Baghdad 7 years on

Seven years after we liberated them, the citizens of Baghdad get less than five hours of electricity per day. One has to wonder what it was like before we delivered democracy. During the summer, it gets very hot in Iraq, over the past couple of weeks, some parts of the country have hit 50C. At some point, Baghdad's crumbling power grid will kick in and the noise from a thousand diesel generators will cease.

In the city of Bazra two weekends ago, demonstrators took to the streets carrying a coffin draped in black with the word "electricity" written across it. When the crowd started throwing stones at the local government building, security fired back and killed two demonstrators. More protests followed and almost turned into riots. Energy Minister Waheed Kareen was forced to resign and his boss Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki asked for patience, saying there would be no quick solution to the problem.

The Green Zone is the common name for the 10 square kilometer (3.8 square mile) area in central Baghdad that was the centre of the Coalition Provisional Authority and remains the centre of the international presence in the city. The contrasting Red Zone refers to parts of Baghdad immediately outside the perimeter but is also loosely applies to all unsecured areas outside the military posts.

And here's the bottom line - people living in the green zone have electricity 24 hours a day and no power cuts. It seems that the politicians are getting a much better deal than the people who voted them in. They have been patient for a long time but it's starting to wear thin - they are wondering where all the money to fix the problem has gone.

Nejim Abed Hashim owns and runs a small ice cream shop, it's hand made by his cousin. He spends half of his takings on fuel and servicing for the generator. He doesn't have any choice, the national grid supplies his shop with only two hours of electricity during working hours. Without the generators, his produce would melt. He believes officials are lining their own pockets with the money provided to improve the electricity. Local entrepreneurs are doing well, they will hook up power to a few dozen houses or businesses with their generator for a fee, usually somewhere between $50 to $100 a month.

To be fair, it isn't all the government's fault. Iraq's power stations were bombed during the first Gulf War. They were then left to crumble under international sanctions before being bombed again during the invasion of 2003.

Seven billion dollars was allocated to the country's electricity infrastructure since 2006. That is not including the money spent by the Americans on similar projects but Iraqis say things have only got worse since then. They are trying to overcome problems in a democratic way instead of resorting to violence but corrupt officials sitting around in their air conditioned villas while the rest of the population is suffering needs to be addressed. The frustration of the people of Baghdad is about to boil over unless something is done soon.