Kurdish MP slams Baghdad for hypocrisy toward Erbil

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A Kurdish lawmaker in the Iraqi parliament on Sunday accused Baghdad of hypocrisy in its dealings with Erbil, claiming the federal government applies excessive scrutiny to the Kurdistan Region while ignoring widespread corruption within its own institutions.

"If the federal government of Iraq applied the same scrutiny and auditing it currently applies to the Kurdistan Region's non-oil revenues to its own institutions, such as border crossings, taxes, fees, and institutions’ revenues, Iraq's non-oil revenues would be so high it wouldn't need to sell oil,” Sherwan Dubardani, from the Region’s ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), told Rudaw.

Dubardani accused the federal government of “deliberately” trying to weaken the Region, saying it “overlooks countless corruption cases within its own institutions.”

Tensions between the two sides escalated in late May when the federal finance ministry halted budget transfers, accusing the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) of exceeding its 12.67 percent share and failing to fulfill oil export commitments. The suspension disrupted salaries for more than 1.2 million public employees in the Region.

In July, Erbil and Baghdad reached a deal under which the KRG agreed to export all its oil - about 230,000 barrels per day - through Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) in exchange for the release of long-delayed public sector salaries. Baghdad has since sent 975 billion dinars (around $737 million) to cover May salaries, but implementation has stalled over technical and financial disputes, leaving June and July wages unpaid.

The lawmaker added that the Iraqi Council of Ministers was expected to decide on disbursing funds for the Kurdistan Region’s civil servants’ salaries during its Sunday meeting.

However, Ali al-Daffayi, the spokesperson for the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI) - a party within the Iran-aligned Coordination Framework, told Rudaw on Sunday that the council “does not need to discuss” the budget issue because it “has been discussed in detail” and that Erbil and Baghdad “have reached pathways to solve this problem.”

At the time of writing this article, the ministerial meeting has begun, but a statement has yet to be issued on the outcome.

“What we need now is commitment from all parties to the finalized agreement between Baghdad and Erbil,” he said.

On Saturday, a ministerial council source told Rudaw that Iraq's oil and finance ministers would present reports on the latest proposals between Baghdad and Erbil, while the Federal Financial Supervision Bureau would submit a report containing both sides’ positions to Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani and council members.

A source from the Kurdistan Region’s financial auditing board told Rudaw on Sunday that Erbil has offered to send 100 billion dinars monthly in non-oil revenue to Baghdad - representing 50 percent of customs, taxes, and fees. Baghdad, however, insists the KRG must hand over 50 percent of all revenues, a key point of contention.

If no decision is made on salary payments during Sunday’s meeting, the issue could be postponed for several days due to the Arbaeen pilgrimage, with the next Council of Ministers session scheduled for August 19.