KTFA:

Samson:  Parliamentary finance is "resentful" by the government for not sending the budget

12:30 - 08/07/2020

Parliamentary Finance Committee, on Wednesday, expressed its strong dissatisfaction with the government for not sending the 2020 budget to the House of Representatives, indicating that the government's failure to answer the House of Representatives raises constitutional questions.

The committee’s rapporteur, Ahmed Al-Saffar, said in a statement to “Al-Maalouma”, that his committee “is surprised at the government's failure to respond to sending the state’s general budget for the year 2020 to the parliament.”

He added that his committee "fears a rift between the Finance Committee and the government in this regard," noting that "the government’s repudiation of the lack of response about sending a budget raises many questions."

Al-Saffar pointed out that "not to send the budget will expose the government to legal accountability." 

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Samson:  Tax Authority: Revenues of the first half of this year exceeded one trillion and 500 billion dinars

8th July, 2020

Wednesday, the General Authority for Taxes calculated the first half of the current year.

"The tax revenues amounted to more than one trillion and 500 billion dinars during the first half of this year, despite the Corona pandemic measures and their impact on commercial movement," said Shakir al-Zubaidi, director of the commission.

Al-Zubaidi predicted, "The revenue will rise to double during the second half of this year to support the state's general budget."   LINK

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Samson:  Rashid Bank announces the payment of salaries of more than 100 departments

7th July, 2020

Al-Rasheed Bank announced, on Tuesday, that its branches will continue to pay the salaries of employees of the endemic state departments with their salaries with the bank, whose financing instruments have arrived.

The media office of the bank stated in a statement / Mawazine News / received a copy of it, that "the electronic payment unit delivered salaries to more than (100) departments in Baghdad and the provinces, in addition to handing over the salaries of many departments that receive their salaries manually."

The statement added, "The bank's staff work until late at night to ensure that salaries are paid without delay, and that employees with electronic payment cards can receive their salaries from the bank's branch network located in Baghdad and the provinces or from one of the approved Nakheel Master Card offices if they receive a download notification message Salary".    LINK

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Samson:  Baghdad-Erbil talks will resume next week

8th July 2020

The Deputy of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, Dylan Ghaffour, said on Wednesday that talks between Baghdad and Erbil will resume next week, noting that the two sides have not reached a conclusion regarding the oil file

Ghafour told Shafaq News, "There is an intention and will among the negotiating delegation of the Kurdistan Regional Government to resolve the differences and outstanding problems with Baghdad. She added, "The delegation of the Kurdistan Regional Government will visit Baghdad next week to complete the talks, especially those related to oil and the salaries of the region's employees

Ghafour said that "the oil file is one of the thorny issues, and the negotiating delegations did not reach a result regarding it," noting that "there are problems technically", regarding the oil file.. She noted that "the two parties want to reach solutions and resolve differences and problems related to the two governments

Ghafour indicated, "The delegation will be headed by Prime Minister Masroor Barzani or his deputy, Qubad Talabani," stressing, "The delegation of the Kurdistan Regional Government's determination to solve problems and reach positive results during his next visit

The previous Iraqi government headed by Adel Abdul-Mahdi had cut last April the salaries of state employees in the Kurdistan Region after accusing the region of not committing to an agreement to deliver 250 thousand barrels of oil per day to the company "Sumo" owned by Baghdad, which was denied by the government of Erbil

Al-Kazemi’s government agreed two months ago to launch salaries for one month for the region’s employees, and mortgaged it regularly on Baghdad and Erbil’s agreement on the oil file and the region’s share of the federal budget. Since the decision to cut the salaries of the province’s employees, the two sides have held three rounds of discussions in the capital, Baghdad, to resolve the differences

The military delegations of the two sides are also holding talks to form joint coordination centers in the disputed areas to fight the terrorist organization "ISIS", whose activity has increased in those areas since the beginning of the current world, taking advantage of the absence of coordination between Baghdad and Erbil   LINK

Samson:  International Organization: About 5 million Iraqis are below the poverty line as a result of Corona

8th July, 2020

The United Nations Children's Fund, UNICEF, said on Wednesday that nearly 5 million Iraqis are below the poverty line as a result of the outbreak of the Corona pandemic.

The organization said in a report that about 4.5 million Iraqis (11.7%) were pushed below the poverty line as a result of the Corona pandemic and the resulting social and economic impacts. The large losses in business and jobs, and the rise in prices, also caused the national poverty rate to rise from 20% in 2018 to 31.7%, according to the organization.

The report pointed out that with the additional percentage who fell below the poverty line of 15.8%, children are the most affected by the crisis. While one in five children was suffering from poverty before the crisis, the ratio almost doubled to two out of five children (37.9%) at the beginning of the crisis.

The report continued that 42% of the population is classified as a vulnerable group, as they face a higher risk of suffering from deprivation in terms of many dimensions, and not from one dimension of the following: education, health, living conditions, and financial security.

The report noted that the disruption of services and the adoption of negative coping strategies by poor families, would increase deprivation of the means of well-being, and increase inequality, especially among children.   LINK

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Samson:  "$ 10 billion in port revenue for corrupt pockets"

8th July 2020

A member of the Parliamentary Finance Committee revealed, on Wednesday, the depletion of funds amounting to 10 billion dollars annually due to the widespread corruption in the border crossings

"There is no accurate statistic about the size of border crossing revenues, but revenue is estimated annually between 10 and 12 billion dollars annually," committee member Jamal Cougar told Shafaq News. He added, "The annual revenues from the ports that enter the state treasury do not exceed two billion dollars, while the other money goes to the pockets of the corrupt

And last June, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kazimi told a news conference in Baghdad that "there are billions of dollars annually in outlets, and that there are gangs, groups, bandits and influential people, who sometimes control the outlets and at the expense of the state. Al-Kazemi vowed, "There will be a campaign soon to restore consideration to the outlets, and we will fight ghosts

Cougar said, "Successive governments have not been serious in fighting corruption and controlling border crossings and he added, "This can only be done by restricting the administration of the ports by the state, the presence of a military force capable of confronting the corrupt, transforming the work system from manual to electronic, and periodically replacing the existing cadres in the ports

Iraq is among the most corrupt countries in the world, according to the Transparency International index over the past years, and reports are always received by waste and embezzlement   LINK