Introduction
As I have explained in a previous post on Islamic State (IS) administration in Mosul and the wider Ninawa province (Wilayat Ninawa) in northern Iraq, the IS services department (as elsewhere in its territory) comes under the title of Diwan al-Khidamat, purporting to provide public services like electricity, water and road maintenance/renovation to the population. In reality, a considerable degree of parasitism exists in that the services' offices operating in IS-controlled territories in Iraq already existed under the authority of the Baghdad government, which still pays the workers their salaries, but IS has compelled the employees to work under the name of the Diwan al-Khidamat primarily under threat of confiscating their property.
That said, the Diwan al-Khidamat does appear to have some constructive initiatives. Further, the IS emphasis on compulsion to work and its hardline anti-corruption stance in this regard mean that in some respects, services may be better than before (particularly so in Syria, where prior ruling factions might have allowed workers to stay home in return for a slice of their salaries; also applying in a similar way in Iraq, where corruption has been rampant since 2003). Below is an account of its activities in Mosul and Ninawa Province given by pro-IS source Omar Fawaz, who has also been in contact with other government departments of IS in the area (cf. overview of training camp procedures and military divisions).
Testimony (here for original)
#Land of the Caliphate
#Diwan al-Khidamat
In completion of my tour through the Diwans of the Islamic State inside Wilayat Ninawa:
Today I entered the Diwan al-Khidamat and met with the officials there...I ask God to make them agreeable with what pleases Him for I hold them in high regard and God is their reckoning.
What follows is a simple overview of the accomplishments of the Diwan:
1. Establishing a number of contemporary markets of which the most important are: the City Market, Nafura Square Market, a market in al-Firdous Square, and a market near al-Sabounji mosque [in Bab al-Toub], al-Mu'ash Market and the Grand al-Yarmouk Market composed of five covered halls. [1]
2. The markets are an expression of covered stalls, the aim being to organize the activity of merchants and providers, while providing work opportunities for the youth and safeguarding the cleanliness of vegetables and fruits with inspection of them by the health agents. [2]
3. Establishment of shopping centres for females only- and two centres have been completed: one in the city centre Bab al-Toub and the second on the centre street near Prophet Yunis. [3]
4. Repair, return of functioning, dying and renovation of approximately 300km of the city's streets, bridges and roads, in addition to the replacement of used iron to protect the bridges.
5. Removing approximately 600,000 tons of garbage from the streets and paths of the city during 10 months of operation, in addition to 1300 tons of debris. [4]
6. Making suitable and dying 150 dividing lines of the roads, in addition to making suitable and reopening the al-Waritheen hotel. [5]
7. Removing the podium located on the sides of the street connecting between the University and al-Sukar [neighbourhood] and undertaking to set up an artificial cascade, a display for flowers, park and contemporary shops. [6]
8. Homes that have been exposed to bombing from the Crusader-Arab alliance have been compensated: on average of 80 million Iraqi dinars for one house (around $65,000) in the al-Rifa'i area [7]; in addition to ensuring the renovation and rebuilding damaged homes in Aden neighbourhood- done at the hands of a special committee from the Diwan. [8]
9. The Diwan has spent approximately 120 billion Iraqi dinars from God's wealth at the service of the Muslims inside the city, or around 100 million dollars during a year of operation. [9]
Notes
[1] The al-Mu'ash Market already appears to have been a well-known site in Mosul. The construction of new market places has been advertised elsewhere in IS propaganda: e.g. Raqqa province. Below also is a photo of one of the City Market (Souq al-Madina) opened by IS in Mosul:
 City Market: Mosul |
 For comparison, the IS-branded vegetable market in al-Qa'im, western Anbar ('Euphrates Province') |
[2] cf. The 'Consumer Protection Office' in Raqqa that came to the public spotlight last year: the tracking down and destruction of bad products appears to be done in coordination between the Diwan al-Siha (Health Department) and the Diwan al-Hisba (which enforces Islamic morality in public).
[3] The existence of IS-established women-only markets is also attested elsewhere: e.g. the town of Albukamal in IS 'Euphrates Province' on the border with Iraq (see photo below)
[4] The IS emphasis on necessity for service office employees to work, as mentioned earlier, seems to have had a positive impact in road renovation and cleaning. Repair and cleaning of roads have always been a key part of IS propaganda releases.
[5] Hence, the Diwan al-Khidamat issued the invitation for people to come to the al-Waritheen hotel for free in celebration of the IS advances in May that took Ramadi and Palmyra (Specimen 4H in the archive of admin documents).
[6] Reported in the local Iraqi outlet al-Mada Press on 10 June:
"Eyewitnesses from Mosul affirmed on Wednesday that the Da3esh organization removed the podium of Celebrations Square located in the north of the city.
The witnesses said in an interview with al-Mada Press that 'members of the Da3esh organization today destroyed and removed the podium of Celebrations Square in the north of Mosul using huge bulldozers that used to belong to the Iraqi army and were seized by the organization after it took control of the city,' making clear that 'the organization removed the ruins entirely on trucks.'
The witnesses added that 'the organization moved the remains of the podium to an unknown location while the bulldozers leveled the ground completely, wiping out any traces of the podium.'
The podium of Celebrations Square is considered one of the outstanding features of Mosul, as it is considered the main place for holding official celebrations, including the spring festival that was held every year before 2003, attended by deputy-head of the prior regime Izzat al-Douri; while on the podium street many parades were held after 2003 and senior officials sat on the podium. Similarly it was one of the main places for the demonstrations opposed to the government that began from the end of 2012 [the Sunni Arab protests]."
[7] The bombing occurred in May. Responsibility for pulling out dead and wounded in the airstrikes on al-Rifa'i was entrusted to a prior existing civil defense and first aid committee that IS has compelled to work, similar to its dealings with other service/municipal offices. Compare with a document from Hit, Anbar province, wherein IS compels the civil defense committee among other service offices to work under its administration under threat of confiscation of employees' properties (Specimen 4E).
[8] The bombing occurred in April and was advertised in IS Ninawa province media (see photo below)
[9] It is perhaps worth noting in conclusion what our source here does not mention with regards to services provision. Most glaringly, there is no discussion of electricity and whether the Diwan al-Khidamat is overseeing management of this service. This is likely because it is known that the Diwan al-Khidamat has little/no capabilities in this field at all. On the contrary, electricity mostly comes from private generators managed and built by locals, with very limited public electricity being provided via the Mosul Dam since March as a way for outside forces to have leverage in the city (the same reason why the central government still pays health workers and teachers in Mosul). IS' role with the generators in the city is to set prices for electricity use depending on the time of day.