KTFA Members "Tuesday News" 10-6-2020
KTFA:
Don961: Electronic collection
Sunday 04 October 2020 Yasser Al-Metwally
While the world is moving towards using the foundations of the digital economy, one of the most important components of which is the electronic payment system. The world has made great strides in this important trend, with the disappearance of the use of paper currency, which has become a burden on economies, due to the many faults, difficulties and challenges of their dealings.
We find that Iraq is still indifferent to this project despite its methods largely through the initiatives of the Central Bank of Iraq and the private banking sector, which literally applied the decisions, legislation and instructions of the Central Bank in this regard.
And now the private banks have the full requirements for operating the electronic payment project, but ?!
What is striking about the tourist trips of Iraqis around the world is that you monitor most of the young people and some families use electronic cards smoothly and maintain their flow, shopping and other travel matters, while not being exposed to fraud, fraud and theft in a number of money exchange outlets abroad.
But you do not find this phenomenon prominent in Iraq, either because of the weak promotion of this mechanism, the weak culture of dealing with electronic cards, or the lack of payment centers.
What concerns us here is the digital economy, that is, at the level of use of ministries and government institutions, especially in the fields of electronic collection, taxes and other transactions, is still weak and does not rise to the level of the development that took place at the global level What are the reasons and motives? Or let's call it what are the challenges so that no one will be angry with us?
Therefore, you find a number of ministries trying to impede the project with flimsy arguments that do not deceive anyone, so they fabricate excuses and arguments and impede contracts with sober companies by imposing commissions on them that exude the bulk of their profits or their reluctance to deal.
Accordingly, the state as a whole is required to issue immediate and binding decisions to apply electronic collection and initiate the use of electronic payment tools according to a specific and binding time limit, thus we dry up the sources of corruption completely and achieve large and pure revenues to support the budget without the need for external and internal borrowing.
And as I mentioned, the banking sector is ready and qualified to implement the project with ease and ease, and electronic payment methods have been published in most of the sites, especially private banks, but most government banks still lack the expansion of the use of these technologies at a time when the need for electronic collection requires that government banks be qualified for that.
What is required is a governmental will to implement this project in an attempt to catch up with the world, in the applications of the high-end economy, and thus we salute the project focused on the shelves and the time has come to activate it, especially Iraq is preparing to receive giant global and local investments. This, God willing, and the promised agreements have been implemented. LINK
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Samson: Salaries of Iraqi Officials Depleting State Budget
6th October, 2020
The "astronomical" salaries of the president, ministers, members of parliament and other senior ranking officials in Iraq are depleting the state's budget and wasting public money, Iraqis have said.
The salaries of senior Iraqi officials have resurfaced after social media users circulated the Court of Cassation's objection to a request filed by former Iraqi President, Ghazi Ajil Al-Yawer (pictured), against a decision to suspend his retirement pay under the Unified Retirement Law of 2014.
According to the social media users, Al-Yawer receives a monthly pension of 61.6 million Iraqi dinars ($51,000), which has cost the state $9.5 million over the years, in addition to the salaries of his security detail and other allocations. [Al-Yawer was President of Iraq from June 2004 to April 2005.]
Following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent drop in global oil prices, Iraq has been forced into deeper financial woes.
The lockdowns which have resulted from the virus have also increased unemployment.
The country has also been experiencing nationwide anti-corruption protests. LINK
Samson: According to the accused ... Basra police seized one billion and 75 million dinars
6th October, 2020
Basra Police announced, on Tuesday, that one billion and 75 million dinars had been seized at the home of one of the defendants in the governorate.
In a statement, Mawazine News received a copy of it, the police stated that “the Basra Crime Detachments managed, on the basis of one of the defendants arrested for the crime of stealing 5 billion Iraqi dinars, to seize an amount of 1 billion and 75 million dinars in the house of one of the defendants who were involved in the theft Last September," indicating that it was "seized in the home of the accused in the district of Abu Al-Khasib."
She added, "The investigation and follow-up operations of the fugitive suspects are continuing, and I promise him that their place will be behind bars." LINK
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Samson: The stock exchange stops trading next Thursday
The Stock Exchange said in a statement seen by "Al-Eqtisad News", that "the Iraq Stock Exchange will not organize the stock trading session on Thursday, October 8, 2020, based on the decision of the Cabinet Secretariat to consider this day an official holiday for the existence of a religious occasion."
