MP accuses deputy speaker of blocking oil minister questioning

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The parliament’s oil & gas committee rapporteur reiterated accusations on Sunday against Second Deputy Speaker Khalid al-Attiya of standing behind attempts to block questioning Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahrestani despite the “numerous administrative and financial corruption files in his ministry”. “Deputy Speaker Attiya insists on a mechanism by the cabinet to prevent questioning corrupt ministers in parliament, which runs counter to the Iraqi constitution,” Jabir Khalifa said in a press conference he held at parliament. “Minister Shahrestani has argued in televised statements that he has received the oil portfolio with corruption already running rampant inside the ministry, despite the fact that the persons before Shahrestani are relied upon by the prime minister in his current cabinet,” said Khalifa, who belongs to the Shiite al-Fadila (Virtue) Party. He wondered how Maliki is relying on “persons accused of corruption as Sharestani said” inside his cabinet. He pointed out that the Anti-Corruption Board has provided the oil & gas committee members two days ago with a report which affirmed that corruption, theft and bribery cases for the year 2007 have reached 32%, going up to 100% in 2008 and 99% in 2009. AmR (S) 1