Iraq News Highlights and Points To Ponder Thursday AM 10-24-24

MP Reveals Strategy To Achieve Self-Sufficiency In Petroleum Derivatives

Information/ Baghdad..  Member of the Parliamentary Oil Committee, MP Ali Saadoun, revealed on Thursday a strategy to achieve self-sufficiency in oil derivatives in a southern governorate.

Saadoun said in an interview with Al-Maalouma, "Maysan Governorate comes after Basra in crude oil production, which reaches 600 thousand barrels per day, and despite the presence of a refinery, it does not cover its needs for oil derivatives."

He added, "The Ministry of Oil has begun adopting a strategy, the first stage of which is to add a unit with a capacity of 70,000 barrels per day to the Maysan refinery in order to produce larger quantities of petroleum derivatives, especially gasoline and kerosene."

He pointed out that "achieving self-sufficiency in petroleum derivatives will create high flexibility in providing needs throughout the year without any difficulties, especially with the growing rates of demand for various types of fuel."

It is noteworthy that the Maysan refinery consists of 4 production units with different capacities, which provide the largest part of the governorate’s needs for petroleum derivatives.” LINK

Parliamentary Integrity Commission Reveals Government Move To Recover Looted Funds

Information / Baghdad..   Member of the Parliamentary Integrity Committee, Hamid Al-Shiblawi, revealed today, Thursday, a government move to recover the corrupt and the stolen money outside the country.

Al-Shablawi told Al-Maalouma Agency, "There is coordination between the oversight institutions and Parliament to uncover major corruption files."

He added that "his committee is in the process of legislating a number of laws that will help the government's oversight body combat corruption and recover stolen funds."

He pointed out that "his committee had previously begun opening numerous files by the Parliamentary Integrity Committee concerning all state institutions and ministries."

Al-Shablawi pointed out that "there is a government move to recover the corrupt and the looted money inside and outside the country." LINK

Parliamentary Economy: Iraq Loses 7 Billion Dinars Annually Due To This Company’s Fraud

Information Baghdad..   Deputy Chairman of the Parliamentary Economy and Trade Committee, Yasser Al-Hussaini, confirmed today, Thursday, that Iraq loses 7 billion dinars annually due to fraud by a foreign company.

Al-Hussaini told Al-Maalouma Agency, "The Ministry of Industry has concluded a joint operating contract with the foreign private company Smart Cloud."

He added, "Iraq loses more than 7 billion dinars annually without the foreign private company providing any service to Iraq since 2020 until today," noting that "Smart Cloud continues to contract with other ministries with false priorities."

He explained that "there is a drain on the country's resources, and therefore we call for a bold decision to terminate the contract, fine the company all the amounts it received, and blacklist it." LINK

IMF Expects Iraq's Inflation Rate To Rise In 2025

Money and business   Economy News - Follow-up  The International Monetary Fund predicted in a report issued this October on the inflation index for Arab countries, indicating that the inflation index in Iraq will rise slightly in the year 2025.

According to the table reviewed by "Al-Eqtisad News", "the annual inflation index in Iraq recorded 3.2% in 2024, compared to 4.4% in 2023 and 5% in 2022."

The International Monetary Fund expects that "the inflation index in Iraq will rise slightly next year, 2025, to reach 3.5%, and the inflation index will decline in 2029 to reach 3%."

The table indicated that "Oman will witness the lowest inflation among Arab countries in 2025, reaching 1.3%, while the highest inflation will be in Sudan, at 200.1%." https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=49105

Uncertainty Over The 2025 Budget.. Parliament: We Don't Know Anything About It Yet - Urgent

Politics / Economy |Today  Baghdad Today - Baghdad   The Parliamentary Finance Committee confirmed, today, Thursday (October 24, 2024), that the House of Representatives does not know anything about the details of the 2025 budget schedules.

Committee member Jamal Kojer said in an interview with Baghdad Today, "The House of Representatives has not yet reviewed any of the details of the 2025 budget schedules, and we do not know the size of the budget, the percentage of the deficit in it, what projects it includes, and other financial issues."

Koger said, "We do not expect there to be a major or fundamental change in the 2025 budget schedules compared to the past two years, and we believe that the deficit will exist virtually or in reality, and this is what the budget schedules will determine when they reach us and we review them, as there is no official date for their arrival yet."

The financial advisor to the Prime Minister, Mazhar Muhammad Salih, confirmed on Tuesday (October 8, 2024) that the Ministry of Finance is preparing the general budget tables for the year 2025, while pointing out the most important pillars that will be adopted in the budget for next year.

Saleh said in a statement carried by the official news agency, "Article 77/Second of the Federal General Budget Law No. 13 of 2023, which regulates the preparation of the three-year budget, stipulates that the government sends the budget tables for the years 2024 and 2025 to the House of Representatives for approval before the end of the previous fiscal year."

 He added, "The Ministry of Finance has announced that it is in the process of preparing the general budget schedules for the year 2025, in accordance with the constitutional mechanisms adopted by the aforementioned three-year budget law."

He pointed out that "based on the indicators of budget implementation over the first two years of Law No. 13 mentioned above, the financial authority has the necessary administrative and financial capabilities to submit the 2025 budget tables to take their legislative path through discussion and approval in the Council of Ministers and refer them to the House of Representatives before the end of this year."

Saleh noted that "the federal general budget tables for the year 2025 will be based on the constants of Federal Budget Law No. 13 of 2024, taking into account international and regional economic conditions and their changes, in a way that ensures the adaptation of the provisions of the budget tables for the year 2025 within the available legal texts, in addition to relying on the performance of the indicators of the general budget tables for the year 2024."

He stressed that "major construction projects will continue to progress in accordance with the vision of the government programme to ensure the continuity of growth rates in the gross domestic product in general and the gross domestic product (non-oil) in particular."   LINK