IRAQ: British Want a Bigger Slice of the Cake

By Sanjay Suri Reprint | | Print |

Sanjay Suri

LONDON, Apr 5 2003 (IPS) - British managers will hold a meeting with government officials next week to press for a larger share of contracts for reconstruction projects in Iraq.

"Managers from the British Consultants and Construction Bureau (BCCB) will be meeting officials from Trade Partners UK," a spokesman for the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) told IPS. The spokesman declined further comment on the meeting. Trade Partners UK is a department of the DTI.

Managers from several of about 300 companies who are a part of the BCCB have already expressed their concerns over contracts to government officials at an earlier meeting. Managers represented a cross section of professional services, construction and manufacturing.

"The private sector representatives urged Government to make appropriate plans for British firms to help with the reconstruction of Iraq," the BCCB said in a statement. "Our concerns were strongly expressed in the meeting with Government that we did not want to see a rerun of the Kuwait liberation in the early nineties when the U.S. sewed up the majority of the contracts through their Corps of Engineers and the Kuwaiti government in exile in the U.S."

A spokeswoman for the BCCB says British managers are "obliged to tread a tightrope between accusations of ‘ambulance chasing’ and doing nothing." "But we believe that it is entirely responsible to prepare our members (and others) especially given their experience in Iraq for rebuilding the institutions and infrastructure of Iraq."

The spokeswoman acknowledged that there is "an apparent absurdity between preparing for war and preparing at the same time for subsequent reconstruction, but that is the nature of war and its aftermath."

As many as 75 British companies have told the BCCB they want to take on reconstruction projects. More are putting in their bids every day.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has announced that it is allocating 900 million dollars to reconstruction in the first phase, and has placed several contracts with U.S. firms. The British have asked for a share of that.

"We believe that given the unswerving loyalty of Britain to the U.S. over Iraq, there is a strong case for the U.S. government to allow UK firms to bid for appropriate subcontracts," the BCCB spokeswoman said.

The U.S. has responded at least a little to British complaints. Crown Agents, a development assistance firm, has become the first British company to win a subcontract. It will be subcontractor to International Resources Group, a U.S. firm providing technical assistance for planning and management of reconstruction and rehabilitation services.

USAID administrator Andrew Natsios says "we are using British Crown Agents to do our purchasing in the Gulf, so there’s a British company already working for us that was not part of that particular bid. So it is open."

It may be open but it is not enough, British managers say. The BCCB wants the UK government to make its own plans to persuade UK firms to go back and "assist in the reconstruction of Iraq."

The spokeswoman said "this cannot be achieved without some form of financial kickstart; we cannot rely upon U.S. handouts or wait to compete for multilateral funding, if eventually made available from such as the United Nations, World Bank or European Union.

Managers say this will be the biggest reconstruction plan since the Marshall Plan that paid for the rebuilding of Germany after the Second World War. The estimated budget for rebuilding education, health and transport systems in Iraq is 180 billion dollars over 10 years.

At the heart of the dispute is the claim that those doing the fighting should get a proportionate share of the contracts. British managers are apprehensive that if the post-war efforts are handed over entirely to the United Nations, anyone will be able to bid for lucrative contracts. This could lead to a situation where British soldiers die in battle and French companies walk away with the business afterwards.

Britain’s International Development Secretary Clare Short has said post-war reconstruction would be illegal without a UN mandate. Short’s position will count because she was retained in the cabinet even though she expressed opposition to the war. She has been told she will be a key figure in directing the reconstruction of Iraq.

Foreign Secretary Jack Straw backed Short. "What we want to see is a UN endorsement of a post-conflict arrangement and above all we want to see and ensure that the oil revenues, the riches of Iraq are once again used for the benefit of the people of Iraq and for them alone," Straw said in an interview to the Indian news channel Doordarshan.

"What we have to do is enter into detailed discussions with the United States and our partners in the UN Security Council to create a framework and machinery which fits the circumstances of Iraq," Straw said.