Iraqi News Monday AM 12-21-20
Iraqi News Monday AM 12-21-20
TLM724 Administrator BondLady’s Corner
Raising The Dollar Exchange Rate Raises Widespread Criticism
Monday 21 Dec 2020 185 Baghdad: Hoda Al-Azzawi The decision of the Ministry of Finance raised an official request from the Central Bank to increase the exchange rate to 1,450 dinars against the dollar Wide parliamentary criticism due to the sudden rise in prices in the local market and the dangerous effects of the poor and low-income classes and the rest of the employee groups, in addition to the confusion and chaos caused by this sudden decision at all levels.
The Finance Committee of the House of Representatives criticized what it described as the government's resort to "easy prescriptions" to remedy the deficit gap in the 2021 budget that affects the ordinary citizen.
The reporter of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, Dr. Ahmed Al-Saffar, confirmed in an interview with Al-Sabah, that “the reform process adopted by the Ministry of Finance is a formal process whose negative results will be at the expense of the hard-working citizen and the simple employee,” pointing out that “the Central Bank; An independent institution and it is not permissible to interfere in its work, and it is responsible for supervising monetary systems, determining the exchange rate and determining the monetary mass, and this behavior by the government has led to an increase in the exchange rate of the dollar and to impose great burdens on the shoulders of the citizen, especially the employee, since the high exchange rate will result from it. Inflation and a rise in the price level ».
Al-Saffar indicated that “there are easier and safer reforms than this step. If there had been a focus on public revenues and maximizing them through returning frozen and smuggled Iraqi funds, and activating collection in relation to border crossings, the currency window, tax and customs, the matter would have been resolved but the government resorted to Floating the currency without paying attention to the consequences, and this policy will lead to an increase in the numbers of unemployment and poverty.
He added that "the House of Representatives strongly rejects this policy," promising that if the draft of the general budget is formally sent to the Finance Committee, "the committee will have words and stance in a timely manner."
On the other hand, a member of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, Adnan Al-Zarfi, said in an interview with Al-Sabah: “The change in the exchange rate of the dollar came after a detailed study by the government, the Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund, and the aim was to support the budget that suffers from a large financial deficit.” He stressed that “the Finance Committee had discussed the government that if it proceeds with its measures to raise the exchange rate, it must be matched by multiple measures to support low-income people.
Therefore, the government's intention was to prepare a list to support the vulnerable classes. Including increasing the ration card items, supporting and increasing the number of segments covered by social care, and subsidizing prices and other expenses related to these affected groups.
Regarding the rejection of the 2021 budget if the exchange rate is set at this amount (1450 dinars per dollar), Al-Zorfi explained: “I do not think that the budget will be rejected if this price is approved, as this is from the state administration and government policy and cannot be rejected, but perhaps later it will The House of Representatives holds the government accountable for any failure after these procedures, and that approving the budget is a representative responsibility. ”
For his part, a member of the Parliamentary Investment and Economy Committee, Ali Saadoun Al-Lami, confirmed to Al-Sabah that“ the decision taken by the government, the central bank and some political leaders to fill the financial deficit A sudden increase in the dollar exchange rate It will negatively affect the poor classes of society and those with limited income. ”
With regard to resorting to other decisions to bridge the financial deficit, by reducing salaries and raising the tax, between Al-Lami: “I do not think that the parliament will approve these steps, but the decision to set the exchange rate was taken unfairly to the citizen’s right, so the government had to gradually raise the price as a solution. Amidst in light of the absence of solutions to fill the financial deficit, "stressing that" setting the exchange rate in this large amount is evidence that the government is incapable of presenting any economic plan for the country. "
Regarding the parliamentary moves to find a solution to the exchange rate, Al-Lami explained that “the budget has not yet reached the House of Representatives, and there is also a meeting in the Council of Ministers to discuss these matters, so when the budget officially reaches the House of Representatives and there is a rise in the exchange rate, there will be meetings that can be To reduce the price, to be accompanied by some processors ».
