Saturday Morning Iraq Economic News Highlights 6-3-23
Saturday Morning Iraq Economic News Highlights 6-3-23
Iraqis Are Waiting For The Approval Of The Budget
Iraq 06/03/2023 Shaima Rashid While the Iraqi people are waiting for the issue of the “budget” to be resolved and to vote on it, the Parliamentary Finance Committee is still waiting for political consensus regarding it, and what will emerge from the meetings of the “State Administration Coalition” regarding the dispute with the region regarding their share after the latter objected to what the committee voted on in the budget led to a delay in its approval, and while previous dates failed to be set; Members of the House of Representatives suggested that the “voting session” on the budget would be at the beginning of next week.
A member of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, Saad Al-Toobi, said in an exclusive interview with “Al-Sabah”: “The committee requested earlier to set a date for the session, because there is nothing to delay voting on the budget, as the committee needs hours only in order to make transfers that are almost Ready and just waiting for tabulation in the budget as well as some additional materials.”
And he explained that “the delay that is taking place now is only for the sake of the region’s articles that were duly voted on within the committee,” adding,
“But it is possible that political consensus will take place and the vote will be changed,” noting that “it is possible to change the voted materials because the voting took place in Within the committee, the budget was not voted on as a whole, and this is one of the legal tricks.”
And he continued: "Parliament will enter its legislative recess on the ninth of June, so the budget will be approved effectively before this date," and indicated that "it is possible to set a date for the next Sunday or Monday to vote on the budget in Parliament."
Al-Tobi indicated that "there are drafts that have arrived as proposals adopted by the (Coordinating Framework) or (the State Administration Coalition) regarding the region's share, as the dispute was that the region refuses to export through the (SOMO) company, and it also rejects the issue of the bank account, demanding that the region's government act directly with the account."
He explained, “What has reached us now is that the region agreed to export through the (SOMO) company, but the bank account is not by opening an account in the central bank, but rather an account approved by the bank.” central".
It is noteworthy that the last meeting of the Finance Committee witnessed an agreement to collect an amount from the transfers and classify it on the aspects of expenditure, meaning that the sums of the expenditures amounting to 65 trillion dinars were reduced and reduced and 7 trillion were removed from them, and there are matters that have changed in the budget that came from the government; Including the share of the region, and it remains up to Parliament to approve or reject the articles that have been changed.
The Finance Committee also voted to add 14 segments of lecturers, compulsory leave holders, electoral contracts, wages, contracts after and before October 2019, and the Awakenings, and the Ministry of Finance refused to install these segments on the owners because they do not have funds, so the Finance Committee worked to add a paragraph in the budget that Wages are transferred to contracts and contracts to staff in future budgets or in the process of deletion and creation.
Edited by Muhammad Al-Ansari https://alsabaah.iq/78139-.html
Parliamentary Finance Expects To Settle The Budget Differences Between Baghdad And Erbil Through "Middle" Solutions
Shafaq News/ A member of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, Mueen Al-Kadhimi, expects, on Saturday, that the existing disputes regarding the general budget will be settled with the Kurdistan Democratic Party by "moderate" solutions that will satisfy Baghdad and Erbil.
Al-Kadhimi told Shafaq News agency that the coordination framework negotiator reached an agreement with the Democratic Party on the constitutional mechanism for exporting oil from the region.
He continued by saying, "Dialogues are currently ongoing between the two parties regarding Article 14, which consists of 12 paragraphs, 6 of which are agreed upon within the government text, and 6 other paragraphs are being discussed because the region considers them interference in its affairs."
Al-Kazemi also indicated that "discussions are underway regarding the management of border crossings between the federal government and the region, and preventing the extraction of oil from the Nineveh and Kirkuk fields by Kurdistan."
The member of Parliamentary Finance pointed out that matters and differences will reach compromises during the next week, warning that the Finance Committee will make amendments to the budget, complete the transfer schedule and refer it to Parliament for a vote on it.
