Iraqi PM Abadi removes 123 officials

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi dismissed 123 deputy ministers and general managers as part of a reform push aimed at reducing corruption and mismanagement, which had further undermined the country's political stability.

Abadi did not mention which ministries would be affected, but said in a statement that the senior officials would be sent into retirement or have their administrative status "adjusted" - without clarifying what that meant, or how many of those dismissed fell under that category.

He added that the subordinates of those dismissed would take over their responsibilities until the ministries' structures were reviewed and replacements were appointed.

Corrupt government

Abadi set out to transform a system based on sectarian and ethnic quotas, which often hands high offices to unqualified candidates and encourages graft.

Backed by street protests demanding better services, Abadi rolled out the largest shake-up of the country's governing system since the US occupation. In earlier reforms launched last month, Abadi eliminated Iraq's three vice president and three deputy prime minister positions, sacked a third of his cabinet, and cut politicians' security details and other perks as part of official reform plans.

But critics complained that the changes had not yet improved ordinary people's lives and warned that some of the measures were unconstitutional. Parties across Iraq's political spectrum continue to benefit from graft, which is becoming a major obstacle to the nascent reform effort.

ss/kms (Reuters, AFP)