For his part, Hussein Al-Oqabi, a member of the Parliamentary Legal Committee, confirmed, in an interview with Al-Sabah, that “the stability of the dollar’s exchange rate over the past week and its sudden rise; Evidence that there is collusion by influential parties in the government with banking and banking personalities who subsist on the livelihood of the simple citizen after he officially approved the exchange rate of the dollar at 1450 dinars, and this is what caused an increase in the Iraqi market prices, and the affected party is the poor and low-income classes. ”He pointed out that
"The government does not have decisions to address the financing gap other than borrowing and raising the dollar exchange rate to meet the financial deficit. This is a fatal and serious mistake that the government causes against the citizen.
The researcher in financial affairs, Dr. Imad Al-Harsh Al-Tamimi, told Al-Sabah that “the decline in the value of the Iraqi dinar against the dollar in the markets in recent days has made many people surprised and wondering about the policy followed by the Central Bank of Iraq to maintain a stable exchange rate, in return There is a continuous erosion of the national product, if we know that the bank is the main body responsible for monetary policy, this policy pursued by an administration that is sticking to the economic file for quite some time now, which is the main reason for what the Iraqi economy has reached.
He added, “We find the form of this policy clearly crystallizing in an exclusive currency auction, according to which the dollar is sold to private banks and money transfer companies under the pretext of managing import operations for foreign goods, whose sales of dollars reach more than 180 million per day.
The state's continuous and inherited financial budget accumulates very large annually, with a funding dependence and a very large degree also on borrowing, the monetary policy that the bank uses regarding foreign exchange, that is, reserves (what the bank has in possession of foreign currencies and gold) during the past period proved beyond any doubt that it did not It can support the currency to enable the state to fulfill its financial obligations.
The Governor of the Central Bank, Mustafa Ghaleb, was terrifying, revealed yesterday, Sunday, that the Ministry of Finance officially requested an increase in the exchange rate to 1450 dinars against the dollar, which led to market turmoil these days. "The Central Bank requested the attendance of the Minister of Finance to explain the reasons for raising the value of the dollar exchange against the dinar."
He added, "The World Bank had asked Iraq in 2014 to raise the dollar exchange rate to 1500 dinars," affirming that "Iraq's position on hard currency reserves is still good."
And the governor of the Central Bank continued, "The high exchange rate of the dollar has affected the Iraqi market and the poor classes will be affected, and the Ministry of Finance is responsible for supporting these classes as it will double the amounts of social care," calling the ministry to "enhance customs revenues and accelerate the automation of customs and border crossings to maximize state revenues." LINK
Currency Devaluation And Its Effects
Monday 21 December 2020 77 Ahmed is charged When we follow the world’s economies, we find there are economic experiences that prove the devaluation of the local currency in order to achieve economic gains. Indeed, they have achieved success in this matter and have become economic blocs that have their weight in the world, as this trend, which took its appropriate time, led to achieving major gains for the overall operations.
Economic.
In Iraq, we can say that the decision to devalue the currency can be described as the right decision that leads to reducing the deficit in the public budget and works to encourage the national industry, which has been suffering from decline for decades.
Decision to devalue the currency When we compare it with other countries that have adopted the same orientation, we find that the matter is completely different from what it is in Iraq, as this decision requires the existence of a national industry capable of meeting the market need and competing with the importer who will be offered in the market at high prices.
This decision brought positive results in global economies, but in our country, it needs a pause from all concerned parties that must work towards supporting the national industry and supporting the local product.
Here, it is imperative to provide the appropriate environment and complete facilities that support the directives aimed at having a national production that meets the market need of various products that must be manufactured according to specifications Globalism.
Such a decision, despite the advantages it carries for productive economies, requires that we have national factories and industry and self-sufficiency in order for the consumer to turn to the national product, as the price of imported goods will be very high.
