Posted on 11/14/2008 11:27:49 AM PST by mdittmar
BAGHDAD – More than half of the Baghdad province Sons’ of Iraq have received their first paychecks from the Government of Iraq, with eight other provinces slated to follow suit by the summer of 2009.
“October 1st was the first transfer of the SoI to the Government of Iraq in Baghdad province, with 51,135 SoI [now under GoI control], and then throughout the month of October was the validation of the pay rosters and getting the pay sites ready,” said Lt. Col. Jeffrey D. Kulmayer, chief, reconciliation and engagement, Multi-National Corps – Iraq. “The October pay period was just paid this first week of November and it is a milestone in the history of the program because the GoI is now paying the SoI for providing critical infrastructure security.”
Diyala is the next province to transfer, said Kulmayer.
“We will begin Diyala SoI registration on December 1st, and the transfer date will be on January 1st. Simultaneously will be the transfers of SoI payment responsibility to the Iraqi Government in the provinces of Babil, Wasit and Qadisiyah.
“The southern provinces are already underway with their registration, and the transfer date will be January 1st as well,” Kulmayer added.
Meanwhile, the GoI and Coalition forces are working to transition the SoI into meaningful jobs in the Iraqi Security Forces and civilian workforce.
“The successful payment portion of the SoI in Baghdad completes the transfer, but there is still a transition of these men into permanent employment, and that’s going to take a little longer,” Kulmayer said. “Some of them are already starting to move into the jobs; we’ve had 1,378 go into the Iraqi Police since the first of October, which is a significant breakthrough in the terms of integration. A very important part of the whole process is to get 20 percent of the SoI integrated into the ISF. The rest of the men will go into the ministries, municipalities, public works projects or private enterprise. Those jobs are going to take longer to develop, and that will happen in the weeks and months ahead. The coalition is assisting and working with the Iraqi government to develop those jobs.”
Part of the development in non-security jobs includes vocational training, which will give the SoI the skills necessary to take jobs such as carpentry, plumbing and electrical work as well as garnering employment in various municipalities and government jobs. And this transition seems to be going smoothly, Kulmayer said..
“The government is doing the right thing,” Kulmayer said. “Baghdad has gone quite well and we expect that the rest of the provinces will do the same.”
As of Nov. 14, the GoI has paid over half of the SoI in Baghdad.
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