Al-Bajari: The Sadiqoon political representation is increasing in Basra due to its representatives’ closeness to citizens’ concerns.

Zahra Al-Bajari, head of the parliamentary Transport and Communications Committee and a member of parliament for the Sadiqoon, confirmed on Wednesday that the Sadiqoon movement is witnessing a rise in social acceptance. She noted that the movement’s political representation in Basra Governorate has become significant and influential, given the movement’s growing role in conveying citizens’ concerns to parliament.
Speaking about the reality of Basra Governorate, Al-Bajari emphasized that “90% of Iraq’s budget comes from Basra,” adding that “basic services are still absent from the districts, sub-districts, and villages affiliated with the governorate.” She asserted that Al-Zubair District suffers from a lack of hospitals and paved roads, which has prompted residents to demand for years that it be transformed into a new governorate, as a result of what she described as “chronic deprivation of projects and services”.
Al-Bajari called on the central government to expedite the provision of services to Al-Zubair district and end the state of neglect it suffers from. She noted that the acceleration of projects in the capital, Baghdad, particularly in the Green Zone, was prompted by the hosting of the Arab Summit, while other areas of the country continue to suffer from a lack of equitable development planning.
Regarding the annual saltwater crisis that plagues Basra, Al- Bajari revealed that “the crisis began in 2009 and recurs every year without any radical solutions,” adding, “I have yet to see a single desalination plant in Basra, despite the governorate’s suffering from water pollution caused by wastewater from other governorates”.
She pointed out that the lack of genuine will to build desalination plants in Basra is due to conflicting interests and the presence of what she described as “private plants,” which stand in the way of comprehensive government desalination projects, leaving the province’s residents in a constant struggle with pollution and salinity.