On Tuesday, May 31, economist Nabil Al-Marsoumi declared that the coordination framework that includes the ruling Shiite political forces in the country had submitted a new proposal on paragraphs 13 and 14 of the budget for the Kurdistan Region.
Al-Marsoumi, in a post on the social networking sites "Facebook", quoted private sources of this proposal.
According to what is stipulated in the proposal, it is for the Kurdistan Region to deliver 400 thousand barrels of oil per day to the National Oil Marketing Company "SOMO", and to coordinate the sale of crude with this company as well.
The sources stated that in the event that it is not possible to export oil through the ports of Turkey, Erbil will deliver the oil to Baghdad, and the Ministry of Oil, in turn, will find alternatives to selling Kurdistan's oil or using it internally.
The sources pointed out that the federal government is committed to paying 400,000 barrels of oil from the sale of oil to Erbil in the event that it receives it from the region, provided that the money from oil sales is placed and recycled internally in an account belonging to the Federal Ministry of Finance.
It is noteworthy that the Presidency and the Kurdistan Regional Government have recently objected to the amendments made to the paragraphs related to the region in the financial budget that the Iraqi parliament seeks to approve, describing it as a violation of the laws, the constitution, and the agreements concluded between Erbil and Baghdad, which resulted in the formation of the current federal government headed by Muhammad Shia al-Sudani.
The President of the Kurdistan Region, Nechirvan Barzani, had expressed "deep concern" about what he called the changes that affected the paragraphs of the Iraqi general budget bill related to the constitutional rights of the Kurdistan Region, and said that he rejected them "completely."
And before that, the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Masrour Barzani, said, "A group in the Finance Committee of the Iraqi Parliament made changes to the draft federal budget, violating a prior agreement we concluded with the State of Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani and his government," noting that "the agreement that is the cornerstone For cooperation between Erbil and Baghdad, and everyone must respect its clauses.
And the Parliamentary Finance Committee recently voted to oblige the Kurdistan Region to pay 10% on a monthly basis from the salaries deducted to its employees, while this was included in the budget amendments that are being discussed.
A member of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, Mustafa Sanad, also confirmed the committee’s vote to amend paragraphs related to the region in the budget law, regarding its delivery of oil, while pointing to the withdrawal of the Democratic Party bloc representatives from the meeting.
And the Iraqi Council of Ministers approved, on the 13th of last March, the largest financial budget in the history of the country, which exceeded 197 trillion and 828 billion Iraqi dinars (about 152.2 billion dollars), with a total deficit of 63 trillion Iraqi dinars, taking advantage of the rise in oil prices globally. , which constitutes more than 95% of the country’s financial revenues, amid objections from financial and legal experts regarding the budget items, but it has not yet been approved due to disagreements. LINK
In One Year.. 200 Billion Dinars, Iraq's Revenues From "Renting Sidewalks"
Money and business Economy News – Baghdad On Friday, the General Company for Ports revealed the value of profits generated from leased berths in Iraq, while announcing advanced completion rates for the Al-Faw Grand Port project.
The Director General of Ports, Farhan Al-Fartousi, told the official news agency, "The port of Faw is proceeding as planned, and the actual completion rates in its five projects are advanced, and there is no obstacle or stumbling block in the work."
With regard to leased berths, Al-Fartousi affirmed, "The leasing of berths is a global system followed in all countries of the world by managing the operation of their berths by referring the operation process to international shipping lines that work to provide goods through their shipping lines, and at the same time introduce the latest technology and equipment for the purpose of speeding up handling operations." In order for there to be a high flow, and thus an increase in revenues, given that supporting the target is to increase revenues.
Al-Fartousi continued, "The revenues from renting sidewalks increased to about 200 billion dinars for the year 2022 compared to the previous year, which was about 100 billion dinars, and this is the biggest indicator of success." Views 211 06/02/2023 - https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=34535
The Former Head Of Baghdad Investment Was Imprisoned And Fined More Than Two Billion Dinars
The first 06/03/2023 The Central Anti-Corruption Criminal Court issued a judgment in the presence of the former head of the Baghdad Investment Commission, which stipulates imprisonment and a fine of more than two billion dinars.