The national product today is relatively available and depends on imported raw materials, and here it is preferable for the price of selling cash to be controlled, and the sale of hawala with controls as well, that is to work on the concentrations of where the change of the exchange rate affects.
When we stand at the Japanese and Chinese experience that adopted the devaluation of its currency, it produced positive results that created an effective economic bloc in the world, and it came to support its production. the National.
Now that the decision to devalue the currency has become a reality, we have to realize the necessity to support the national product and the projects under construction in order to accelerate the national production process to create national products that enrich the citizen importer. LINK
Central: We will double what exchange banks buy to $ 100,000
Monday 21 December 2020 80 Baghdad: Mustafa Al-Hashemi The decision of the Central Bank to reduce the value of the local currency and set the price of the dollar at 1470 dinars per dollar, generated great dissatisfaction among the public, despite the positive advantages it has on the economy, while the opinions of some economists regarding the decision were divided between supporters and opponents, some of them see it as an opportunity to rise The reality of production and the reduction of imports, and some of them believe that it burdens the citizen as a result of the high prices of goods and consumer materials.
In this regard, the Director of the Center for Market Research and Consumer Protection, Dr. Yahya Kamal Al-Bayati, affirmed the consumer’s ability to return the Iraqi dinar exchange rate to 120,000 Iraqi dinars and even less than this price.
Al-Bayati explained to Al-Sabah that this would be "simply by not spending one dinar on goods and unnecessary goods for one week."
Extending abstinence
Al-Bayati added, "If the dollar does not decrease, it is possible to extend refraining from buying imported and unnecessary goods for another week," calling for "going towards buying the national product to have an active role in stabilizing the market and not being drawn into the policies of some traders."the crisis".
Immediately after the central bank’s decision was announced, the dollar’s prices jumped, surpassing the 1,400 dinars per dollar, across the markets of the governorates of Iraq to record 1,460 dinars yesterday morning, at a time when Central Bank Governor Mustafa Ghaleb fearsome that the bank would double the sale of the dollar to banking companies.
Price fixing
The governor of the Central Bank said in a statement to the Iraqi News Agency (INA): "The discreet precautions enable us to stabilize prices," noting that "exchange houses buy 50 thousand dollars, and we will double it to 100 thousand dollars," adding that "the abundance of dollars will make it stable in the market."
The Central Bank had set, on Saturday, the new price for buying and selling foreign currency. And he decided to amend the exchange rate to be 1450 dinars per dollar as the purchase price from the Ministry of Finance, 1460 dinars per dollar as the selling price to banks, and 1470 dinars per dollar as the selling price to the public.
exchange rate
For his part, economic researcher Firas Amer said: “The Central Bank is responsible for determining the exchange rate, and if there is an unjustified rise in the dollar’s price, market prices should be controlled to prevent inflation, which will increase the suffering of the poor and those with limited income, and take us back to the 1990s.the past".
Social networking sites were buzzing, criticizing the central’s decision, and its activists launched tags denouncing the targeting of the Iraqi dinar, denouncing the high price of the dollar, which in turn will raise the prices of basic materials that affect the lives of citizens. LINK
A Kurdish parliamentarian: Investment and construction projects in the region will stop completely after the price of the dollar is raised
Pratha News Agency88 2020-12-21 Muslim Abdullah, a member of the Kurdistan region’s parliament for the Kurdistan Islamic Group, said on Monday that a big problem would cast a shadow over the housing and real estate sector in the region.
Abdullah said in a press statement that "most of the residential complexes in the cities of the region pay their rents in dollars, and there are real estate and installments paid to construction companies by citizens in dollars as well."
He added that "most of the real estate and housing sector transactions in the region are done through the dollar, and after raising the exchange rate, there will be a very big problem, and the regional government should intervene and impose prices in dinars and evaluate them at the last price before raising it by the Central Bank."
