“While the Kurdistan Regional Government is reviewing all the handouts, it also calls on the respectful ministers of the previous cabinet to return the property of the government, including cars, houses or any accessories that they still retain,” KRG spokesperson Jutyar Adil said in a statement.
The KRG also was responding to claims made by former Agriculture Minister Abdulsatar Majid, who said there was rampant financial in the previous government. Majeed fears the complacency could also spill into the new cabinet.
Majid posted on Facebook on Saturday that wasting “public wealth” had been extreme due to “gifts and handouts."
A minister who assumed his role would be awarded $30,000 as a gift, claimed Majid. Besides the monthly salary of the ministers, each minister would also get a monthly bonus of 7.5 million Iraqi dinars ($6,300).
“I, humbly yours, was the minister of agriculture in the 8th Cabinet. And now that the new cabinet has started working, just like the past, wasting public wealth in the interest of a minority in the name of ‘handouts and gifts’ might continue,” Majid asserted.
The KRG in its statement on Sunday did acknowledge there have been “handouts;” however, “there has been nothing of the sort of gifts and there won’t be any.”
Starting in 2014, the Kurdistan Region began to suffer from multiple crises, including sharp declines in oil global prices, ongoing budget cuts by Baghdad, the conflict with the Islamic State (ISIS) and the hosting of 1.8 million IDPs and Syrian refugees.
During the crisis, employees were not paid on time at times for month as part of an unpopular “salary-saving system,” that at times saw the salaries of high-earning public servants slashed by 50 percent. Teachers, police, and other public employees also had salaries and pensions cut or “saved” — effectively eliminated.
The new cabinet has promised to fight corruption and will have its ministers complete forms to disclose their sources of income soon, the Kurdistan Region’s Integrity Commission said earlier this month.
“All cabinet ministers have now assumed office and we have prepared forms for them to reveal their riches. We will send them the forms this week,” Ahmad Anwar, head of the commission, previously told Rudaw.
Iraq ranks among the most corrupt nations in the world.
“Levels of corruption in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, while lower than in Iraq as a whole, are relatively high compared to other countries in the region,” according to Transparency International.
"Good governance" is one of the three pillars in new Prime Minister Masrour Barzani's official governmental mission, including "more transparency" and "tackling corruption."
"According to opinion polls, fighting corruption is a top priority for our citizens. Consequently, the government will do all it can to eradicate this problem. Our position is clear; civil servants must serve, not exploit their position," reads the KRG mission statement.
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