Posted on 08/01/2009 4:27:23 PM PDT by Cheap_Hessian
BAGHDAD, Aug 1 - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on Saturday his government could not afford to pay General Electric for its services and rebuked parliament for failing to allow a $3 billion bond sale.
In May, Iraq's cabinet approved the sale of the treasury bonds, of which $2.4 billion was meant to pay to revamp Iraq's dilapidated electricity sector. A lack of power is a major complaint among Iraqis, especially in the searing summer heat.
Iraq's electricity minister had said he hoped parliament would ratify the cabinet's decision in early June, but lawmakers stopped work for the summer recess last week without doing so, and parliament was not due to reconvene until Sept. 8.
"The electricity ministry cannot manage $2.4 billion to pay GE and we cannot force parliament to approve our project. As a consequence this process will stop," Maliki told a meeting of tribal leaders on Friday.
"Who is responsible for this? It is the political agendas ," Maliki said.
In 2008, Iraq signed multi-billion dollar deals with General Electric and Siemens to add nearly 9,000 megawatts of capacity over the next few years.
Political wrangling between Iraq's feuding ethnic and sectarian groups has bogged down the legislative process, creating a backlog of draft bills needing ratification.
Maliki said he had met GE officials during his trip last month to the United States, who told him they had already manufactured equipment destined for Iraq and had complained of not being paid.
Iraq had to slash its 2009 budget three times due to a sharp fall in oil prices from last year.
(Excerpt) Read more at asia.news.yahoo.com ...
Good for Iraq.
I thought Immelt said that they were not doing business in Iran?! He wouldn’t lie to us.....would he????
I still don’t understand how they can have all that oil and still be broke (not really) but if they are going to stiff anybody - GE works for me!
That is what NBC is for.
The Rats in congress will pay their propaganda arm and then ask Iraq to pay back the USA
Sorry..read it again...it’s Iraq...not Iran...never mind...
We cannot afford to have GE in this country either.
Feelings concerning Immelt aside, if they ordered it they should pay for it. An oil rich nation has the money to pay for it.
Money will be the least of Iraq’s worries once all of the American troops are gone.
#3. It is Iraq not Iran. Anyway, we can give Iraq a bailout so they can pay their bills. Oh wait, we already bailed out their country, their economy and their military to the tune of how many billions and they still cant sell enuff oil to stay self sufficient. I dont get it.
From last December:
GE Wins $3 Billion Iraq Turbine Order, Largest Ever (Update3)
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By Rachel Layne
Dec. 16 (Bloomberg) — General Electric Co., the world’s biggest maker of power-plant turbines, won an order valued at about $3 billion to provide electricity-generating equipment and services to Iraq.
It is the largest single order in the history of the GE Energy segment, Steve Bolze, who runs the power and water division, said in an interview today. GE, based in Fairfield, Connecticut, will provide 56 of its 9E model turbines capable of supplying 7,000 megawatts of electricity, nearly doubling the country’s generating capacity.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aSKwB4dc52ss
Why doesn’t GE and Iraq just barter over this, over Iraq’s oil?
I had a Mosque that was going to purchase 1000 widgets. We brought the price down, then down further. Then they tried to order 10 at the cut rate price.
They yell scream and cuss. Afterward act like it never happened.
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