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Kurdistan
File photo of President Nechirvan Barzani (left) and flags of US, UK, Germany and Netherlands. Photo: handout. Graphic: Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The United States, United Kingdom, Germany and Netherlands consulates in Erbil sent a letter to Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani earlier this month, calling for the implementation of Peshmerga reforms.
The letter, sent on December 5 but obtained by Rudaw on Thursday, is signed by Robert Palladino, David Hunt and Sven Mossier Consuls General of the US, UK and Germany respectively as well as Maaike Keizer Deputy Consul General of Netherland.
“We, the Consuls General undersigned, congratulate the Kurdistan Regional Government on the progress made towards the implementation of the Peshmerga Retirement Law, which is a vital step toward creating a more effective fighting force. With more than 2000 Peshmerga already retired under the new law, we encourage the implementation of the retirement of the list of 830 officers who have reached the legal age of retirement as endorsed by the Council of Ministers” read the letter.
“Additionally, we believe similar actions should be taken with other pending reform items that the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs has elevated to the KRG Council of Ministers for approval, such as the military defense strategy and single accounting unit,” they added.
The controversial bill, titled the Reform of Pensions, Salaries, Allowances, Grants and other Benefits, was passed in mid-January 2020 and signed into law by the President Barzani the next month.
The initial step of the law’s implementation applies to all pensioners of the Peshmerga ministry’s three directorates - including the one associated directly with the ministry, as well as the 80 and 70 unit forces of the ministry, which respectively belong to the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).
“This Bill is central to the government’s plans to increase public trust, streamline public expenditure, and ensure a fair system for our valued public servants and brave Peshmerga forces,” PM Masrour Barzani said the day it was passed by the parliament.
“Finally, we look forward to the approval of the 70's Forces request for integration of the 2nd Support Forces Command in the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs,” said the joint letter by the four consulates.
“We are committed to supporting the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs and the Government on this reform. We also look forward to future steps to achieve long term prosperity and enduring security in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq,” they said at the end of the letter.
Remand Khalid, the head of the General Directorate of Pensions from the Economy and Finance Ministry’s legal department, told Rudaw in summer 2020 "Our database is so advanced that it will be able to distinguish the unlawful pensions from the authentic ones."
According to 2020 data from Khalid's department, more than 247,000 people in the Kurdistan Region receive pensions from the government, including 91,000 Peshmerga soldiers, altogether costing the KRG 1.1 billion dinars. This figure makes up 12 percent of the overall salaries the government pays on a monthly basis.
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