Deputy Speaker Hawrami leads Parliament delegation to Soran and Rawanduz

Kurdistan Parliament Deputy Speaker Dr. Hemin Hawrami and several MPs on 11 January went to Soran and Rawanduz districts and held meetings with local authorities, political parties and Parliament’s branch office, to look into the legal, administrative and services problems in the area.

The MPs first met with the staff of Kurdistan Parliament’s office in Soran district, to discuss how the office delivers local citizens’ requests to Parliament and how the staff coordinate with the Mayor and local administrations.

The delegation and the recently appointed Mayor of Soran, Halgurd Sheikh Najib, discussed the decentralization of powers to local administrations and the issues that the government needs to work on and improve, such as facilitating administrative procedures for the public.

The delegation said that Parliament’s local office will coordinate with Parliament’s relevant committees to follow up on the needs and requests of Soran district, with the KRG Council of Ministers and with the relevant ministries, so that quicker action is taken to provide the public with appropriate services.

In their meeting with the Mayor of Rawanduz district, Ahmad Qadir Muhammad Amin, the MPs and the Mayor discussed delegating more administrative authority and procedures to the district to reduce bureaucracy and provide better public services. They also discussed Rawanduz’s importance as a tourist attraction and the need to develop tourism in many areas of Kurdistan Region to increase economic diversification.

At both meetings, Deputy Speaker Hawrami stressed the importance of monitoring the implementation of legislation that directly impacts people’s lives. He said, "It is extremely important to monitor the implementation of the laws that have the most impact on public services, such as the provincial council law and even some laws passed as recently as Parliament’s current season that aim to prevent waste of public funds, such as the Law on the Sale and Lease of Public Assets. We need to understand how far they are implemented and whether they need to be amended or implemented differently at the district level, the challenges with these laws and your suggestions.”

Deputy Speaker Hawrami continued, “In particular we want to understand for these four districts that are on Kurdistan’s borders, Soran, Rawanduz, Choman and Mergasor, the issue of independent administration, and to ask the mayors to work with Parliament’s standing committees to discuss it with the Council of Ministers, the Ministry of Interior and the Governor of Erbil. The main aim for the Kurdistan Parliament and the KRG is to better serve the citizens and to build greater trust in Kurdistan’s constitutional institutions, both Parliament and the Government."

The mayors of Soran and Rawanduz discussed the problems in their districts and presented their plans to develop and revitalize them and better serve the public.

The Parliament delegation also visited the Peshmerga forces’ Halgurd Command and met with Commander Bahram Arif Yassin and his staff. Dr. Hawrami thanked the Peshmerga forces for protecting the people by confronting ISIS terrorists, and for protecting Kurdistan Region’s status as a constitutional territory and region.

He emphasized the need to reform and unify the Peshmerga forces within the framework of the Ministry of Peshmerga.

The MPs visited the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan’s (PUK) 6th branch office and met with its head Zuber Osman, and Kurdistan Democratic Party’s (KDP) 10th branch and met with the head Abdul Wahid Rwanduzi. The MPs focused on the importance of the unity of the political parties to prevent and tackle threats to the Kurdistan Region and to protect Kurdistan’s achievements.

Deputy Speaker Hawrami said, “We are making concerted efforts to achieve unity of the parties in Parliament. National unity of the people of Kurdistan at this critical time should be strengthened and the political parties should draw closer together. We are all aware where the threats to Kurdistan Region originate from, they are the same threats to the people and to our constitutional status. We can get through this difficult stage by being united.”

The Parliament delegation visited the Assyrian church in Soran and were welcomed by local Assyrian leaders and clergy. On behalf of Kurdistan Parliament, Deputy Speaker Hawrami conveyed his best wishes for Christmas and the New Year.

He said, "We are honoured to visit your church and to meet with our Assyrian brothers and sisters. Kurdistan Parliament will continue to protect and support the rights of the original communities of this land. We are all united in protecting our peaceful co-existence through Law No. 5 of 2015, the Law on the Rights of the Original Components of the Kurdistan Region.”