Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) prime minister Nechirvan Barzani came to Suli yesterday to officially open a new hospital. But ‘new’ is probably not the best adjective because, although this project has taken ten years, it is still unclear when the hospital will be fully functioning.
The 400-bed hospital has become derisively known to locals as the “400 years hospital”. The building programme was meant to take three years but this was stretched out as costs almost trebled from $50 million to $140 million.
Foreign companies from Iran and South Korea were contracted and have no doubt done alright out of the project. Local people have yet to see the benefits.
The hospital is another symbol of corruption and mismanagement in the region. The main blame lies with the PUK (Patriotic Union of Kurdistan) which controls development in the Suli area but fails to coordinate this effectively and for the public good.
http://kurdistantribune.com/2013/10-yea ... ally-open/
