Residents in the al-Qaim district of western Al-Anbar are upset after leaked papers revealed that the Akkas gas field hired engineers and workers from outside the province.
Local engineers and recent graduates told dinaropinions.com that the new hiring decisions feel unfair. They said people from al-Qaim have been waiting for years for real job opportunities, and it makes no sense to bring in workers from other areas while local talent is left unused.
Many residents are calling for the current contracts to be stopped, reviewed, and fixed so the hiring process is transparent and fair. They want locals to have first access to jobs in major projects happening in their own district.
Adnan al-Kubeisi, a member of the Al-Anbar Provincial Council, said the anger isn’t only coming from al-Qaim. Communities across the province — especially in the western districts — are also unhappy with how things were handled.
He explained that although the local government doesn’t directly control these contracts, it will work to ensure that people living around the gas field get the first chance at available jobs.
Civil activist Youssef al-Nida said the issue with the Akkas field is part of a bigger problem. Al-Qaim suffered heavily during past conflicts, and residents have been waiting a long time for the jobs they were promised whenever new projects were announced.
He called on the Iraqi government to step in, make the hiring process transparent, and require companies to give priority to local workers — just like other energy-producing provinces already do.
