KTFA Members "News and Views" Sunday 3-21-2021
KTFA:
Samson: In Iraq ... trading in dollars was stopped due to the curfew and Nowruz holidays
21st March, 2021
On Sunday, the main stock exchange in Baghdad stopped trading as a result of the comprehensive ban that was applied from Friday, and which continues until Monday.
Shafaq News Agency correspondent stated; The stock exchange in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region, did not witness any trading today either because there is an official holiday there on the occasion of Nowruz holidays. LINK
Al-Kazemi congratulates Nowruz and Saleh urges a "fair and legal" solution to Baghdad and Erbil problems LINK
DeepWoodz: “For his part, Al-Kazemi said in a tweet, "We congratulate all of our Kurdish people and Iraqis and all those celebrating the Nowruz holidays."
"On this happy occasion, we affirm adherence to the unity of our country and our democratic gains, and we look forward to overcoming economic and health challenges, and for the brotherhood of the Iraqi people of all sects to be a title for a better future,"he added.”
Ya know,,,,, if anyone had the notion that if everything was said and done and the MR is completely ready to release.....and it “USED TO BE WEEKS”.....and you figured like I did that they would commemorate the LAUNCH of the new rate with a major holiday like Ramadan...... LET ME SUBMIT that NOWRUZ is just as likely!!!
Haven’t we been taught that Baghdad always follows Erbil and the Kurds? I mean FRANK sounds like it’s imminent!!!
They keep talking of the Shiites having the problem with the budget!!! Maybe it’s due to some religious disagreement of when they should celebrate the new era that Iraq is about to embark upon!!!
ITS THE KURDISH NEW YEAR!!! And we been looking for a fiscal year!! Haha
Newroz or Nawroz[1] (Kurdish: نهورۆز/Newroz/Nawroz)[2] is the Kurdish celebration of Nowruz; the arrival of spring and new year in Kurdish culture. In Zoroastrian doctrine, fire is a symbol of light, goodness and purification. Angra Mainyu, the demonic anti-thesis of Zoroastrianism, was defied by Zoroastrians with a big fire every year, which symbolized their defiance of and hatred for evil and the arch-demon.
In Kurdish legend, the holiday celebrates the deliverance of the Kurds from a tyrant, and it is seen as another way of demonstrating support for the Kurdish cause.[3][4][5][6][7] The celebration coincides with the March equinox which usually falls on 21 March[8]and is usually held between 18 and 24 March. The festival has an important place in terms of Kurdish identity for the majority of Kurds.[3][4][6] Though celebrations vary, people generally gather together to welcome the coming of spring; they wear coloured clothes and dance together.[9][10]
OF COURSE the Shiites would have a problem as the Kurds are mostly Sunni Muslims!!!imo
PS.....if you break it down you gotta love it...NOW-ruz!
************
Samson: Representative of the Union: The Kurdish delegation is still in Baghdad
13:38 - 21/03/2021
The deputy of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, Rizan Delir, denied, on Sunday, that the region’s delegation had withdrawn from the ongoing negotiations on the budget law, confirming that the Kurdish delegation is still in Baghdad.
"The delegation of the region negotiating the region’s share of the budget has not withdrawn from negotiations with government and political authorities," Dlir said in a statement to "the information", indicating that "the collapse of the consensus that occurred at dawn yesterday, Saturday, suddenly collapsed without knowing the reasons."
She added that "the delegation is still in Baghdad and will continue to negotiate for the extended period of the voting session," stressing that "an agreement must be reached between the region and the center during the current week."
Yesterday, Saturday, the House of Representatives decided to postpone the session for voting on the budget for a full week due to political differences and the breakdown of negotiations with the region.
************
Don961: With the end of the first quarter of the year approaching ... a keen anticipation of the budget, which has been absent for two years: This is what the budget will leave in the effects on the Iraqi street.
2021-03-20 Yes Iraq: Baghdad
With the approach of the first quarter of this year coming to an end, the Iraqi street lives in the atmosphere of approving the 2021 budget as the first public financial budget in two years, as the last budget that Iraq witnessed was the budget of the year 2019, with the absence of the budget in the past year 2020, which witnessed the organization of government spending according to borrowing laws And investing in low oil revenues due to the Corona pandemic, which led to a reduction in the global oil price.
Large Iraqi segments hope to live in relative financial relaxation following the approval of the budget that coincided with the rise in global oil prices and the spread of Corona vaccines, as the projected revenues during the current year were estimated at more than 110 trillion dinars, with the addition of financial allocations for different segments of contract holders in the Ministry of Electricity as well For confirming the clause of appointing and directing those covered by the medical progression law and amending it from doctors and health and support professions, in addition to confirming the clause for appointing postgraduate degree holders and first graduates.
The atmosphere of approving the budget witnessed many obstacles and difficulties, including the discussion of the possibility of returning the dollar exchange rate to the previous one or choosing an average rate set at about 130 thousand dinars per hundred dollars, while other parliamentary blocs, as well as the government side, objected to any new manipulation of the dollar price.
Among the paragraphs that represented the biggest obstacle in the way of approving the 2021 budget, is the share of the Kurdistan region and the conditions that must be adhered to, which were included in Article No. 11 of the Budget Law, where the Kurdish side agreed to the governmental formula of giving the regional government 250 thousand barrels per day to the federal government in Baghdad as well as 50% of the border crossings' revenues, but parliamentary objections rejected this agreement, demanding that the region hand over all its financial and oil revenues to the federal government.
