The Kurdistan Regional Government announces the disbursement of more than 6 trillion dinars in salaries in 2020

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The Kurdistan Regional Government announces the disbursement of more than 6 trillion dinars in salaries in 2020

 

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 2021-01-09 04:21

 

Shafaq News / The Kurdistan Regional Government's Media and Information Department announced on Saturday that 8 salaries will be paid to employees and workers in the public sector during the year 2020, part of which was paid by the regional government and the other part secured by the federal government, indicating the total sum of the financial amounts distributed for salaries amounted to six trillion, and 500 billion Iraqi Dinar.

 

The department said in a table published today that includes statistics in numbers on salaries, that the regional government has secured 63.8% of the total, while the federal government has insured 36.1% of the total number of those salaries.

 

She explained that the regional government distributed salaries on dates 1-13, 9-2, 9-3, 4-5, 27-6, 8-18, 10-15, and 3-12 during the year 2020, but the salaries of April and July And September and November have not been paid.

 

The department indicated that an amount of 11 billion and 880 million dinars was cut in the months of January, February, March, and April by the federal government.

 

According to the department's schedule, the federal government sent 400 billion dinars, but in the months (5-6-7-10-11-12) it did not send any sums of money to the Kurdistan Regional Government.

 

The department continued that the Kurdistan Regional Government allocated in the year 2020 six trillions, 505 billion, 988 million, 307 thousand, and 176 Iraqi dinars for the salaries of employees.

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SULAIMANI — Member of the Council of Representatives’ Finance Committee Shirwan Mirza said on Sunday (January 10) that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) will be able to pay salary to public sector employees per month on time without delays if it adheres to the terms of the draft 2021 Iraqi Budget Law.

“According to the draft law, approximately one trillion Iraqi dinars [$683.68 million] will be delivered to the Kurdistan Region from Baghdad,” Patriotic Union of Kurdistan’s (PUK) lawmaker Mirza said during an interview with NRT Tawtwe interview program.

He called on the KRG to commit to the federal budget bill and ink an agreement with the federal oil marketer State Organization for Marketing Oil (SOMO) to hand over an amount of oil determined by the latter so as to receive its budget shares on monthly bases.

“There will be more tensions and discussions on the draft 2021 budget law between the [Kurdistan] Region and Baghdad,” Mirza said. “The budget law will not easily be passed [approved by Council of Representatives] and will carry more discussions.”

He also said that the political parties have promised Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi to pass the budget bill very soon. “But some Iraq’s political parties want to impose the central authority over the Region,” he warned.

On Saturday, the Council of Representative held the first reading of the bill.

Finance Committee Rapporteur Ahmed Safar told the state-run al-Sabah newspaper that a second reading of the draft legislation will likely take place on Monday and Tuesday. It will then be referred to the Finance Committee.

On December 21, the Council of Ministers approved and sent the draft 2021 federal budget bill to legislators for consideration and a vote, but rejected cuts in allowances for public sector workers.

Controversially, it also includes a devaluation of the Iraqi dinar, in order to protect the country’s dollar reserves.

Spending in the budget will total 150 trillion Iraqi dinars ($103 billion), but carry a deficit is 63 trillion dinars ($52.94 billion). The estimated price of oil is set at $42 per barrel.

Tensions between the KRG and the federal government deteriorated in April when Baghdad cut off all funding to the KRG following Erbil’s fifteen-month refusal to send oil to the federal government as it was required to under the 2019 Federal Budget Law.

As the KRG’s finances grew steadily worse and it was unable to pay public sector salaries on time and in full, anger with the authorities in Erbil increased, boiling over into public protests in Erbil and Duhok in the summer and early autumn and Sulaimani and Halabja this month.

(NRT Digital Media)