Tuesday Evening Iraq Economic News Highlights 4-18-23
It Will Be Deducted From The Budget.” Baghdad Will Send 400 Billion Dinars To The Region
The Iraqi Ministry of Finance building 2023-04-18 Shafaq News / A deputy from Sulaymaniyah Governorate revealed today, Tuesday, that the Iraqi government decided to send 400 billion to the Kurdistan Region after the Eid holiday.
MP Bajyar Rashid said in an interview with Shafaq News agency; “The Iraqi government will send 400 billion dinars to the Kurdistan Region to pay the salaries of employees for a period of two months until the budget is approved,” he said.
Rashid added, “Sending the amount requires the regional government to pay it or deduct it from its share in the federal budget after its approval,” explaining that “the money transfer is only an administrative procedure, and it is scheduled to arrive in the Kurdistan Region after the Eid al-Fitr holiday.”
A source in the Ministry of Finance and Economy of the Kurdistan Regional Government told Shafaq News agency, “The process of distributing April salaries will begin after the Eid al-Fitr holiday.” LINK
The Parallel Dollar Continues To Stabilize In The Al-Kifah And Al-Harithiya Stock Exchanges
Information / Baghdad.. The exchange rate of the dollar against the dinar in the parallel market continues to stabilize, as it recorded an exchange rate of 144,300 dinars for every 100 dollars.
The Al-Maalouma correspondent stated that the Al-Kifah and Al-Harithiya stock exchanges in Baghdad recorded an exchange rate of 144,300 dinars for every 100 dollars.
He added that, the exchange rates of the dollar in exchange shops and local markets in Baghdad: the selling price is 144,750 dinars per 100 dollars, while the purchase price is 143,750 dinars per 100 dollars. Ended25 s LINK
Terrifying Numbers.. Presidencies Double Their Shares In The Budget And Ignore Reform
Today Information/Baghdad.. The head of the Faw Zakho Assembly, Representative Amer Abdul-Jabbar, revealed, on Tuesday, shocking numbers of presidencies’ allocations in the 2023 budget, pointing out that the budget has a large exaggeration compared to the governorates’ allocations .
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Abdul-Jabbar said, in an interview with Al-Maalouma Agency, that “there is an exaggeration in the allocations of the presidency compared to the allocations for the year 2021, and these allocations exhaust the 2023 budget.”
He added, “The allocation of the presidency in the year 2021 was 60 billion dinars, while it has now become 94 billion dinars. As for the prime minister, it was 475, so it became one trillion and 200 million.” Pointing out
that the agencies affiliated with the Prime Minister’s Office increased their allocations from 378 billion dinars to 990 billion dinars,
stressing that “the allocation of the Cabinet Secretariat increased from 186 billion dinars to 930 billion dinars, and he continued that the Prime Minister’s Office and its affiliates cost the state treasure 3 trillion.”
And the Information Agency had obtained documents indicating an increase in the allocations of the 2023 budget and the allocations of presidencies. LINK
With The Imminent Passage Of The Budget.. Claims To Cancel The Reconstruction Funds Due To Corruption
Today 14:19 information/special.. The leader of the Wisdom Movement, Furat Al-Tamimi, demanded, on Tuesday, the cancellation of the funds for the reconstruction of the liberated areas, with the imminent passage of the draft budget for the current year 2023, due to suspicions of corruption and waste of public money.
Al-Tamimi said in an interview with Al-Maalouma, “The goal of establishing the Reconstruction Fund for the areas liberated from terrorism, and despite our many observations on it, was to help the liberated areas overcome the crisis of devastation caused by the remnants of terrorism, but unfortunately it was exploited politically to a large extent.
He added, “The cancellation of the Reconstruction Fund will end four aggravating negatives, the most prominent of which is preventing the transfer of state funds into banners for political promotion, in addition to correcting a major mistake because the fund cannot supervise or monitor its projects.” , which raises many suspicions of financial corruption.”
And he pointed out that “transferring the Fund’s money to the governorates directly, and it is the one that sets plans to support the liberated areas according to clear mechanisms, is the best option,” noting that he “supported the approach of many deputies in order to proceed with this path during 2023.”
The Reconstruction Fund is facing harsh criticism from political forces and deputies because of its exploitation in promoting some alliances. LINK
Deputy: The 2023 Budget Will Undergo A Process Of Streamlining And Amending It To Reduce Its Deficit
Member of Parliament, Sherwan Al-Dobardani, confirmed that the 2023 budget is subject to a process of streamlining and a number of amendments to reduce the deficit.
Al-Dobardani said in a press interview seen by “Takadum” that “the report of the Finance Committee regarding the budget will be taken into account, as it will be streamlined and some amendments will be made to it to reduce the rate of inflation in it, ruling out the Parliament’s proceeding to vote on the federal budget in light of the large deficit that it included.”
He added, “The House of Representatives is keen to address the deficit in the budget, by reducing and transferring some amounts of ministries and others to reduce the deficit rate.”
Al-Dobardani explained that “approving the budget with this large size of the deficit is not possible, especially since Iraq depends primarily on oil, which is subject to changes from time to time in its prices,” pointing out that “reducing the deficit is not by canceling entire sections of the budget, but by reducing all the doors”.
He continued, “Most of the observations that will be focused on relate to the possibility of reducing the fiscal deficit in the budget by reducing ruling expenditures, public debt, and tax regulation.”
Passing Iraq’s Budget Is “Not Easy”… Disputes And Objections Impede Its Legislation
2023-04-18 Shafaq News/ The Parliamentary Finance Committee revealed, on Tuesday, that there are political differences and objections to the draft state budget law, noting that passing it “will not be easy”.
Committee member Jamal Cougar told Shafaq News agency, “The budget law is not devoid of political differences, especially since there is an objection by various political parties to making the budget for three years, as well as a political objection to the shares of the financial governorates.”
And Cougar indicated that “after the second reading of the budget law, the budget law will enter into dialogues and negotiations between the political forces for the purpose of agreement and agreement on it, and to discuss the possibility of amending some paragraphs of the law, and for this reason passing the budget will not be easy with the presence of political differences over it.”
For his part, the researcher in economic and political affairs, Nabil Jabbar Al-Tamimi, confirmed that there are political and technical objections to the budget law that will hinder the legislation of the law in the House of Representatives.
Al-Tamimi told Shafaq News agency, “The budget law before the parliament, which was read for a second reading, faces a political disagreement over wealth distribution shares,” explaining that “the government seeks to increase the shares and allocations of ministries at the expense of the shares and allocations of governorates.”
And he indicated that “the Sunni political parties are seeking to increase the allocations of the provinces (development of the regions) and the shares of (the liberated provinces reconstruction fund).
He added, “Some Shiite parties, within the coordination framework, are afraid to approve a budget for three years, fearing that the current Prime Minister, Muhammad Shia al-Sudani, will sign an open exchange instrument for three years, which al-Sudani will benefit from to enhance his political position and influence during the coming years at the expense of other Shiite parties.”
The researcher in economic and political affairs concluded that “there are technical parliamentary objections, related to the size of the operating budget estimated at 150 trillion, while it could be around 105 trillion only at the highest estimate, and all of these objections will be a major reason for obstructing the passage of the budget during the coming period.”
The Iraqi Council of Representatives completed the first and second readings of the draft federal budget law for the Republic of Iraq, which was submitted by the government of Muhammad Shia al-Sudani for the fiscal years (2023, 2024, 2025). LINK
