Thursday Afternoon Iraq Economic News Highlights 9-8-22

Regarding The Budget.. An Expert Determines The Amount Of Money That The Al-Kazemi Government Will Spend

Posted On2022-09-08 By Sotaliraq    Economist Nabil Al-Ali determined, on Tuesday, the amount of money that the caretaker government can spend during the current year if the budget is approved, while questioning the role of food security after it entered the implementation tricks.

Al-Ali said in an interview, “The Financial Management Law allowed the government to spend what it spent in the preceding year, meaning that the government has the authority to spend approximately 120 trillion dinars, in addition to food security, which allowed it to spend 25 trillion dinars.”

He added, "The total money that the government can spend this year amounts to approximately 145 trillion dinars, an amount that is close to two budgets (double) the days of the Abadi government, and it covers all spending and more."

The economic expert explained that, “Going back to the political demands about approving the budget, we will find no reason more than the politicians’ desire to increase government spending for this year; Because the financial revenues from the sale of oil may reach $132 billion, or approximately 195 trillion dinars.”

He continued: "And to it, about 20 trillion dinars are added to non-oil revenues, bringing the total expected revenues to about 215 trillion dinars, and for this reason we may ask what are the reasons for the increase in political conflict over power and influence.”

And he concluded by saying: “I want to mention the support of the corrupt and popular pressure to pass the Food Security Law,” asking, “What was the law able to change after it entered into force?”

Earlier, the independent deputy, Basem Khashan, confirmed, in an interview, that “there were paragraphs inserted into the Food Security Law that were aimed at stealing large sums of money from Iraq,” explaining that “the documents in which the former Minister of Finance explained the reason for his resignation confirm that there are large sums of money from Iraq.” The money was stolen by adding some clauses in the Food Security Law.” Done/25 SR   LINK

The Continuing Emigration Of Doctors In Iraq: Reasons Beyond The Search For A Good Wage

Health Baghdad   Toka Alani  08 September 2022   There Are Many Reasons Behind The Escalation Of The Emigration Of Iraqi Doctors (Assaad Niazi/AFP)

Various Iraqi cities are recording an escalation in the phenomenon of doctors and people with different medical specialties emigrating outside the country, in search of work or a better living reality, despite previous and repeated statements by the health authorities in Baghdad that there is a shortage of medical personnel and their quest to entice migrant doctors to return with different offers, from Including the provision of housing and salary.

On the other hand, reports of attacks on medical and health personnel continue in various cities of Iraq, despite previous pledges to the security authorities to increase the penalty for assaulting them.

Last week, the city of Sulaymaniyah, in the far north of the country, in the Kurdistan region, recorded a case of an attack on a doctor in a health center after the death of an elderly man.

The Corona pandemic , which struck the country in early January 2020, posed a major challenge to the Iraqi health sector, which lost more than a thousand doctors and health workers during the virus, in addition to the damage to infrastructure after a series of fires and chaos that were the result of the situation getting out of control after receiving thousands of cases. critical daily.

According to a prominent Iraqi official in the Ministry of Health, there is an acute shortage of a number of medical specialties with the continued migration of doctors abroad, specifically the specialties of anesthesia, oncology, neurosurgery, blood vessels and mental health, in addition to other technical specialties such as radiology, ultrasound, (Eco) and others. He stressed that Iraq also urgently needs 16 hospitals, and about 30,000 of those specialties are required by Iraqi hospitals in total.

In an interview with Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, he indicated that the program to return immigrant doctors to Iraq is almost completely faltering, and there is even a migration of this segment to foreign and Arab countries, if it is for the purpose of completing studies and taking a higher specialization, or for work, but they do not return again. to Iraq.

And he considered that the five-year leave for the employee, which was approved by the government as one of the treatments for the financial crisis, was one of the reasons for the exacerbation of the shortage of medical and health personnel as well, as this year recorded the departure of more than a thousand Iraqi doctors from the country under various pretexts and pretexts, including study and special circumstances, but most likely they decided completing their lives outside Iraq,” he said.

Earlier, the Iraqi government announced its intention to bring in foreign medical teams to treat Iraqi patients instead of sending them abroad, as tens of thousands of Iraqis travel annually to countries, most notably India, Turkey, Iran, Jordan and Lebanon for treatment at their own expense, and unofficial figures indicate that about 200 million Dollars Iraqis spend on medical treatment abroad annually.

Dr. Haidar Al-Taie, a specialized doctor, is one of those who left Iraq after the US invasion of the country in 2003, where Baghdad recorded dozens of assassinations against doctors and various competencies at the hands of militias and organized crime gangs. He told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed: “The real problem facing the health sector is The bad thing in Iraq is that there is no state governed by institutions, in addition to the control of parties and militias.

He added that "the emigration of doctors before the American occupation was due to the difficult financial situation in the country, but after the occupation, more reasons appeared, most notably the deteriorating security situation, and the lack of a correct health system, in addition to the conditions that Iraq has experienced since the occupation, such as sectarian fighting and displacement, marginalization, and the absence of all real state institutions.

The continuing emigration of doctors in Iraq: reasons beyond the search for a good wage 1111111

Health   The emigration of doctors... The Algerian health sector is in danger

In the same context, Doctor Ahmed Al-Ani, who works as a resident doctor in one of Baghdad’s government hospitals, said in an interview with Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that his country “does not urgently need recruitment as much as it needs to raise the current health situation,” referring to the deterioration of the infrastructure of Iraqi hospitals and the lack of their number. .

He continues: "Recruitment will solve part of the problem, but not all, and the number of doctors in Iraq is sufficient, but the state does not encourage them to stay, and does not provide them with appointments in the government sector, which forces them to search for better opportunities outside the country."

