Parliamentary astonishment at the delay in sending budget tables: a clear challenge

[RJG]

Parliamentary astonishment at the delay in sending budget tables: a clear challenge

 

 

Money and Business

   

 

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Economy News - Baghdad

The House of Representatives' Finance Committee expressed surprise on Tuesday at the government's delay in submitting the 2025 budget schedules to the House, despite previous promises.

Committee member Saad Al-Nubi said, "The Parliamentary Finance Committee recently hosted both Minister of Planning Mohammed Tamim and Minister of Finance Taif Sami to discuss the schedules for the 2025 general budget law. The two ministers informed the committee that the schedules would be sent to the Council of Ministers."

He added, "However, we still note the government's delay in sending the budget tables to Parliament for discussion and voting," considering that "there is a clear challenge on the part of the government in not sending the tables to Parliament without knowing the reasons."

Al-Nubi continued, "The budget was supposed to reach parliament before the end of last month, but we don't know the reasons for this delay." He noted that "the committee pressured the Minister of Planning and the Minister of Finance, asking them to explain the reason for the delay in submission, but has not received a response yet."

It is noteworthy that the Iraqi Parliament voted in June 2023 on the draft general budget law for the fiscal years (2023, 2024, 2025).

 

52 views

Added 04/15/2025 - 3:33 PM

https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=54468

[horsesoldier]

ASTONISHMENT!?!?!?

 

REALLY!?!?!?

 

PUHLEEEEASE!?!?!

 

🤣

[BETTYBOOP]

How can they be astonished? Oil priced are in the toilet so it will need recalculated to stop the sky falling in

[wciappetta]

I don't I'm buying the oil price argument; Brent is at nearly $65. Seems deliberate.... 

[Laid Back]

That’s what happened when the country budget is based on oil prices.

[RJG]

A member of the Parliamentary Finance Committee warns: Sending the government's budget tables based on the previous oil price is suicidal and risky.

• Time: 2025/04/15 22:17:00
•  
• Read: 1,560 times

  

{Politics: Al Furat News} Parliamentary Finance Committee member Mustafa Al Karawi warned against the government's reliance on the same budget schedules as last year, stressing that maintaining oil prices at $70 per barrel is a "real risk" given an expected price decline that could reach $52, with a deficit estimated at 19 trillion dinars.

 

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Al-Karawi said, during his appearance on the program "Free Talk" on Al-Furat satellite channel this evening, that: "Building a budget with these numbers is financial suicide and puts the state in a real embarrassment regarding the payment of dues to the companies implementing the projects," adding that "the schedules have not arrived yet, and if they are sent in the same previous version, Iraq is heading towards an economic disaster."

He pointed out that "the government has failed to maximize non-oil revenues, and there are no concrete programs to achieve this yet, despite previous projections that these revenues would reach 27 trillion dinars." He explained that "the goods entering through border crossings without taxes only benefit merchants, while there are no realistic steps to enhance the state's resources."

Al-Karawi added, "Articles 11, 12, and 13 of the budget law were amended due to popular pressure to include oil exports through SOMO and the localization of salaries of employees in government banks. However, implementation remains stalled to this day, creating a legal impasse as the government continues to pay salaries without completing the localization procedures."

He continued, "We found in the tables debts exceeding 4 trillion dinars owed by the Kurdistan Regional Government as financial differences for the previous two years, reflecting a clear failure to resolve the salaries and oil issues with the region."

Al-Karawi criticized the lack of priorities in budget allocations, saying, "A large portion of the support went to the Ministry of Trade, while the Ministries of Agriculture and Water Resources received only modest support despite the serious challenges they face." 

He revealed that "Iraq's water reserves have fallen to less than 10%, below the critical threshold, while there is no clear government plan to address this dangerous decline."

Al-Karawi concluded by saying, "The parliamentary finance committee is currently virtually inactive, and the management of funds is clearly flawed. This requires a restructuring of priorities and support for the domestic economy to ease the pressure on Iraqi citizens."

Wafaa Al-Fatlawi

 

https://alforatnews.iq/news/عضو-في-المالية-النيابية-يحذر-إرسال-الحكومة-لجداول-الموازنة-بسعر-النفط-الماضي-انتحار-ومجازفة

[SocalDinar]

6 hours ago, Laid Back said:

That’s what happened when the country budget is based on oil prices.

Dutch disease

[screwball]

8 hours ago, Laid Back said:

That’s what happened when the country budget is based on oil prices.

yep and as shabs said its the CBI job to support budget through ER's, its clear they need to adjust rate for drop in oil prices but when?

[wciappetta]

Back in Oct 2024 Alaq thought they should have priced oil at $40.00 

[wciappetta]

March 29, 2025:

 

"The general budget tables have been completed in a preliminary form and may be transferred to the House of Representatives immediately after the Eid holiday, and if this is not possible, it may arrive before the first half of next April.

https://www.shafaq.com/ar/سیاسة/الحكومة-تستكمل-جداول-الموازنة-وسط-عجز-ي-ثر-على-الوظا-ف-والخدمات-بالعراق

 

Then we have this from 3-27....

