From the Heart of Kurdistan Region - Kurdish Globe

TheKurdishGlobe No. 370, Tuesday, October 02, 2012 10 The Kurdish Globe No. 370, Tuesday, October 02, 2012 11Kurdistan’s Head of InformationTechnology rejects all thecorruption allegations directedat him. Prime Minister has issuedan order, asking him toreturn to his office.Botan Mahmud Othman,Head of Information Technology,in a public statement announcedthat he rejects chargesalleging he is involved in acorruption case. He also addedthat he already sent his resignationletter to Prime MinisterNechirvan Barzani, asking toresign officially.“The office offered all thenecessary official documentsto an investigative committeeformed by the general attorney.The documents answer allthe investigative questions. Ipublished the same documentspreviously to public opinion.The committee investigatedabout financial affairs duringthe date I was in charge of theoffice. Fortunately and happilyresult of the investigation waspositive for me and the office,”the statement read.Othman remarked that he isasking the KRG to form anothercommittee which should beindependent including expertsor member of different fractionsof Kurdistan Parliamentto investigate the case again.“I am ready to accept the resultof the new committee,” hesaid.According to an official orderA Kurdish filmmaker is goingto produce a Kurdish film inwhich both popular and wellknownsoccer players of theworld Messi and CR7 (ChristianoRonaldo) will participatein the film.Sulaimaniyah Governorate’sPress Department inan announcement read thatthe city’s governor, BehroozMohammed, led a meetingwith Director General of Culture,Director of Art Film andHalkawt Mustafa, the filmdirector. It was the secondmeeting supervised by thegovernor.“They talked about howto find out a mechanism toproduce an international filmKurdistan’s Head of ITrejects allegationsBotan Othman returns as head of KRG IT officeGLOBE PHOTO/Safin HamidBotan Mahmoud, head of KRG IT Department speaks to reporters.numbered 10282 which wasissued by the KRG’s Councilof Ministers and signed byNechirvan Ahmed, Directorof Council, on September 18,2012, Head of InformationTechnology was dismissedand Suleiman Haso Mirkhanappointed as new head. Suleimanwas assigned for a shorttermperiod until the investigationsended.In addition, Othman in hisstatement read that the committeedid not believe his officialdocuments and theyalways asked about why theprojects were so "sluggish"over the past three years, addinghe told the committee thatbudget of his office was zeroover three years ago.“But the committee insistedon their questions and was notsatisfied with my answers.”However, Nechirvan Barzani,the PM, asked Othman toreturn to his office, describinghim as "genuine" to his job.Sami Argushi, media directorof the Prime Minister, saidthat the PM did not issue anyorders to remove Mr Othmanfrom his office.“PM believes that Othman isa genuine and honest personand encourages him to continueon his work as head of theoffice,” said Argushi.In a report published on aKurdish independent newspaper,Kurdistan’s Head of InformationTechnology office wasaccused of involvement in analleged corruption case. Followingthe report the generalattorney started an investigationinto the case.Messi and CR7 in a Kurdish filmIntroducing Kurdish tradition through a filmBy Salih Waladbagiin which the director tries toshow Kurdish culture. Thefilm will be screened in theworld’s cinemas later,” theannouncement read.According to Mohammed,the project is going to be implementedby three internationalcompanies from Norway,Spain and Britain.“We use standard deviceswhich are used in Hollywood.Both well-known andmagic soccer players of theworld, Messi and ChristianoRonaldo, will participate inthe film. The story of the filmis about two dwarfs who wantto gift two Kurdish traditionalshoes, Klash, to the best playersof the world,” said the director.It is supposed that the filmneeds around 4 million dollars.According to the latestinformation which is revealedby Mohammed some 83 staffsof the film will come to Erbil,capital of Kurdistan Region,in the coming month.Mohammed remarked thatKurdistan Regional Governmenthas to pay, at least, aquarter of the expenditure ofthe film in order to identitythe film as a Kurdish film internationally.He added thatthe staff expects that it willmake more money after itwill go on screen.Regarding mechanism offinancial support for the project,the governor said he willtry to encourage either governmentor private sector togive support to the project inorder to facilitate the showingof Kurdish tradition throughoutthe film.Klash is a kind of shoethat is produced with yarnin Hawraman area borderedwith Iran.