IRAQ: US military help clean up Sadr city [View All]

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/c22ba3d70e3c506ce40cf64685bc9e4b.htm

SADR CITY, 21 December (IRIN) - Residents of Sadr City, long seen as the poorest and smelliest neighbourhood of Baghdad, woke up one recent morning to the sound of something they had never heard before - steamrollers and other street paving machines.

Not only that, but much of the rubbish piled high around their suburb during fighting between the Mehdi Army and US forces just a few months ago has now been cleaned up. Residents can be seen walking with their children in the streets jammed with vehicles. snip

In addition, spending so much money so quickly means that some of it can get wasted or go into contractors' pockets, Hamid said. For example, city officials expect to pay about $150,000 on one sewer pipeline project, he said. The contractor bid for the same project at $700,000 to US forces, he added.

"US forces say this is from the taxpayers in the USA," Hamid said. "They should come to ask us for advice so that we can tell them if they are paying too much."

more...Noooo. The US contractors don't want anyone to know they are getting paid 700 grand for a $150,000 dollar pipeline project Hamid. Hamid will learn soon enough.