Baghdad still not decided on sending Erbil its budget share: MP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Baghdad has not yet made a decision to send budget funds to the Kurdistan Region, the minister of finance told the regional parliament’s finance committee on Monday, according to a lawmaker.
Kurdistan Region Minister of Finance Awat Janab Noori met with the parliamentary committee to discuss developments in budget talks with the federal government.
“He said that in Iraq there are is a deep state, meaning there is a state within a state, that decides what the Iraqi government will do, what [Prime Minister] Kadhimi will do. They haven’t yet decided to send money to the Kurdistan Region,” Hevidar Ahmed, deputy head of the parliament's finance committee, told Rudaw.
When Baghdad will send Erbil its share of the federal budget is "unknown,” he added.
The budget is always a problematic issue between Erbil and Baghdad. The 2021 budget was passed by the Iraqi parliament in late March after intense debate and more than three months after it was approved by the cabinet. One contentious point was Erbil’s share and requirements for the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to hand over oil.
According to Ahmed, the Iraqi oil ministry sent a letter to the KRG asking it to decrease its oil output from 460,000 barrels per day to 330,000 “because OPEC has pressured us to decrease oil production.”
Because of the budget disputes and financial woes, the KRG has been unable to pay its civil servants on time or in full. Parliament speaker Rewaz Fayaq told Rudaw on Monday that the legislature will not sit again unless it’s to discuss the budget and salaries.
MPs have several times called for these issues to be discussed. A parliament session on May 25 dedicated to discussing murder and suicide rates, turned into heated salary talks when Gorran MP Ali Hama Salih said “the finance ministry has not received enough funds to distribute salaries. Even with the 21 percent [cut]” to paycheques. His comments set off accusations of blame between the two ruling parties.
Salaries for May were distributed late, with the last department receiving payment on June 10, with a 21% cut.
Liza Falakdin Kakayi, member of the parliament’s finance committee, told Rudaw on Monday that salaries for June will be distributed on time on the 25th.
Hakim Khasro, a member of the government’s committee overseeing reforms to its bloated payroll and pensions, was also present in the meeting with the finance committee.
“He said we have two solutions, either Iraq sends [the money] and the problem will be solved. If not, we have to depend on ourselves and do the reforms,” Ahmed said.
The reforms are “very hard,” he added.
The Reform of Pensions, Salaries, Allowances, Grants and other Benefits bill was passed in mid-January last year, and signed into law by President Nechirvan Barzani the following month.
The legislation eliminates ghost employees and other fraudulent salary claims, reduces pensions for MPs and high ranking officials, and standardizes retirement regulations. The law also seeks to strike pensioners from its system who have never served in government or security institutions, but receive retirement pay due to their association with party patronage networks.
The KRG began implementing the law in July, starting with restructuring Peshmerga pensions.
Additional reporting by Hemin Baban Rahim, Bahroz Faraidoon, and Shaho Amin
Kurdistan Region Minister of Finance Awat Janab Noori met with the parliamentary committee to discuss developments in budget talks with the federal government.
“He said that in Iraq there are is a deep state, meaning there is a state within a state, that decides what the Iraqi government will do, what [Prime Minister] Kadhimi will do. They haven’t yet decided to send money to the Kurdistan Region,” Hevidar Ahmed, deputy head of the parliament's finance committee, told Rudaw.
When Baghdad will send Erbil its share of the federal budget is "unknown,” he added.
The budget is always a problematic issue between Erbil and Baghdad. The 2021 budget was passed by the Iraqi parliament in late March after intense debate and more than three months after it was approved by the cabinet. One contentious point was Erbil’s share and requirements for the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to hand over oil.
According to Ahmed, the Iraqi oil ministry sent a letter to the KRG asking it to decrease its oil output from 460,000 barrels per day to 330,000 “because OPEC has pressured us to decrease oil production.”
Because of the budget disputes and financial woes, the KRG has been unable to pay its civil servants on time or in full. Parliament speaker Rewaz Fayaq told Rudaw on Monday that the legislature will not sit again unless it’s to discuss the budget and salaries.
MPs have several times called for these issues to be discussed. A parliament session on May 25 dedicated to discussing murder and suicide rates, turned into heated salary talks when Gorran MP Ali Hama Salih said “the finance ministry has not received enough funds to distribute salaries. Even with the 21 percent [cut]” to paycheques. His comments set off accusations of blame between the two ruling parties.
Salaries for May were distributed late, with the last department receiving payment on June 10, with a 21% cut.
Liza Falakdin Kakayi, member of the parliament’s finance committee, told Rudaw on Monday that salaries for June will be distributed on time on the 25th.
Hakim Khasro, a member of the government’s committee overseeing reforms to its bloated payroll and pensions, was also present in the meeting with the finance committee.
“He said we have two solutions, either Iraq sends [the money] and the problem will be solved. If not, we have to depend on ourselves and do the reforms,” Ahmed said.
The reforms are “very hard,” he added.
The Reform of Pensions, Salaries, Allowances, Grants and other Benefits bill was passed in mid-January last year, and signed into law by President Nechirvan Barzani the following month.
The legislation eliminates ghost employees and other fraudulent salary claims, reduces pensions for MPs and high ranking officials, and standardizes retirement regulations. The law also seeks to strike pensioners from its system who have never served in government or security institutions, but receive retirement pay due to their association with party patronage networks.
The KRG began implementing the law in July, starting with restructuring Peshmerga pensions.
Additional reporting by Hemin Baban Rahim, Bahroz Faraidoon, and Shaho Amin