He pointed out that "this problem will cast a shadow over the investment sector in housing and other sectors, and will cause complete paralysis for most construction projects."
The central bank decided to raise the exchange rate of the dollar against the dinar, which led to a significant increase in the price of foodstuffs and other household needs. http://burathanews.com/arabic/news/382868
The Government "Failed" ... And A Parliamentary Holiday That "Firm" Measures Would Be Taken To Reduce The Dinar
Pratha News Agency75 2020-12-21 Hazem Al-Khalidi, head of the government program implementation follow-up committee, said that the government "neglected" several options through which it could collect imports of about 10 trillion dinars, and proceeded to reduce the exchange rate of the dinar against the dollar as an "arbitrary measure that would affect the local market and the poor classes," while he and another deputy preferred Failure to pass the fiscal budget for 2021 in the form that the Council of Ministers wants.
The Central Bank of Iraq decided yesterday to officially reduce the exchange rate of the dinar against the dollar by 1450 dinars instead of the previous rate of 1190 Iraqi dinars per US dollar.
Hazem Al-Khalidi told IQ FM radio that his committee "diagnosed in a professional report presented to Parliament yesterday, a major imbalance and clear confusion in the financial and monetary policies between the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank and the currency auction, but the reduction in the price of the dinar and its impact on the street is more than confusion or reluctance, and will lead to waste." A lot of other public funds that can boost the financial side. "
He added, "The government will get a benefit from this decision, estimated at 12 trillion dinars, while this amount can be provided through only one area and away from the oil fields."
He explained that "if there had been an actual application of the tax in the currency auction, which sells annually 50 billion dollars, the government would have received taxes exceeding 5 billion dollars and a half billion."
He continued, "These taxes, as well as the debts accumulated on the mobile phone companies, as well as the contract to renew their work permit in Iraq, which caused a great waste of Iraqi money, could provide the state treasury more than 10 trillion dinars," wondering, "So what is the need for the option of the price of the dinar, which is A very difficult, unrealistic and unrealistic choice, given the availability of these alternatives.
The head of the parliamentary government program follow-up committee pointed out that “countries that resort to raising the price of foreign currency in front of their national currency are countries that have local production and industry and therefore their society is not greatly affected by the value of the currency, while the Iraqi market is a consumer market for all bad and bad foreign products, which means that they are The citizen will also be affected greatly by the decision to lower the price of the dinar. "
Hazem Al-Khalidi pointed out that "Parliament addressed a verbal question to the governor of the Central Bank before raising the price of the dollar, and we will go to question him because we are not convinced of his answer to the question," stressing, "We seek to stop this decision proven in the 2021 budget, and there will be deterrent control measures to protect the situation of Iraq and its people."
He stressed that "the House of Representatives has the ability to stop arbitrary measures such as deduction from the salaries of employees and raising the price of foreign currency by amending the budget law," calling on Minister of Finance Ali Allawi to "see the poverty rates in Iraq and realize that the number of government employees, no matter how much, is a reality." And they organized their lives according to their salaries. "
"The government has failed and Parliament will intervene."
For his part, a member of the Parliamentary Economy Committee, Ali Al-Lami, said that the government "failed" to manage the economy of Iraq and "resorted to a path that harms the interests of the poor."
Al-Lami told IQ FM, "The decision to reduce the price of the dinar against the dollar must be matched by correct economic development to meet the local production needs of the local market while exporting the surplus, and this is not available in Iraq."
He added, "If the government controlled the border outlets, the state's resources would increase by 10 times, as well as if it controlled the auction of currency sales and the banks through which they win more than two million dinars per day, in addition to many options but they failed and cannot manage this economic crisis."
A member of the Parliamentary Economy Committee continued, "Parliament will have a pause regarding the austerity measures taken by the government, such as canceling employee allocations and increasing taxes," adding that the parliament will not vote on the fiscal budget for 2021 in the current format.