The Stock Exchange confirmed the resumption of its sessions, which began on Sunday 11/10/2020
Deepwoodz: Been mentioned in the past that this may coincide with a big change. Imo
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Samson: For 7 days .. Vacation for employees in the Kurdistan region
10/06/2020 11:33:44
The Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs in the Kurdistan Regional Government announced, on Tuesday, that the official working hours will be suspended for a week for employees of the sect working in government departments and institutions in the region on the occasion of the holiday {Jamawa}.
The director of Yazidi affairs in the ministry, Khairy Bouzani, said in a press statement that "the holiday will start from today, Tuesday, 10/6/2020, until 10/13/2020."
He explained, "The Jamawa festival means the Autumn Festival, in which the Yazidis visit the Lalish temple and perform special rituals on this occasion." LINK
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Samson: 49 billion dinars are the revenues of Umm Qasr during September 2020
The General Customs Authority announced that the port of Umm Qasr has achieved financial revenues estimated at 49 billion dinars during September 2020, an increase of 15% compared to the same month during the year 2019
He talked about "preparing a plan to develop customs performance and limit the phenomenon of evasion, smuggling, manipulation of description, quantities, origin, violation of the law, customs instructions, standardization and quality control LINK
Ross: Just image this number at 1:1 for the coffers of the BOI and then add this statement:
"...because the large port of Faw will achieve great profits in Budget payments by providing thousands of jobs." I would say they will soon be cash reserves strong and growing daily from other than oil.
Samson: Al-Hindawi: You cannot vote without the biometric card
6th October, 2020
The Advisor to the Prime Minister for Elections Affairs, Abdul-Hussein Al-Hindawi, confirmed today, Tuesday, that the Electoral Commission is conducting a practical study to organize the Security Committee to eliminate the changes that occurred in the previous elections.
In his statements, Al-Hindawi said that "a security committee made up of military leaders and the Ministry of the Interior has been a problem since the last elections. The commission is trying to review and develop the committee in a practical way for the next stage.
"Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi stressed the importance of bridging the security gaps that appeared in the previous elections, and Al-Hindawi added that parliament must quickly implement the election law, especially since the government’s options are the same as those decided by Parliament.
He explained that the Electoral Commission has started the biometric registration process, stressing that the voter register and the election law are the two main points in order for the commission to work in a smooth manner and to conduct fair elections on the specified date.
Al-Hindawi talked about the possibility of overcoming the obstacles facing the work of the Electoral Commission, so that the most important matter is to mobilize voters and raise awareness to update their electoral register and data, stressing the need for citizens to obtain a biometric electoral card. LINK
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Samson: Oil maintains gains after Trump returns to the White House
6th October, 2020
Oil prices rose in early trading Tuesday, after US President Donald Rump returned to the White House from the hospital after being admitted to receive treatment for the Corona virus last Friday, while another hurricane swept through the Gulf of Mexico in the United States
Prices fell sharply last Friday when Trump entered the hospital, and then jumped by more than five percent on Monday after he said that he would return to the White House and with growing hopes that a US economic stimulus package could be agreed to counter the impact of the Corona virus pandemic
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 2 years to $ 39.24 a barrel. Brent crude futures also rose eight cents, or 0.2 percent, to $ 41.37 a barrel
Also helped support prices were the expanded workers' strike in Norway, which shut down six offshore oil and gas fields, and the evacuation of oil platforms in the US Gulf of Mexico ahead of Tropical Storm Delta, which has turned into a hurricane, heading towards Louisiana and Florida. "These are factors ... that have changed over the past 24 hours and are contributing the most to the rally," said Lachlan Shaw, head of commodity research at the National Australia Bank
The Norwegian Oil and Gas Union said the strike would reduce the country's total production capacity by just over 330,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, or about eight percent of
total production
Meanwhile, hopes have increased for a bipartisan agreement in the United States on an economic relief package, as Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin spoke on Monday and expressed their willingness to talk again today, Tuesday, in a continuation of their efforts to reach an agreement. LINK