“An outstanding differencebetween Klash andother shoes is that each pairof Klash can be wearing byboth right and left foot,” saida Klash seller.By Salih WaladbagiSome 1400companiesinvested inKurdistanNajatBapir, DirectorGeneral of Investment inKurdistan, said that 20percent of investment inKurdistan is carried outby foreign companies.Of which %6.7 had beencarried out by UnitedArab Emirate companies.Bapir said that 1400companies have investedaround 22 billion dollarsin the three provinces ofIraqi Kurdistan Region.Kurdish womanin NASAA Kurdish woman who isliving in England becomesmember of the Americanspace agency NASA.Zainab Kurban, who hasworked with the CanadianSpace Agency in the past.is a Kurdish woman fromTurkey. She went to Britainwith her family whenshe was 9 years old.She studied in LondonUniversity and her MAthesis was about how toreserve Hydrogen energy.She did her project in cooperationwith OxfordUniversity.Around 6000foreignersrecordedin 16 daysSalar Abdullah, Directorof Residency of Sulaimaniyah,second biggest cityof Kurdistan, announcedthat over the past 16 daysaround 6000 foreignersvisited their office.He added that some ofthem were deported totheir countries becausethey were reported sickand some others were sentto the directorate of healthprotection in order to lookafter them.He remarked that foreignerswho come toKurdistan and intend tostay more than 15 daysshould visit the directorateto register their name.In case they do not visitthe directorate they willbe fined 50,000 IQD permonth.Business and Entertainment GuideAn editorial company, thathas over 10 years of experienceproducing specializedguides and has so farproduced over 38 guidesworldwide, is currentlycompiling information andknowledge on the KurdistanRegion in order to makea business and entertainmentguide.The concept of the editorialcompany, eBiz Guides, isto integrate all necessary informationconcerning businessand investment opportunities,as well as informthe reader of top-qualitytourism and entertainmentthroughout the country.Thus making eBizGuides,the perfect companion forevery businessman andtourist alike, who is seekinga wide spectrum of opportunitieswithin Kurdistan.Not only does it provide relevantand up-to-date informationon the country, themain economic sectors andits main players, but it alsoserves as a practical tool forgetting to know, living, andenjoying the country."We will be preparing thisfirst edition of eBiz GuideKurdistan over the next fewweeks and will be analysingmany of the potential opportunitiesand competitiveadvantages that Kurdistanpresents. We will do this byconducting interviews withmany of the top personalitiesof both the public andprivate sectors in order toshowcase the visions andaspirations of both politicaland business leaders of thecountry, "said Emma Goldsmith,Guide DirectorGoldsmith thinks now isa crucial moment for Kurdistanas the country has recentlyexperienced recordWith all of the legal dramabetween Apple and Samsung,people are comparingthe Galaxy S3 andIPhone 4 against eachother in every imaginablefield. And with thesetwo handsets dominatingthe competition, it is nosurprise that buyers wantcredible evidence to indicatewhich device theyshould purchase.Consumers, more sothan developers, wanthands on practical testsdone for these devices, tohelp them decide whichhandset may be betterabout Kurdistan underwayBusiness and Entertainment Guide Team Anna Hirtenstein, Emma Goldsmith and Simrina Pangli pose or a photo with a selection oftheir eBiz Guides at the Khanzad Hotel, Erbil, September 30, 2012.growth rates and has anexpected minimum 10-12%growth rate for the comingyear. "This, along with themany incentives and legalguarantees offered by theKurdistan Regional Governmentto foreign investorsseeking opportunities withinthe country are likely togenerate significant resultsin developing and positioningit as an excellent locationfor doing business,"Although both The NewYork Times and NationalGeographic named Kurdistanamong