It is noteworthy that the leader of the State of Law coalition, Nuri al-Maliki, warned of the "collapse of the general situation" in Iraq and the "destruction" of the state and society as a result of the devaluation of the Iraqi dinar against the dollar. http://burathanews.com/arabic/reports/382872
Collecting More Than 100 Signatures .. Disclosure Of A Parliamentary Intention To Completely Dismiss Al-Kazemi's Government
Pratha News Agency130 2020-12-21 Member of Parliament, Nada Shaker Jawdat, confirmed, on Monday, that there is parliamentary resentment over the performance of the government of Prime Minister Al-Kazemi in terms of the financial and economic aspect, and more than 100 signatures of hosting Al-Kazemi and Allawi have been collected.
Noting that the House of Representatives will hold an emergency session next Wednesday, amidst intentions to demand the dismissal of the entire Kazemi government.
Jawdat said in a press statement, "More than 100 signatures were collected to host Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi and Minister of Finance Muhammad Allawi to discuss the mistakes they committed regarding raising the dollar exchange rate, which created a situation of high prices and confused the market."
She added, "Most of the members of the House of Representatives and the various political blocs have an intention to dismiss the Al-Kazemi government," stressing that "this request will be raised during the emergency session of the House of Representatives to be held next Wednesday."
Earlier in the day, the Parliamentary Committee for the Implementation of the Governmental Program and Strategic Planning had decided to host Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi and senior officials to find out about government failures. http://burathanews.com/arabic/news/382873
Forces Attack The Minister Of Finance And Calls For His Dismissal
Time: 12/21/2020 13:21:17 Read: 3,042 times (Baghdad: Al Furat News) The Iraqi Forces Alliance called on Monday, the Prime Minister to dismiss the Minister of Finance in an amicable manner before proceeding with his dismissal inside the parliament, after failure to deal with the country's financial file.
The deputy of the coalition, Raad Al-Dahlaki, said, in a statement, that the Euphrates News received a copy of it, that his bloc "had previously demanded on several occasions to dismiss the Minister of Finance (Ali Allawi) for feeling that he was a failure and unable to manage a ministry the size of finance," according to his expression.
He added, "The minister suffers from clear confusion in managing the most important files in the country, including the draft financial budget," he said.
Al-Dahlaki explained, "The salaries of employees, their allocations, the end of service reward for retirees, the cumulative amount of civilians and security forces, past and current, and the assignments of the displaced are red lines. We advise the Minister of Finance not to think about manipulating them."
And he stated, "In any case, the prime minister wants to preserve the remainder of his government's face, he must dismiss the most failed finance minister in the history of the Iraqi state."
A member of the Iraqi Forces Alliance, the Prime Minister, warned against “making the government an opponent of the people and the House of Representatives in the event that the Minister of Finance is not fired,” as he put it. LINK
Representative economics: Government policy and the Minister of Finance are far from the citizen and reality
Pratha News Agency74 2020-12-21 On Monday, the Parliamentary Economic and Investment Committee considered the government’s policy and Finance Minister Ali Abdul Amir Allawi, regarding the economic crisis, as far from the citizen and reality.
Committee member Nada Shaker said in a press statement that "raising the price of the dollar against the Iraqi dinar is a matter that greatly affects the livelihood of those with limited income and the poor groups of society," noting that "the government's economic policy is wrong and far from the reality in which the country is living."
She added that "the Minister of Finance, Ali Abdul Amir Allawi, is acting far from the citizen and all the revolutions he took to solve the crisis negatively affect the citizens," indicating that "government reform is an economically wrong approach."
The Parliamentary Economic Committee confirmed, yesterday, Sunday, that the government of Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi is unable to address the current financial crisis.