 

the Minister of Planning said that "his ministry has completed what is related to it in preparing the 2025 budget tables, and we sent them to the Council of Ministers," pointing out that "it does not include the inclusion of any new projects, but it includes financing ongoing projects."

https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=53832

 

Back in February 2 2025 we have this:

 

BAGHDAD, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Iraq’s parliament on Sunday approved a budget amendment to subsidise production costs for international oil companies operating in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region in a move aimed at unblocking northern oil exports, lawmakers said.

The amendment sets the rate at $16 a barrel, up from an earlier proposal for $7.9 a barrel for transport and production costs, which was rejected as too low by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). 

 

Iraq parliament approves compensation plan to resolve Kurdistan oil dispute, say lawmakers | Reuters

 

Today Saleh blames the issue on the already approved costs. It only takes seconds to change a number on a computer and calculate. and they've had the new numbers since beginning of February. They've said they already completed the schedules.

 

Sudanese consultant: Kurdistan oil costs behind the delay in sending budget tables

economyVolcanoes

2025-04-16 07:26

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font

Shafaq News / The financial and economic adviser to Prime Minister Mazhar Muhammad Saleh revealed today, Wednesday, the reasons for the delay in sending the 2025 budget tables to the House of Representatives so far, stressing that the matter is related to amendments related to the costs of extracting and transporting oil in the Kurdistan Region, which required re-calculation.

Saleh told Shafaq News Agency that "the delay in sending the budget tables for the year 2025 came mainly due to the delay in amending the Federal Budget Law No. 13 of 2023 (the three-year budget), especially the amendment of Article 12 and the issuance of appropriate legislation in February of this year, which is the amendment that concerns the costs of extracting and transporting the region's oil, which required the recalculation methods."

He added that "it is no secret that the signs of an oil asset cycle towards a decline in global oil prices come after geopolitical developments in the Russian-Ukrainian war zone and the Middle East, the exclusion of oil and gas from the US trade wars, and the Organization of Petroleum Producing and Exporting Countries (OPEC+) removing the production quota restriction on all members."

Saleh pointed out that "these events all contributed to the stagnation of the global oil market, and are among the external factors affecting the map of revenues, expenditures and deficits in the 2025 budget."

On Tuesday, the Finance Committee of the Iraqi Council of Representatives expressed surprise at the government's delay in sending the schedules of the 2025 budget law to the Council, despite previous promises.

Committee member Saad al-Nubi told Shafaq News Agency that "the parliamentary finance committee hosted during the last period: Minister of Planning Mohamed Tamim, and Minister of Finance Taif Sami, to discuss the tables of the general budget law for the year 2025, and the two ministers informed the committee to send the tables to the Council of Ministers."

He added, "But so far we note the government's delay in not sending the budget tables to parliament for discussion and voting," considering that "there is a clear challenge by the government is not to send the tables to parliament without knowing the reasons."

"The budget was supposed to reach parliament before the end of last month, but we do not know the reasons for this delay," al-Nubi said, noting that "the committee pressured the minister of planning and the minister of finance, and asked them to explain the reason for the delay in sending, but it has not received any answer so far."

Sudanese Advisor: Kurdistan Oil Costs Behind the Delay in Sending Budget Tables - Shafaq News 

 

We could chock this up to, "yeah, its Iraq", but the sequence of events isn't adding up. I just feel like it's something they are not telling us. JMHO

[Dretown39]

50 minutes ago, wciappetta said:

March 29, 2025:

 

"The general budget tables have been completed in a preliminary form and may be transferred to the House of Representatives immediately after the Eid holiday, and if this is not possible, it may arrive before the first half of next April.

https://www.shafaq.com/ar/سیاسة/الحكومة-تستكمل-جداول-الموازنة-وسط-عجز-ي-ثر-على-الوظا-ف-والخدمات-بالعراق

 

Then we have this from 3-27....

 

the Minister of Planning said that "his ministry has completed what is related to it in preparing the 2025 budget tables, and we sent them to the Council of Ministers," pointing out that "it does not include the inclusion of any new projects, but it includes financing ongoing projects."

https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=53832

 

Back in February 2 2025 we have this:

 

BAGHDAD, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Iraq’s parliament on Sunday approved a budget amendment to subsidise production costs for international oil companies operating in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region in a move aimed at unblocking northern oil exports, lawmakers said.

The amendment sets the rate at $16 a barrel, up from an earlier proposal for $7.9 a barrel for transport and production costs, which was rejected as too low by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). 

 

Iraq parliament approves compensation plan to resolve Kurdistan oil dispute, say lawmakers | Reuters

 

Today Saleh blames the issue on the already approved costs. It only takes seconds to change a number on a computer and calculate. and they've had the new numbers since beginning of February. They've said they already completed the schedules.

