The issue of tampering with the budget tables has caused a great deal of controversy in the House of Representatives, after nearly 2 trillion dinars were lost from the budget dramatically.
The General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers sent a letter to the House of Representatives to inquire about the manipulation of the budget tables. The letter stated that “after examining the printed tables attached to the Parliament’s letter signed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives (acting), it became clear that there were fundamental differences in them compared to the copy sent by the Council of Ministers and contrary to the text of the parliamentary decision.”
Member of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, MP Jamal Koujar, confirmed that manipulation occurred after voting on the budget tables in the Parliament dome.
He pointed out in a press statement that he did not know who manipulated the tables, calling for an investigation into the matter.
The Council of Representatives held its twenty-seventh session, headed by Mr. Mohsen Al-Mandalawi, Acting Speaker of the Council, today, Monday, with the attendance of 199 representatives. The Council of Representatives voted on the tables of the Federal General Budget Law on May 18.
It seems that suspicions of the loss of the amount revolve around the Finance Committee and the Presidency of the House of Representatives.
For its part, the Finance Committee in the House of Representatives cleared its courtroom of any allegations of tampering with the current year’s budget schedules.
The Deputy Chairman of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, Ahmed Mazhar, told Al-Maalouma Agency, “The committee is far removed from the issue of tampering with the budget tables. It discussed the tables according to the CD that the government sent and then submitted it for a vote to the Presidency of the House of Representatives.”
He added, “The government’s raising of the issue of tampering with 2 trillion dinars in the budget tables, according to its claim, is very surprising.”
He explained, “If there is tampering with the budget tables, then the Speaker of the House of Representatives can be questioned.”
In support of clearing its yard, the Parliamentary Finance Committee formed an investigative committee on the subject, which provoked the ire of the Iraqi Parliament Presidency.
For his part, member of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, Moeen Al-Kazemi, expressed his surprise at the Parliament Presidency’s objection to the formation of an investigative committee regarding the changes that occurred in the budget.
Al-Kadhimi told Al-Maalouma Agency, “The formation of an investigative committee is the authority of the Finance Committee, expressing his regret at the Parliament Presidency’s objection to the formation of the committee, which does not require approval.”
He added that “the Finance Committee is inquiring about the reason for the difference in the budget tables between the parliamentary version and the government version, noting that the committee has asked the relevant authorities to reveal the manipulation of the numbers.”
In addition, MP for the State Support Bloc, Mohammed Al-Ziyadi, confirmed that signatures were collected to include a paragraph discussing the government’s claim that versions of the budget tables differed after voting on them.
Al-Ziyadi told Al-Maalouma Agency, “The government sent a letter to the House of Representatives claiming that the tables sent to it by the parliament after the parliament voted on them differ from those tables that it sent to the parliament.”
He added, “This book created a confusing atmosphere between Parliament and the government, and parliamentary signatures were collected to include a paragraph to discuss the issue in order to determine the truth of the dispute between Parliament and the government regarding the schedules and who was behind it.”
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