The Investigation Department of the Integrity Commission stated, in a statement, that “the Central Anti-Corruption Criminal Court issued a judgment in the presence of the head of the Baghdad Investment Commission to be imprisoned for a period of one year, on the background of his participation with a number of defendants whose papers were dispersed, for the purpose of buying real estate in one of the prestigious neighborhoods in the capital.” Baghdad and register it in their names.
She added, "The verdict also included a fine of (two billion and fourteen million Iraqi dinars)," noting that "the ruling was based on the provisions of Article (36) of the Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing Law No. 39 of 2015."
She indicated that "the court, after reviewing the evidence obtained in the case, reached full conviction of the defendant's negligence, so it decided to convict him and pass judgment on him in his presence, based on the requirements of the ruling article."
In another case, the investigation teams of the Integrity Investigation Office in Wasit were able to reveal that the payroll officer at the Technical Institute in Kut had embezzled sums of money from the salaries of teachers and employees at the institute by preparing the payrolls that are deposited in the institute’s accounts correctly, while she By manipulating the laser discs that are sent to the “MasterCard” company, in addition to sending personal advances that are organized and collected among the employees within the institute through “MasterCard”, indicating that “the accused adds sums of money in addition to salaries and demands them after that, and the It is returned by the faculty and staff without official receipts, and then it embezzles those amounts for its personal account. https://alsabaah.iq/78152-.html
Parliamentary Oil Accuses Erbil Of Smuggling Oil Through Fictitious Companies
SAT, 03-06-2023, TAYSEER AL-ASADI Today, Saturday, member of the Oil, Gas and Natural Resources Committee, Representative Zainab Juma Al-Mousawi, revealed that Erbil circumvented Baghdad federal decisions regarding the crude oil sector.
Al-Moussawi said in a press statement, "Erbil circumvents Baghdad's decisions, as it, in agreement with foreign companies, circumvented the Federal Court's decision issued in February 2022, which ruled the unconstitutionality of the oil and gas law in the Kurdistan region, and prevented it from exporting oil in its favour. Baghdad exclusively.
She added, "The circumvention was through changing the names of the operating companies. For example, Schlumberger is currently operating in the region under the name of "IOt", which is one of its divisions, while Halliburton operates under the name of "boots and coots", which It is also one of its divisions.
She pointed out that "this came after the false claim of those companies to withdraw from work in the Kurdistan region in compliance with the federal decision." http://non14.net/public/157472
The Delay In Approving The Budget Will Cause A Delay In The Completion Of Important Investment Projects
Economist for / NINA /: Saturday 03, June 2023 Economical Number of readings: 270 Baghdad / NINA / - The expert in economic affairs, Malath Al-Amin, confirmed that the delay in approving the budget will cause a delay in the completion of important investment projects that constitute an important link in non-oil economic independence, noting: " The budget is approved on time, which is the first quarter of each year, an urgent need to contribute to the establishment of giant economic projects that will be an important link in the lives of future generations after the depletion of oil.
Al-Amin said in a statement to the Iraqi National News Agency / NINA/: “According to the draft general budget law for the year 2023 presented by the Ministry of Finance, the total general budget amounts to 136 billion dollars, with a deficit of 43 billion dollars, of which oil revenues constitute 87 percent,” indicating:
“The financial revenues from oil exports amount to 7 billion dollars per month, and accordingly, in the event that the budget approval is delayed until after the second half of the current year, the law allows the government to spend the money based on the last year's budget at a rate of 1/12 per month.
The mission that constitutes an important link in non-oil economic independence, which the government pursues to diversify sources of income away from oil through the revitalization of productive sectors such as agriculture, industry and transportation. /