The discussions witnessed the presentation of a proposal that obtained relative consensus, represented by the payment of the Kurdistan region, 460 thousand barrels per day to the federal government, provided that the costs of production, operation, transportation, domestic consumption and petrodollars be deducted for the region, and the remainder must be no less than 250 thousand barrels, paid in the form of financial dues at the market price to the government Central Baghdad.
Among the hoped-for effects of approving the budget is the final settlement of the dollar exchange rate issue and whether it will change or not, as the push and pull, promises and objections in this aspect cast a shadow over the market and its stability, and the constant fear of any commercial process for fear of new manipulations of the dollar price, which would cause With losses for any process or commercial deal that may take place in this unstable atmosphere.
In addition to what may result from the budget in approving job grades for some groups, as well as paying financial dues to free lecturers, farmers, contract holders, and other groups, and all of this will inject tangible activity into the commercial and purchasing movement in the Iraqi markets. LINK
Don961: Deputy .. political parties obstruct the return of the dollar exchange rate to its previous era
Saturday March 20, 2021 at 19:06 pm
Today, Saturday, the deputy of the Al-Fateh Alliance, Uday Shaalan Abu El-Joun, accused some political figures of making statements and attacking those who care about the interest of the citizen without personal interests, accusing them of obstructing the return of the exchange rate to its previous one.
Abu El-Jon said, "The high exchange rate of the dollar has greatly affected the ordinary citizen more than other classes, and that its continuation without control over the high prices of goods in the local markets does not harm anyone other than the citizen." A decent life, they are the ones who obstruct the return of the exchange rate to its previous one and agree with others for personal interests only.
He stressed that "reviving the Iraqi economy by raising the value of the dinar and reducing the dollar, and not the other way around, because all countries that revived their economy were by weakening foreign currencies and raising the value of the local currency." LINK
************
Don961: Iraq Starts Action to Recover "Billionaires Stolen"
- Two Days Passed
Iraqi President Barham Salih announced that the Presidency of the Republic is preparing a legal code on mechanisms to recover "money stolen from Iraq" estimated by experts at about 250 billion dollars in the period following the fall of the regime of former President Saddam Hussein in 2003.
Saleh said in a televised interview yesterday (Wednesday). ), "The Presidency of the Republic is in the process of developing a legal code dealing with mechanisms to recover funds stolen from Iraq, and located abroad." He added that "the file of corruption is dangerous and huge and needs broader and deeper treatments," indicating that "with all these challenges there were procedures and courts that worked to rule on important corruption cases."
Saleh added that «the Presidency of the Republic is in the process of developing a legal code that we will negotiate with the House of Representatives, to recover the looted funds from Iraq, which may have gone to capitals and investments abroad». He pointed out that "there are important measures" that are being taken, considering that "striking financial corruption is an essential pillar for establishing security, and without it, security will not be established." He continued, "We are interested in having fair elections, and the Iraqi citizen feels reassured that his vote is protected and his decision is respected and that it is not tampered with through fraud and other measures."
Saleh’s announcement regarding the development of this code of conduct comes at a time when the work of a supreme committee formed under the order of the Iraqi Prime Minister, Mustafa Al-Kazemi, is continuing to fight corruption. While the Iraqi judiciary has condemned a number of officials accused of corruption referred to the committee and issued penalties against them, the investigation is still ongoing with a number of other officials in a number of Iraqi ministries and institutions.
Regarding what is meant by the code of conduct announced by Saleh, economist Bassem Jamil Antoun told Asharq Al-Awsat that “the code of conduct is a set of points and standards related to the professional behavior of the parties concerned with this matter and which binds themselves to this code.”
Regarding how Iraq can move in order to recover its stolen money, Anton says that “efforts are required, both domestic and international, in order to prepare the ground for recovering what can be recovered from those funds that were smuggled abroad in one way or another, including This is to use Iraq's international relations in this regard, as well as to Interpol, as Iraq is a member of this body (the international police) ».
"The money smuggled abroad, part of it goes back to the period of the former Iraqi regime, and the other part goes back to the post-2003 period," Anton said. While the size of the sums that were smuggled before the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime is not known, however, Anton says that “the money that was smuggled after the fall of the former regime is estimated at 250 billion dollars, although there are other numbers that may be much higher than this number, but it may be an exaggeration. ».
And on whether it is possible to recover these funds, Anton says that "it is difficult to recover all the smuggled money, but it is possible to recover large amounts of it in various ways and methods." He explained that «there are different ways and methods to recover it, such as the Iraqi embassies abroad, according to the code of conduct that will be prepared in this regard, as well as the possibility of seeking help from countries or companies in countries where the largest amount of smuggled money is counted, and therefore appropriate plans are put in this regard».
Among what the legal expert, Antoon, proposes to retrieve these funds or a portion of them, is “an agreement with specialized companies in exchange for a percentage of the money that is recovered, in addition to following the method of spying on smugglers in unforeseen ways. It is also possible to negotiate with the thieves themselves in some cases” to return what they stole.
According to estimates of officials and experts, the total income of the Iraqi state’s treasury after 2003 and until today exceeds a trillion and 200 billion dollars, which are the funds resulting from the net proceeds of exported Iraqi oil, as well as the grants and financial aid that Iraq obtained from countries and companies.
Despite these enormous funds, the poverty rate in the country is still high, as well as the lack of real change in the infrastructure throughout the country. LINK