BAGHDAD, June 8 (Xinhua) — Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to set another 100-day period for his cabinet to improve performance after the expiration of the first 100-day deadline he set earlier to quell protests in the country, an official newspaper said Wednesday.
“We want to realize the horizon of a second 100-day period which will support the accomplishments of the first 100-day period, ” the state-owned newspaper al-Sabah quoted Maliki as saying.
Maliki said he would listen to his ministers talking about their accomplishments during the first 100-day period and their plans after it, along with discussing the obstacles they faced, the newspaper said.
Late on Tuesday, the Iraqi official television Iraqia broadcasted live meeting of the Iraqi cabinet headed by Maliki to discuss progress made by some ministries during the first 100-day period.
The first 100-day was set by Maliki on Feb. 27 in which he gave his cabinet a chance to improve their performance or face changes, in a bid to quell protests that engulfed the country over poor government performance.
Observers here said the first 100-day period, which ended on Tuesday, showed no tangible achievements for the angry public who were suffering from the persistence of widespread corruption, unemployment and poor public services eight years after the U.S.- led invasion.
They also said it won’t be easy for Maliki to fire ministers as he is heading a national partnership government with members from Iraq’s main political blocs.
Iraq witnessed earlier this year in several provinces demonstrations against unemployment and a sharp rise in the prices of food staples and demanding better public services.