their top-ratedplaces to visit last year dueto the country’s rich historicaland archeological sites,the region does howeversuited for their lifestyle.People in Kurdistan aren'tsure one hundred percentwhich handset is better tobuy since there are somespecifications in Galaxythat are not available forthe iPhone and vice versa.Since Apple Company isthe producer of iPhone, allthe spare parts are expensiveand hard to get. Theparts of IPhone generallyare stronger and hard tobreak. But people shouldexpect to pay a lot to replacea cover for IPhonefor example."I like IPhone, as theface several challenges dueto the ongoing instabilityand the negative perceptionthat has long been portrayedon the international arena.This guide is thought to behelpful for dissipating fearsand anxieties of those whodon't trust to come to Kurdistaneither for business ortourism purposes."On one hand, we presentthe reality of Kurdistan,covering its economicdiversity, the particularitiesof each sector, and providinginformation on theleading companies of thecountries. On the otherhand, The company wants,through the guide, to showthe region's unique tourismparts are strong and its designis very proper to carryand make phone calls. ButI have to be very carefulnot to drop it. I paid $50 toreplace a cover one time,"said Gailan Sirwan, a 21-year old boy resident ofErbil.According to Sardar Hamad,a salesman at NazoCompany for Cell phonetrades in Erbil, Galaxybuyers have increased dramaticallysince six monthsago."The spare parts of Samsungproducts includingGalaxy Phones are easyGalaxy phone wins Kurdish buyers’ satisfactionto get and are very cheapcompared to iphone. Onecan get a Galaxy phonecover for only five bucks,so people are not worriedif their Galaxy coverby any means is broken."Said HamadDespite strong competitionsbetween iphone andGalaxy, Hamad said thatthe buyers of Galaxy havebeen boosting and newgenerations have realizedwhat they can do withiPhone, can be done withGalaxy too.GLOBE PHOTOand entertainment potential,highlighting the mostauthentic and significantdestinations," said SimrinaPangli,market and Clientassociate at the eBizGuidesAccording to Pangli, thecompany's mission focuseson creating a favourableclimate to get investors,institutions and businesses,to commit to the region'sdevelopment. Its mottois clear: "All you need toknow for Business and Entertainment".Each eBiz Guide is carefullyproduced by a team ofprofessionals who get firsthand information from themarket they are investigating.Their sources are CEOsand presidents of the maincompanies of the country orregion as well as the ministers,prime ministers andpresident."Local journalists, Chambersof Commerce, Foundations,Embassies, OpinionLeaders and professionalassociations are othersources we use to prove ourcommitment with quality.Our commitment is to analyzewhat we see. Throughin-depth face-to-face interviews,we get the most updated,credible, and directinformation about the regionwe want to promote,"noted director Goldsmith.The guide's content consistsof three parts: Introduction,Business, andEntertainment. In the Introductionpart, the region'sprofile and general informationare shed light on. In theBusiness section, necessaryinformation is providedabout the top 100 companies,Business resources,investment and legal framework,Economy, Finance,Energy, Industry and Trade,Real Estate and Construction,Information CommunityTechnology, TourismIndustry, Transportation andPublic Services, Agricultureand Company index.The Entertainment parttells the readers about Cityinformation, regional information,Where to go, Whereto stay, what to see and do,and Top recommended itineraries."We may be able to publishthe Guide about Kurdistanin late March 2013. TheGuide can be translated into other languages in orderto meet the communicationneeds of the largest numberof people," divulged GoldsmithThe Guide also can be uploadedto devices such as:iFone and iPAd since it hasbeen found out that 50%of the readings are donethrough mobile applications."When the investors andtourists visit Kurdistan theguide will help them knowthe places and where to go.What the legal system isfor those who want to dobusiness or to make investment."said Goldsmith.The Kurdish globeZakariya MuhammedA man uses his Galaxy 3 cell phone in front a phone shop in Erbil.GLOBE PHOTO/Zakariya Muhammed