Wednesday Morning Iraq Economic News Highlights 4-12-23
Sudanese Advisor: The Delay In Approving The Budget Will Obscure Part Of The Important Expenditures
Economy| 02:37 – 04/12/2023 Baghdad – Mawazine News The financial advisor to the Prime Minister, Mazhar Muhammad Salih, stressed, on Wednesday, the need to expedite the budget legislation, warning that the delay in its approval obscures part of the important expenditures in the Iraqi economy, and affects opportunities for progress and growth.
Salih said, “The federal general budget is an important issue in Iraq’s economic life, as government expenditures, whether currently underway within the financial management law or to be added in the budget law, constitute about 50 percent of the Iraqi total, and its effects reach about 85 percent in activity.” the economist”.
Saleh added, “The delay in approving the budget means withholding part of the important expenditures in the Iraqi economy, especially good projects, appointments, programs, and commitments.”
He pointed out that “the budget is a big thing, and any delay will affect opportunities for progress and growth,” calling for “expediting budget legislation in the coming days.”
And he continued, “The country today, in the fifth chapter without a budget, and this does not indicate correctness in the course of the economy,” stressing that “accelerating the budget legislation is a strategic and important issue in the progress of Iraq.” https://www.mawazin.net/Details.aspx?jimare=224410
Sudanese Advisor: The Delay In Approving The Budget Will Obscure Part Of The Important Expenditures
Economy| 02:37 – 04/12/2023 Baghdad – Mawazine News The financial advisor to the Prime Minister, Mazhar Muhammad Salih, stressed, on Wednesday, the need to expedite the budget legislation, warning that the delay in its approval obscures part of the important expenditures in the Iraqi economy, and affects opportunities for progress and growth.
Salih said, “The federal general budget is an important issue in Iraq’s economic life, as government expenditures, whether currently underway within the financial management law or to be added in the budget law, constitute about 50 percent of the Iraqi total, and its effects reach about 85 percent in activity.” the economist”.
Saleh added, “The delay in approving the budget means withholding part of the important expenditures in the Iraqi economy, especially good projects, appointments, programs, and commitments.”
He pointed out that “the budget is a big thing, and any delay will affect opportunities for progress and growth,” calling for “expediting budget legislation in the coming days.”
And he continued, “The country today, in the fifth chapter without a budget, and this does not indicate correctness in the course of the economy,” stressing that “accelerating the budget legislation is a strategic and important issue in the progress of Iraq.” https://www.mawazin.net/Details.aspx?jimare=224410
Former Deputy: Re-Holding Border Crossings Will Support Iraq’s Budget By 10 Trillion Dinars
1,314 Former MP Furat Al-Tamimi confirmed, on Tuesday, that re-keeping the border crossings will support Iraq’s budget by at least 10 trillion dinars.
Al-Tamimi said in a press interview seen by “Takadum”, that “the file of the border crossings is sensitive and complex, in light of the presence of some of them outside the frameworks of the federal administration, and there are smuggling operations that take place on a regular basis, which contributed to creating great negatives for the economy, industry and agriculture inside Iraq.”
He added, “Ending the corruption file and the influence of some influential groups at the border crossings is an important step in order to increase the country’s financial revenues,” noting that “the crossings are able to support the country’s budget with at least more than 10 trillion dinars annually.”
He pointed out that “Al-Sudani’s decision to support the Mandali and Al-Mundhiriya crossings in Diyala with elite forces is a step in the right direction, with the need to reconsider the mechanisms of dealing with import axes and adopt electronic control.”
There are border crossings in the Kurdistan region that are not subject to the instructions of Baghdad, through which a lot of materials and goods are smuggled. https://takadum-news.com/archives/159003
Parliament’s Finances Regarding The Budget: Fixing Controversial Points Regarding Revenues, Expenditures, Deficits, And Loans
Money and business Economy News – Baghdad A member of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, Mustafa Al-Karawi, said, on Wednesday, that the committee has begun studying and reviewing the budget paragraphs in order to prepare its own report to be presented during the next session in the House of Representatives.