And the Minister of Finance announced, earlier on the day before yesterday, Saturday, to raise the exchange rate of the dollar against the Iraqi dinar, confirming that all appointments will be stopped in the budget of next year. http://burathanews.com/arabic/economic/382865
The Council Of Ministers Resumes Its Extraordinary Session Headed By Al-Kazemi To Discuss The 2021 Budget
Time: 12/21/2020 16:32:21 Read: 2,015 times
(Baghdad: Al Furat News) The Council of Ministers resumed, on Monday afternoon, its special session headed by Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi to discuss the 2021 budget.
And his office said in a brief statement, "Al Furat News" received a copy of it on "The Cabinet's resumption of its special session Al-Kazemi to discuss the federal budget for the fiscal year 2021." LINK
Minister Of Planning: The Iraqi Economy Is Going Through The Most Difficult Crisis In Its History
Time: 12/21/2020 14:38:56 Read: 2,899 times (Baghdad: Al Furat News) The Minister of Planning, Khaled Battal Al-Najm, said today, Monday, that the Iraqi economy is going through the most difficult crisis in its history.
Al-Najm said during his presidency of the fourth meeting of the follow-up cell, related to achieving the goals of sustainable development 2030, and preparing the second national voluntary report, which will be presented during the high-level meeting of the United Nations in the middle of next year, that it is "a complex crisis, accumulated through long decades of failures, resulting from the unilateralism and rentier of this economy What made it reach a dead end requires urgent and effective measures to overcome the crisis, by establishing economic policies that help the growth of productive sectors and diversify sources of financing.
He pointed out, "Iraq's obligations with the international community to achieve the goals of sustainable development, and these commitments receive important obligations on all sectors of the state, including government, the private sector, civil society organizations, and the media," noting "the role of sectoral ministries in achieving sustainable development goals, which represent the basis for reforms. The economy that the government is working to achieve. "
The Minister of Planning called for "adopting sustainable development standards in the construction of residential complexes, which adopt thermal insulation processes, thus reducing electrical energy consumption, while continuing to educate citizens about the need to rationalize energy consumption by a general level."
The meeting witnessed a discussion of a number of issues related to the achievement of the sustainable development goals, at the ministerial level, and the ongoing preparations for preparing the second voluntary report, as well as the discussion of the launch of the National Forum for Sustainable Development platform. LINK
76 Parliamentarians Sign An Invitation To Hold An Emergency Session Next Wednesday To Discuss 4 Issues
Time: 12/21/2020 12:38:30 Read: 3,848 times {Baghdad: Al Furat News} On Monday, 76 parliamentarians signed a call to hold an emergency session next Wednesday to discuss 4 topics.
The text of the invitation stated, "We, the undersigned, call on the House of Representatives to hold an emergency (exceptional) session on Wednesday 23/12/2020 at one o'clock in the afternoon in the presence of:
1- Prime Minister Mustafa Al- Kazemi
2- Minister of Finance Ali Allawi
3- Central Bank Governor Mustafa Al-Jubouri, in order to discuss the following issues: -
1. The reasons for the decline in the exchange rate and the classification of banks
2. The fiscal policy followed
3. The agreements of the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance with the International Monetary Fund, conditions and obligations
4. The failure of government performance and the inability of the state to implement its government approach. LINK
The Stock Market Continues To Rise In Monday's Session
Iraqi Stock Exchange «Economy News» Market Economy News – Baghdad On Monday, the stock market index rose by 1.32 %, continuing its positive results achieved in Sunday's session.
Monday's session witnessed a circulation of 794.6 million dinars, down from 1.9 billion shares in Sunday's session, a value of 763 million dinars.
The index recorded an increase in the value of the shares of 15 companies, led by the shares of The United Bank by 14.29 % and the shares of the National Bank by 9.52 %.
The National Tourist Investments Company topped the losing companies by 3.61 %, followed by the Modern Company with 1.66 %.
In turn, foreign investors sold 1 million shares at a value of 1 million dinars after executing one deal on the shares of one company. Number of observations 127, date of addendum 12/21/2020
https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=23250
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