Tishwash: Parliament and government.. a race with the 2025 budget
The 2025 budget schedules in Iraq are witnessing a delay that is causing widespread controversy between the government and parliament, as the government has not yet sent the full details of the budget to the House of Representatives, which has raised concerns among members of the parliamentary finance committee about the deadline for approval.
The statements indicate that the reasons for the delay are related to reviews of financial schedules, especially those related to oil extraction expenses in the Kurdistan Region and the costs of projects funded in 2025.
The Financial Management Law requires the government to submit the general budget to the Council of Representatives 45 days before the beginning of the fiscal year, in order to allow the necessary time to discuss and approve it. Despite the clarity and explicitness of the legal text, no Iraqi government, including the current government, has committed to implementing this entitlement.
Speaking about this file, member of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, Mustafa Al-Karaawi, revealed the existence of legal and constitutional violations by the government in sending the budget law to the House of Representatives.
Al-Karawi said in a statement to Al-Maalouma Agency, “Article 77, paragraph two of the Federal Triennial Budget Law indicated that the government must send the budget tables before the end of the fiscal year,” indicating that “the government sent only one amendment to the text of the budget, which is the text of Article 12 related to the costs of extracting oil in the region.”
He added, “Not sending the schedules on time is considered a legal and constitutional violation, and if the government proceeds with amendments to the articles, there are many articles that need to be amended and to be fair to many groups,” adding, “We recorded all of these observations in the session last Tuesday during the first reading of the amendment to the budget law.”
He explained that “his committee is working on re-amending the budget law and sending it to the government to work on general amendments to the law so that it is fair to all segments of society and addresses the problems in the previous budget.”
In addition, member of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, Hussein Mounes, revealed that the budget amendments are subject to political amendments, not technical ones.
In a statement to Al-Maalouma Agency, Mounes said, “The government has a point of view in resolving the issues with the region and limiting oil smuggling operations by increasing production costs by $16 per barrel.”
He added, “During the discussion of the proposal, we raised several questions: Why was $16 set? Is it a technical or political consensus number?”
He pointed out that “the Parliamentary Finance Committee hosted the concerned parties and they confirmed to us that the issue is political and not technical.”
He explained that “the government’s proposal is to form an advisory body, and in the event of non-compliance, a committee of consultants will be formed to determine production costs.”
He pointed out that “the Finance Committee determined that the amount would be an advance granted to the region and that a settlement would be arranged later.”
He added, “There are approximately 256 thousand barrels smuggled daily from the region with OPEC’s permission. This file must be closed because it negatively affects government production,” stressing that “the Finance Committee has reservations regarding the advances and loans granted to the region.”
It is noteworthy that the House of Representatives previously hosted Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani and his deputies, the Minister of Planning, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the Minister of Interior, where the amendments to the budget for next year 2025 were discussed.
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Tishwash: Will the local market be affected by the events in Syria? A detailed Iraqi view of the scene
The economic expert, Abdul Rahman Al Mashhadani, presented a detailed vision of the possibility of the local market being affected by the events in Syria after the fall of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad.
Al-Mashhadani ruled out via {Al-Furat News}: “The Iraqi market was greatly affected by the events in Syria because trade with Syria was greatly reduced after the sanctions imposed by America on banks,” noting that “there are alternatives to Syrian products, as imports from them were mainly fruits and vegetables.”
He expected that “there will be a positive impact on the dollar and that the value of the Iraqi dinar will improve in the coming period, and if the American sanctions on Syria are eased, it will have a positive impact, considering that it was one of the links in the sanctions.”
Al-Mashhadani explained that “the American position towards the events in Syria is positive and there is clear support, as evidenced by the fact that the American side is thinking of removing the names of terrorist organizations from the so-called front that entered Damascus, which will lead to flexibility in commercial dealings.”
He stressed that “the situation in general needs time for things to stabilize and for the borders to reopen.”
The dollar exchange rate against the dinar decreased on Monday afternoon in Baghdad markets, coinciding with the closing of the stock exchange.
The dollar exchange rate reached 150,700 dinars for $100 at the close of the Al-Kifah and Al-Harithiya stock exchanges, while this morning it recorded 151,000 dinars for $100.
The selling price in exchange shops in the local markets in Baghdad was 151,750 dinars for $100, while the purchase price was 149,750 dinars for $100.
Mot: Gots to Love ole “”Earl””
Mot: Sad Christmas Tree
