Khaberni - The Ministry of Trade disclosed the identification of 13 categories included in the decision to block the ration quota in Iraq, emphasizing that reliance on electronic applications will ensure the accuracy of monitoring the operations for citizens' receipt of foodstuffs.
The deputy minister, Sattar Al-Jabri, stated in remarks issued on Wednesday according to the Iraqi news agency platform (INA) that the purpose of establishing the ration card system in the 1990s was to confront the economic blockade and support the working classes.
Al-Jabri clarified that the categories with high financial solvency, such as company owners and doctors and pharmacists, consume shares legally allocated for the poor who rely entirely on them for their daily livelihood.
He revealed the presence of administrative obstacles resulting from some state institutions not providing the ministry with data on employees whose salaries exceed 2 million Iraqi dinars, which has hindered the activation of previous blocking decisions.
The ministry is currently studying the application of automation and digital linkage systems with the tax, customs, and finance departments to verify actual eligibility, especially with the presence of about 4 million citizens residing abroad who are still listed in the disbursement lists.
The new electronic system through smartphones and the unified national card will provide a transparent mechanism for registering on-site receipt by the agents, with instructions to return the surplus of materials to the central stores in case of non-review.
The Ministry of Trade has included in the blocking list 13 professional and economic categories that enjoy high material income, which includes company owners, members of chambers of commerce and industries union, doctors, pharmacists, those earning a salary exceeding two million dinars, and other segments.
Al-Jabri indicated that the ministry will adopt in the next phase a digital monitoring strategy through updating the data of the unified national card and linking it with a mobile application dedicated to monitoring agents.
The citizen will have to register the receipt process directly through the application, which allows the ministry to detect manipulations or cases where the share does not reach its actual owner.
If it is proven that the citizen did not receive their goods, the system directs the return of those quantities to the ministry's stores immediately to prevent their misuse. This technical study supports the idea of network linkage with state institutions such as the Ministry of Finance, Tax, and Customs, to precisely define the map of the eligible individuals and exclude deceased or emigrants who continue to receive shares despite being abroad for years.