On this, a member of the Iraqi Medical Syndicate, Ahmed Abdel Karim Al-Sheikhly, said in a telephone conversation with Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that migration is not limited to doctors only, but there are many segments, including engineers, university professors, and various specializations, seeking to migrate, the economic factor and the search for a safe place.

Socially, stable and comfortable is the biggest motivator, "considering that the attacks facing doctors have decreased a lot in the past period, but the doctor, like other Iraqis, wants to live in a stable and comfortable place for him and his family members."

He considered that if the randomness and chaos in the health sector were addressed and the modern administration and electronic system were adopted in daily dealings, there would be no shortage of medical cadres in Iraq, especially with annual payments that are graduated annually from Iraqi universities.   LINK

Basra Raw Materials Exported To Asia Decreased By 7%

2022-09-08   Yes Iraq: Baghdad  The Basra medium and heavy crude prices fell today, Thursday, to more than 7%.   Basra Medium crude, exported to Asia, decreased by 7.08 dollars, a change of 7.44%, to reach 88.11 dollars per barrel.  Basra Heavy crude, exported to Asia, fell $6.88, a change of 7.60%, to $83.71.

OPEC crude also declined, as Saudi Arabian crude recorded $94.94 a barrel, a decrease of $7.22, and the UAE Murban mix recorded $89.71 a barrel, a decrease of $4.83 a barrel.

Global oil prices witnessed a significant decline with fears of global economic recession, slowing demand in Europe, and high interest rates.   LINK

Basra's Medium And Heavy Crudes Are Declining To More Than 7%

Shafaq News/ The Basra medium and heavy crude prices fell today, Thursday, to more than 7%.

Basra Medium crude, exported to Asia, decreased by 7.08 dollars, a change of 7.44%, to reach 88.11 dollars per barrel.  Basra Heavy crude, exported to Asia, fell $6.88, a change of 7.60%, to $83.71.

OPEC crude also declined, as Saudi Arabian crude recorded $94.94 a barrel, a decrease of $7.22, and the UAE Murban mix recorded $89.71 a barrel, a decrease of $4.83 a barrel.

Global oil prices witnessed a significant decline with fears of global economic recession, slowing demand in Europe, and high interest rates.   LINK

The Council Of Ministers Announces The Promotion Of The Preparatory Certificate Holders To The Third Degree

2022-09-08 | 07:46   0 views   Alsumaria News – Localities The General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers announced today, Thursday, the promotion of the preparatory certificate holders to the third degree.

And the secretariat stated in a statement received by Alsumaria News, that it “decided to launch the promotion of the preparatory certificate holders exclusively, up to the (third) degree, provided that this does not result in the creation of new job titles, and the amendment of the ministries (Finance, Planning) and the Federal Service Council, the job description approved by the Ministries and entities not affiliated with a ministry, in a manner that ensures that those covered by the decision reach the third degree.

The Cabinet Affairs and Committees Department in the secretariat stated that "the decision will be implemented starting with the issuance of the next federal budget law."   LINK

Currency Sale Window A Source Of Corruption

Majed Zeidan   There is an ongoing debate about the currency sale window in the Central Bank, and there is a national consensus that it causes damage to the economy and a door to corruption through currency smuggling, and what is more dangerous is that it is a window to finance the parties in power directly and indirectly.

Despite the wide observations and calls among economists and politicians to find and use another way to manage hard currencies and meet the needs of the local economy of hard currencies and according to controls that prevent or limit corruption, which is being talked about on a large scale due to the auction caused in this way and the failure to follow up on the dollar sold.

The work of the window is marred by a lot of criticism, comments and disagreement with this mechanism, and what is said about it has become certain, well-established and tangible, including money laundering, forged invoices, inferior goods overpriced, and others, but international reports indicating its disadvantages, in addition to confessions from Iraqi officials regarding it, and the realization of outrageous profits.

By banks and companies authorized to deal with the currency auction without providing a service to citizens that cannot be compensated and providing the huge sums to be shared by the influential.

What is more dangerous is that the authoritarian parties and the associated parties such as merchants, bankers and brokers use this window to finance their activities and goals, that is, they use public money that is not in its place and its goals, but rather to maintain control over the country’s capabilities and develop personal wealth.

From this controversy that is being raised about the issue, the insistence on purifying the window of corruption is urgent

Adhering to the laws, tightening and developing control, and then addressing the exchange rate and monetary policy, and whether it is to reform the window or find alternatives to provide currency for it, it is important and necessary to dry up the sources of corruption, and thus deprive the controlling forces of a source that finances uncontrolled and uncontrolled power to achieve stability in the country and mobilize resources for sustainable development and combating poverty.

In the years 21-20 and 2020, the import of goods reached 18 and 17 billion dollars, respectively, but the dollar sales more than doubled. In 2019, the Central Bank of Iraq sold 44 billion dollars of hard currency in the Central Bank auction, mostly allocated to cover the import of materials and goods the country needs, and to stabilize the price of the Iraqi dinar and prevent inflation, according to bank data.

However, Iraqi economists say the volume of Iraqi imports has reached $18 billion, without specifying where the difference went. Experts warn of currency leakage out of Iraq due to corruption in the currency auction. There is actually a difference of about 30 billion dollars between the volume of remittances abroad and the value of the goods entering, which indicates that the currency auction is not doing its proper duty to provide funds for the purpose of import.

The Finance Committee called in more than one parliamentary session to reconsider the issue of the currency auction, and that the issue of the currency window for the Central Bank does not exist in all countries of the world except for Iraq. It is clear that sales in it exceed imports, and it has become a means of supporting Iran and Turkey, whose currencies are suffering from the collapse.

The new government, if it is formed, must seriously consider this problem in order to preserve resources and protect the national economy, and before that answer the stark question: Where did the difference go? LINK