The Report of the Iraq Inquiry

1002.  The Plan stated that the UK hoped that the US would retain a strong presence in

Basra, but the US had not yet finalised its plans.

1003.  On reconstruction in the South, the Plan reported that good progress had been

made “given the constraints”. Power production had improved sharply, the ports were

operating above pre-war capacity and the private sector was active, particularly in

Basra. The next phase would require major new capital investment, and the creation

of more jobs.

1004.  DFID’s projects to rehabilitate government buildings and restore power, fuel and

water services in the South587 should be complete by 30 June, provided the security

situation remained stable. A phased exit was planned for the 50 DFID-funded staff and

contractors in CPA(South) and for the UK secondees supported by the FCO, beginning

in mid-June.

1005.  Other donors and the private sector would provide the main funds for

infrastructure after the transition. The US, through its PMO, would be by far the

largest donor and was likely to spend at least US$3bn in the South over the next three

years. The PMO was expected to take over the CPA(South) compound and base up

to 300 staff there; those would almost all be “contractors with little or no knowledge

of the local context”. The PMO had shared some reconstruction plans with the Iraqi

Government, but “only briefly so far”. Japan, Denmark and Italy were the other major

bilateral donors in the South. Unless security improved dramatically, it was unlikely that

the UN would make a substantial impact.

1006.  The capacity of Iraqi central and local authorities, which would assume full

executive authority once CPA(South) was dissolved, was “mixed”. The PMO was

not currently incorporating capacity-building elements into its programmes. RTI, a

consultancy company funded by USAID to build local government capacity, was

withdrawing most of its staff on security grounds.

1007.  DFID had agreed in principle to provide up to £25m over two years for the

Governorates Capacity Building Project (GCBP) to strengthen planning, financial

management and other core functions in the four southern governorates. The project

was scheduled to start in May.

1008.  DFID would also fund an eight-person Transitional Advisory Team588 to work

with the PMO, to help “bridge the local knowledge gap” between PMO contractors

and Iraqi technical directorates. The team would be deployed for six months in the

first instance.

1009.  The Plan stated that the South would also benefit from DFID’s national

programmes.

587  A reference to the Essential Services Plan.

588  Subsequently renamed the Technical Advisory Team.

174