Al-Karawi added, in an interview with the official newspaper, “Al-Sabah”, “There will be a receipt of the observations by the members of the council, and thus the start of hosting the government to study the paragraphs of the budget accurately and proceed to pass it.”
He explained, “The committee has so far discussed about 17 articles, and the points of contention regarding revenues, expenditures, the deficit percentage, and the sections of new and continuous loans have been fixed, and all other details will be discussed and worked on, amended, and improved so that there is a positive impact on the Iraqi citizen and economy.”
Al-Karawi indicated, “After the second reading, the amendments and proposals will be studied by the supporting committees in the House of Representatives, and the observations, amendments, and tables will be confirmed, and they will go to vote.”
Al-Karaawi pointed out that “the committee deals with the budget in a technical way, and we hope that the political forces will keep the budget away from bets and political conflicts so that there will be no negative impact on the citizen as it directly affects him, because political conflicts will have a negative impact if they enter into the details of approving the budget.” “.
Al-Karawi went on to say that “there is an innovation in the contracts that have been confirmed and some special requests for some ministries that have not been decided yet.”
https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=33515
The Parliamentary Finance Is Preparing To Complete The Budget Report Before The End Of This Week And Is Recording Many Observations
Posted On2023-04-12 By Sotaliraq Baghdad / Firas Adnan The Parliamentary Finance Committee hopes to complete the preparation of its report on the budget law during the current week, before presenting it during the second reading session.
A parliamentary statement received by (Al-Mada) stated that “the Finance Committee held a meeting headed by First Deputy Speaker of Parliament Mohsen Al-Mandlawi to complete its discussions regarding the draft federal budget law for the years 2023-2024-2025.”
And the head of the committee, Atwan Al-Atwani, stated, according to the statement, that “the draft general budget law constitutes a major task for the Iraqi street, and it has an impact on the financial and economic market in the country, which requires reviewing the preliminary vision, reviewing and checking all the paragraphs contained, and fixing notes on them.”
The statement indicated that the “Finance Committee has completed reading the paragraphs and clauses of the draft law related to obligating ministries and agencies not associated with a ministry, which includes the number of manpower in the ministries, and procedures for appointment and contracting in the public sector, based on a three-year budget vision, in addition to procedures for referral to retirement, and other files. and make proposals thereon.
And he continues, “The committee’s observations included a mechanism for granting loans to graduates, approval of a five-year leave to encourage work, revitalize the private sector, and invest in manpower, in addition to the file of electronic taxation with the aim of developing and developing investment, maximizing revenues and supporting investment projects, as well as the issue of advances granted for the years Previous, discussing the issue of development funds ».
And the statement went on, that “the committee continues to hold meetings, and its intention to check all tables attached to the law and find out the details, pointing to the need to host the concerned parties to reach a formula that meets the aspirations and interests of the Iraqi people, and to prepare the committee’s report for the purpose of presenting it during the second reading in the House of Representatives.”
Committee member Mustafa Al-Karawi said, “The Finance Committee started, since Saturday, with a series of continuous meetings to discuss the budget in detail, and these meetings were chaired by Deputy Speaker of Parliament Mohsen Al-Mandalawi.”
Al-Karawi continued, “The discussions included revenues and expenditures, down to the deficit, and the rest of the other details that were mentioned in the government project.”
He pointed out, “The discussions lasted article after article, given that there are many problems in the draft, in order to be accurate in selecting and confirming the notes and presenting the report of the Finance Committee during the next session.”
Al-Karawi said, “The committee is continuing its meetings until the end of this week, hoping that we will finish preparing the report and studying it extensively.”
He stressed, “The article that provides for the reproduction of the budget for three years has not been studied in detail until the present time, as it was developed at the end of the project.”
