Friday Morning Iraq Economic News Highlights 3-10-23
Friday Morning Iraq Economic News Highlights 3-10-23
Parliamentary Investment Reveals A Different Reason For The Delay In The Arrival Of The Budget To Parliament
Time: 03/10/2023 12:52:01 Read: 1,131 times {Economic: Al Furat News} A member of the Parliamentary Investment Committee revealed a different reason behind the delay in the arrival of the 2023 financial budget bill to Parliament.
Committee member Muhammad al-Ziyadi told {Euphrates News} agency: "The crisis of not completing the budget file and presenting it to the House of Representatives so far for a number of reasons, most notably the failure to approve last year's budget, which caused ministries and government institutions to load a large burden of debt towards investment contracts that needed to be studied."
He pointed out, "In addition to the instability of the price of a barrel of oil and the change in the exchange rate of the dollar so far, and because the Iraqi economy is one-sided."
Al-Ziyadi stressed, "All these matters necessitate waiting in the issue of preparing the budget and how to adopt the price of a barrel of oil in it with the world's variables." Raghad Daham LINK
The President Of The Republic Confirms The Imminent Adoption Of The Financial Budget And Its Importance In Economic Development And The Development Of Basic Infrastructure
Thursday 09 March 2023 15:50 | politics Number of readings: 573 Baghdad / NINA / - The President of the Republic, Abdul Latif Jamal Rashid, affirmed that the financial budget will soon be approved and its importance in economic development and the development of basic infrastructure.
A presidential statement stated that the President of the Republic received today, Thursday, at the Baghdad Palace, a delegation from the American Institute of Peace, stressing that the President stressed during the meeting the importance of consolidating the principles of peace in order to move towards a humane society based on good coexistence and understanding. The President indicated that the current stage in the country is
Witnessing security stability, stressing that the government is working to consolidate this stability, improve the general conditions in the country, especially the economic aspect, improve the living and service conditions of citizens and combat corruption, noting the imminent approval of the financial budget and its Importance in economic development and the development of basic infrastructure.
The members of the delegation reviewed the activities carried out by the institute in establishing peace and supporting minorities in a way that strengthens community ties, and interest in rehabilitating the infrastructure of areas that have been subjected to terrorism, expressing their thanks and appreciation to the President of the Republic for his efforts in establishing security and caring for minorities. / End 2
Bribes And Agreements With Iraqi Politicians.. A Parliamentarian Details The Reasons For The Delay In Completing The Port Of Fao
09/03/2023 Earth News / Alaa Al-Haidari, a member of the House of Representatives from Basra Governorate, dismissed today, Thursday, the reasons for not completing the large port of Al-Faw.
Al-Haidari told Earth News Agency, “There are illegal interventions by Kuwait in Iraqi lands and Iraqi territorial waters that are not related to good neighborliness and agreements.
He added, “Corruption and the interests of some politicians are behind the delay in the completion of thousands of projects, foremost of which is the large port of Faw, which was planned to start work before the Kuwaiti port of Mubarak, which reached the final stages of its completion, initiation and entry into operation, while the port of Faw is still witnessing delay.” It is clear, especially since it is considered the sea gate in Iraq.
He continued, "We aspire to enter Iraq on the Silk Road and the Chinese agreement to be the economic lung of the country."
He pointed out that there is “a clear and explicit failure by the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs to prevent Kuwaiti abuses, whether in previous governments or this government, and we hope that the Prime Minister will intervene to solve these problems.”
And Al-Haidari indicated that “the only sea outlet for Iraq is the port of Al-Faw, and therefore there are Kuwaiti lobbies in agreement with some politicians in Iraq by paying huge bribes in order to delay the port of Al-Faw, condoning Kuwait’s thefts to Iraq, and not submitting a complaint to the United Nations.” https://earthiq.news/archives/207448
An Expert Explains The Mechanism For Dealing With The High Exchange Rate Of The Dollar In The Markets
791 The economic expert, Mustafa Akram Hantoush, explained the mechanism for dealing with the high exchange rate of the dollar in the local markets, pointing out that the demand for foreign currency exceeds $180 million daily.
Hantoush said in a press interview seen by “Takadam” that “there is a scarcity of the dollar amid a great demand from the market, as about 100 million dollars are sold daily, while the demand exceeds 180 million.”
He added, "Whoever obtains the dollar, whether a trader or the owner of an exchange office, calculates the cost of an alternative opportunity, as he works to present an invoice officially in order to sell it in the parallel market."
And he indicated that “what is happening today in the market is an attempt to entice the citizen and withdraw from his savings,” pointing out that “the cause of the crisis lies in the fact that small merchants used to resort to the sincere one, who is the owner of a bank or company, so that he works to collect a group of requests and performs the process of consolidating an account in order to distribute the sums To the destinations from which they import their goods, after which they will be delivered to their shops.”
He pointed out that “the new procedures stopped the so-called loyalist, and the small merchant became responsible for strengthening the account in order to import his goods at a time when the merchant does not have this culture.”
