The appointment of a Turkmen doctor as head of Kirkuk’s Health Department has brought about a new dispute between the different components of Kirkuk province.
Last week, Nabil Hamdi Bushnaq replaced Ziyad Khalaf who has been head of the department on a temporary basis for several months.
I have come forth to serve all the components and ethnicities of the city
About his appointment, Bushnaq told KirkukNow: “The position belongs to the Turkmen [according to the political ‘share system’], and I was appointed with the consent of the Prime Minister. I have good relations with all sides, but if the politicians hunger for the position, that’s a different story. But I have come forth to serve all the components and ethnicities of the city.”
But Dilan Ghafour, a member of the Iraqi parliament from the PUK faction, said: “Appointments at any position is against the instructions of the Council of Ministers, and that position belongs to Kurds.”
The Iraqi Council of Ministers has given instructions that any changes in high positions, including governorship, municipality head, and head of departments must be done with the consent of the leadership of the Council of Ministers.
The dispute about the position comes at a time when in Kirkuk province at least 100 new cases of COVID-19 are being registered per day, which has overwhelmed the department’s personnel.
13,633 people have so far contracted the Coronavirus in Kirkuk province, and 530 of them have died.
Muhamamd al-Rayyashi, the spokesperson for the United Arab Front in Kirkuk (a coalition of a number of Arab tribes and political parties) says that what is important right now is to do what is best for the department and overcome the current situation.
It's not an issue for us whether the position is filled with a Kurd or a Turkmen
Rayyashi said: “It's not an issue for us whether the position is filled with a Kurd or a Turkmen; what’s important is it should be someone capable who can serve the people and help patients recover.
Unfortunately, since the outbreak of the Corona pandemic there hasn’t been any palpable improvements to control it. The city needs more hospitals and medical centres. When people need to visit a hospital, they even have to buy masks, gloves and medicine themselves. While those things should be provided by the department.”
