Iraqis lack basic services despite gains

BAGHDAD, June 17 (UPI) -- Despite a rise in oil exports in May and a budget surplus, the Iraqi government is struggling to provide electricity and water to its residents.

While Iraqi military forces are taking over security operations from the U.S. military, residents in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, say the distribution of power and water is poor, damaging the level of confidence in the Iraqi government, The Financial Times said Tuesday.

The Iraqi government reported last week that oil exports reached 2.11 million barrels per day, bringing the oil ministry an expected $70 billion in profits for 2008. The increased revenue, however, is not reflected in Baghdad's ability to effectively distribute the funds, a U.S. watchdog group reported.

An April report provided by the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction said Iraqi ministries barely spent half of their entire budgets for 2007, and while the production of electricity has remained relatively stable since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, the government has failed to keep up with the demands of reconstruction, leaving many residents in the dark.

The Iraqi government says the drought plaguing the region has reduced hydroelectric capacity, but the inspector general's report says a failing electrical grid and poor fuel supplies are to blame.