And Al-Karawi indicated that “the dispute over this article still exists, as some go towards adopting it for three years.”
And he added, “Most of the members of the House of Representatives with making it for one year, so that the House of Representatives gives the real role in following up government work for each year.”
Al-Karawi pointed out, “Technical problems facing the budget related to the amounts that it may obtain in the coming years.”
He noted, “This comes in conjunction with problems related to oil prices and other political problems of an international nature,” and he talked about “the lack of desire to take the risk of enacting a law that extends for three years because we do not want to cause a problem for the national economy.”
Al-Karawi stressed, “The audit that took place included oil and non-oil revenue data, and we requested additional data to know how to collect these revenues, especially non-oil ones related to customs and taxes, because we want to know the extent to which the numbers that were talked about in the project can be achieved.”
He continued, “The size of the deficit in this budget is very high compared to previous years, and amounts to 64 trillion dinars, which is an imaginary number.”
Al-Karawi stressed, “The committee will discuss the possibility of reducing this number, by going to the operating budget that carries very large sums of about 150 trillion, and this is an unprecedented number.”
And he stated, “Parliament only wants to confirm new loans of importance, and we do not want to be in front of unimportant loans.
Al-Karawi believes that “moving towards new loans may burden the budget, and our going towards reducing the chances of resorting to borrowing, as this will reduce the deficit rate, whether these loans are internal or external, because they carry amounts that burden the budget.”
And he stressed, “the need to reconsider the price of a barrel of oil, in order to set a real and appropriate price away from risks.”
And Al-Karawi stated, “All the observations that we are recording are of a technical nature that can be affected by political issues, but we aspire to deal with the budget in a technical way, away from political issues, because this is the only legislation that directly affects the citizen.”
He called for “stripping the budget of political conflicts in order to make its legislation successful in a manner consistent with the public interest.”
And Al-Karawi continues, “Involving the law in political disputes will have a serious negative impact on the state’s financial program.”
He stressed, “The issue of petrodollars and the development of regions is organized by the Ministry of Planning on the basis of poverty and population density, and we want to achieve social justice by distributing resources to all provinces according to need.”
Al-Karawi spoke about “provinces that suffer a lot from a lack of services, resources and infrastructure, and this should be taken into account in order to achieve justice.”
And he stated, “Many poor areas are witnessing great grievances from their citizens, who compare themselves to other cities that are better in terms of services and infrastructure.”
Al-Karawi believes that “all regions of Iraq are below the level specified in global indicators of services, but we note that there is a discrepancy between one region and another, which will be noticed when submitting our report on the budget law.”
And he finds that “the political aspect is present in the distribution of wealth, as the provinces that have political influence take the major hand in obtaining budget sums, at the expense of others that are currently suffering from a poor time.”
And Al-Karawi concluded, that “one of the notes recorded on the budget is that it involved funds for reconstruction that must be enacted by law, but if it is mentioned with just a text in the budget, that creates a problem and a dispute that has been established regarding the budget.”
For his part, another member of the committee, Mueen Al-Kadhimi, stated that “discussions are still ongoing, and the Finance Committee will continue to prepare the budget report in preparation for presenting it to Parliament.”
And Al-Kazemi added, “The Finance Committee can reduce about half of the deficit that the government has set in its project sent to Parliament.”
And he pointed out, “The trend within the Finance Committee is to include in the law a recommendation that the budget be voted on for one year only, while giving the government the opportunity to present the next year’s budget according to the timings stipulated in the Financial Management Law.”
Al-Kazemi refuses, “holding Parliament responsible for delaying the approval of the budget,” noting that “the government’s resort to submitting the next draft budget to Parliament in October is a guarantee that it will be passed before the end of this year.”
The House of Representatives had started discussions on the budget law after it arrived from the government in the middle of last month, with large sums amounting to 200 trillion dinars. LINK
