مجموعة ٢/٥٤ "لجنة الشرق الأوسط (الرسمية): مجموعة العمل" [و‎‎٢‎٨‎٨] (٦٤٢/٥٧٥)

—
CONFIDENTIAL
British Embassy,
Bagdad*
11th April, 1949.
My dear Michael,
I enclose a copy of the first draft, produced hy the
Iraqi G-overnment, of a Bill for the constitution of the
Development Board. I have urged the Prime Minister and
everyone else concerned to delay consideration of the
draft hy the Council of Ministers and the presentation
of the Bill to Parliament until' it has been examined by
all who are interested, including the International Bank*
Judge Prichard has been asked by the Deputy Prime Minister
to give the Iraqi Government his opinion after consultation
with the British and American Embassies. I am sending
Prichard a copy of this letter privately as 'giving our
provisional opinion; but I am emphasising that we should
like to give a further opinion after consulting the Foreign
Office. I have also advised that Ali Mumtaz should discuss
the Bill with the International Bank in Washington. You
may like to let Iliffe see confidentially a copy of this
letter with your comments. It is important that I should
have your comments urgently, as the Bill should be passed by
Parliament during this session which is not likely to end
much later than June, and I do not think we shall be able to
hold Nuri very long from pushing it through in the form
which he favours*
2, The Bill is obviously most unsatisfactory and
entirely inadequate* You will see from Article 4(a) of the
draft that the Board is to have at its disposal only money
lent by the International Bank. I can only assume that
Nuri regards it chiefly as paper legislation designed to
induce the International Bank to give Iraq the loans for
which she is asking. Our ideas on the subject are as follows.
(l) Provision of Revenues.
Iraq now has five budgets; the normal State Budget,
with revenue derived from taxation, the Railway Budget,
financed by Railway Revenues, the Port and Dredging Budgets
financed by their own revenues, and the Capital Works Budget
financed by oil royalties, profits of the Currency Board
and Iraqi Loans. The Development Board should take over
the present Capital Works Budget with the same revenues.
Provision should also be made in the Bill for a portion
of the ordinary revenues of the State to be loaned or
granted by the State Budget to the Development Budget.
Minor Capital Works should be met from the ordinary State
revenues by appropriations to the various departments
concerned. The Board should also have st iYitory power to
raise internal and external loans for Development and
executive with the lenders the requisite agreements which
could include assignments of specific future revenue
normally accruing to the Board, such as oil royalties* The
Board should be permitted to spend its revenues on development
projects, development surveys and its own administrative
expenditure. It should employ an outside firm of auditors.
M.R. Wright, Esq.., C.M.G,,
Foreign Office,
London, S.W.l.
/(2)...