 

Sudanese consultant: Kurdistan oil costs behind the delay in sending budget tables

economyVolcanoes

2025-04-16 07:26

Share

font

Shafaq News / The financial and economic adviser to Prime Minister Mazhar Muhammad Saleh revealed today, Wednesday, the reasons for the delay in sending the 2025 budget tables to the House of Representatives so far, stressing that the matter is related to amendments related to the costs of extracting and transporting oil in the Kurdistan Region, which required re-calculation.

Saleh told Shafaq News Agency that "the delay in sending the budget tables for the year 2025 came mainly due to the delay in amending the Federal Budget Law No. 13 of 2023 (the three-year budget), especially the amendment of Article 12 and the issuance of appropriate legislation in February of this year, which is the amendment that concerns the costs of extracting and transporting the region's oil, which required the recalculation methods."

He added that "it is no secret that the signs of an oil asset cycle towards a decline in global oil prices come after geopolitical developments in the Russian-Ukrainian war zone and the Middle East, the exclusion of oil and gas from the US trade wars, and the Organization of Petroleum Producing and Exporting Countries (OPEC+) removing the production quota restriction on all members."

Saleh pointed out that "these events all contributed to the stagnation of the global oil market, and are among the external factors affecting the map of revenues, expenditures and deficits in the 2025 budget."

On Tuesday, the Finance Committee of the Iraqi Council of Representatives expressed surprise at the government's delay in sending the schedules of the 2025 budget law to the Council, despite previous promises.

Committee member Saad al-Nubi told Shafaq News Agency that "the parliamentary finance committee hosted during the last period: Minister of Planning Mohamed Tamim, and Minister of Finance Taif Sami, to discuss the tables of the general budget law for the year 2025, and the two ministers informed the committee to send the tables to the Council of Ministers."

He added, "But so far we note the government's delay in not sending the budget tables to parliament for discussion and voting," considering that "there is a clear challenge by the government is not to send the tables to parliament without knowing the reasons."

"The budget was supposed to reach parliament before the end of last month, but we do not know the reasons for this delay," al-Nubi said, noting that "the committee pressured the minister of planning and the minister of finance, and asked them to explain the reason for the delay in sending, but it has not received any answer so far."

Sudanese Advisor: Kurdistan Oil Costs Behind the Delay in Sending Budget Tables - Shafaq News 

 

We could chock this up to, "yeah, its Iraq", but the sequence of events isn't adding up. I just feel like it's something they are not telling us. JMHO

Awesome work. I remember reading all these articles & I agree it doesn't make sense at all! I thought everything with this was worked out!

[wciappetta]

Another item left out of the equation is the ASYCUDA's customs automation system. This system is supposed to generate revenue that will either equal or exceed the oil revenue. According to recent reports it's supposed to be fully operational as of yesterday. It would be helpful to find out the status. When you factor that one item alone, it really changes the equation so it's not adding up.

[screwball]

7 hours ago, wciappetta said:

Another item left out of the equation is the ASYCUDA's customs automation system. This system is supposed to generate revenue that will either equal or exceed the oil revenue. According to recent reports it's supposed to be fully operational as of yesterday. It would be helpful to find out the status. When you factor that one item alone, it really changes the equation so it's not adding up.

customs revenue would be considered non-oil revenue? just saying 🤣

[Theseus]

Simple fix for budget tables... Use Excel or a similar spreadsheet. We know you use them. Put in one cell the price of oil and your formulas in all of the other cells. When the oil price changes, just enter into that Oil Price cell the new figure and we are off to the races!

 

Wait that is too easy.

NVM.

 

These are not the spreadsheets you are looking for. 

[Theseus]

Quote

Another item left out of the equation is the ASYCUDA's customs automation system. This system is supposed to generate revenue that will either equal or exceed the oil revenue. According to recent reports it's supposed to be fully operational as of yesterday. It would be helpful to find out the status. When you factor that one item alone, it really changes the equation so it's not adding up

 

Yep my dream vacation is to go visit Iraq and spend time in the desert looking for water and getting bitten by sand fleas. Maybe I will go visit the Euphrates and look for the Tower of Babylon or the Hanging Gardens. Wait the Hanging Gardens is in Iran, just look on the street for the lampost Hangings. Hey Mr. Lamppost whatcha knowing...came to see the garden growing...feelin' groovy...la la la da dee da daa.

 

Heritage Daily had a good article on the Tower of Babylon and how it was more of a pyramid rather than a Tower of Pisa type of building based off of the base.

[wciappetta]

13 hours ago, screwball said:

customs revenue would be considered non-oil revenue? just saying 🤣

 

lol yeah, the timing of all ports being live is my focus... since that automated system has access to Forex ...Since the 15th was the date advertised to be fully operational, I'm wondering if the powers that be decided to include this system access in the timing of the exchange rate change. 

[horsesoldier]

All of this, the last 21 years...An Absurdity of the highest order. 

[WheresmyRV?]

They absolutely love being in some sort of a crisis. I really wonder what other countries governments think of Iraq and its lopsided government.