotiating with companies on the purchase of food materials.

Iraq’s Government had earmarked on February 6 an amount of 15 000 Iraqi Dinar for every citizen in compensation to the shortage of ration cards.

The majority of Iraqis rely on ration cards since the start of the international embargo on Iraq in 1991.