And he continued: The solution to this problem is through finding companies for retail sale to loyal people, whether they are banking companies or financially empowered people, so that they work to collect applications to take them to the Central Bank, which in turn checks the names of the applicants, and then the import process is in the names of the companies that submitted the applications. The bank will be able to sell about 140 million dollars a day, and the crisis of high dollar prices in the market will be eliminated.” https://takadum-news.com/archives/153564
Sudanese Advisor: The "Parallel" Exchange Rate Will Approach The "Official" In This Case
Money and business Economy News _ Baghdad Today, Thursday, the financial advisor to the Prime Minister, Mazhar Muhammad Salih, clarified about the fluctuation of the exchange rates of the dollar in the parallel market, while setting a condition for its approach to the official market.
Saleh said, "If the daily sales of the Central Bank of Iraq window reach approximately $200 million per working day and continuously, then certainly the parallel market will shrink and exchange rates in it will approach the fixed central official market."
Saleh added, in an interview with the official news agency, that "this requires that the level of sales be at the mentioned rate, and that it takes a range of days and stability and continuously in order to appear."
He pointed out, "The financing of foreign trade for the private sector has really adapted to the climate of the compliance platform and its controls in the matter of transparency of commercial information, especially knowing the final beneficiary of the external transfer."
https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=32847
Parliament's Finances Are Resentful Because Promises Of Expediting Sending The Budget Have Not Been Fulfilled
Posted On2023-03-09 By Sotaliraq Baghdad / Firas Adnan The Parliamentary Finance Committee seemed pessimistic about the possibility of sending the budget soon, stressing that all the government's justifications for delaying it have disappeared, stressing that the dispute over the share of the Kurdistan region is not the main reason behind this delay.
Committee member Jamal Cougar said, "The talk about the budget law's imminent arrival in Parliament has become boring, and we have stated over the past three months that days separate the government from sending the project, but none of these promises have been fulfilled until the present time."
Cougar added, "Indications indicate that there is no optimism about the imminent sending of the budget law, because the government was able to do so for a while, perhaps at the end of last year."
He pointed out, "The variables that some invoke do not take time except for days, including two issues, including the adjustment to the exchange rate of the dollar against the Iraqi dinar, or the change in oil prices in the global market."
And Cougar indicated that “changing the exchange rate led to an increase in the deficit rate, estimated at between 12 to 15 trillion dinars, and the government has two options, and there are no third ones, either pressing unnecessary expenditures, or canceling some doors, and these measures do not require a delay of about three months.” .
He explained, “The Kurdistan region’s share of the budget is not the core point of contention,” inferring that “previous budgets left the dispute over this share with paragraphs that are discussed at the end, and they were passed without the approval of the region’s representatives in Parliament.”
Cougar pointed out, "Parliament gives the budget its right, meaning: discussing all paragraphs and numbers, and this is considered at the core of parliamentary work."
He promised, “The government’s delay in sending the law has exceeded all justifications,” noting that “the committee has called more than once for the need to expedite the completion of the draft budget.”
However, Cougar expressed his regret, because “Finance Minister Taif Sami did not attend the House of Representatives since she assumed her ministerial duties in the government of Muhammad Shia’ al-Sudani.”
And he stressed, “The ball is in the government’s court, given that preparing the budget is the exclusive responsibility of the executive authority represented by the Federal Council of Ministers.”
And Cougar continues, “Parliament’s responsibility begins from the day it officially received the budget, through the first and second readings, and then discussions and approval.”
And he added, “The committee has the right to hold meetings with all public spending units in order to identify the expenditures it needs in the budget law.” Previously on all points within the State Administration Alliance.
And Cougar concluded, that “the tasks of the House of Representatives on the law are to transfer between the chapters of the budget or reduce its total amounts, but if it wants an increase, then this depends on two conditions that are achieved together, namely the existence of a necessity for this increase and the approval of the Council of Ministers.”
Unlike Cougar, committee member Moein Al-Kadhimi expresses his hope that the law will be sent during the current month so that Parliament can devote itself to discussing it.
Al-Kadhimi continued, "The budget amounts will reach 196 trillion dinars," stressing that "a very good amount has been allocated to the investment side, estimated at 80 trillion dinars."
He pointed out, "The agreements with the Kurdistan region regarding its share of the budget have reached advanced stages, and thus we will ensure that they are passed within the Council as soon as possible."
Al-Kadhimi relied on “previous agreements within the State Administration Alliance, after which the government was formed, to speed up the approval of the budget as soon as it reaches Parliament.”
For his part, Ahmed Al-Saffar, the committee’s rapporteur in the former parliament, stated that “the budget in Iraq is of a political nature par excellence.”
Al-Saffar continued, "Most of the important materials are decided and passed according to political consensus, especially with regard to the investment budget and the shares of the Kurdistan region and the provinces."
And he pointed out, “These articles are a reason for delaying the approval of the budget,” explaining that “Iraq did not enact the budget for the year 2022, so all investment spending has stopped, and this causes an increase in unemployment and poverty rates and damage to the monetary situation.”
And Al-Saffar stated, “Any delay in approving the budget, more than we are at the present time, will have negative economic and social effects.”
And he cannot, “give perceptions about the law, especially with regard to the expected deficit in it, until it is officially sent to Parliament.”
Al-Saffar expresses his extreme surprise, because “the government has been declaring for a month that it will send the law to parliament within days, and this promise has not been fulfilled until now.”
And while the officials are quoted as saying that “oil prices and the change in the exchange rate of the dollar are the reason for not sending the law,” but he believes that “the political differences are what hinders his access to parliament.” LINK