Some "Wednesday News" Posted by Samson 8-4-2021

KTFA:

Samson:  A report identifies the places to which the US air bases will move after their withdrawal from Iraq

4th August, 2021

Today, Wednesday, the Mehr news agency revealed the intention of the United States of America to transfer its air bases to Jordan and Kuwait after withdrawing from Iraq at the end of this year.

Mehr news agency quoted informed sources as saying that “the latest agreement between Baghdad and Washington includes the withdrawal of all 2,500 American forces,” noting that “America intends, after withdrawing from Iraq, to ​​transfer its bases to Jordan and Kuwait.”

He added that "the American forces will remain in Iraq only for advisory and training purposes, as desired by the Iraqi government," noting that "the Americans want to transfer the Ain al-Assad base to Jordan because they see it as a better place to secure the Zionist regime and intercept air missiles."

He continued, "Reports confirmed that the Al-Harir base will be transferred to Kuwait."  LINK

Samson:  Deputy: Corruption operations through remittances outside Iraq

4th August, 2021

On Wednesday, Representative Arshad Al-Salihi revealed that corruption had occurred through remittances outside Iraq in the year 2020.

Al-Salihi said in a statement that (Al-Oula News) received a copy of it, that "we were surprised by the figures revealed by the Ministry of Planning that the volume of Iraq's import of goods in 2020 amounted to only 15 billion dollars, while the volume of Iraqi remittances outside the country during the year 2020 amounted to 40 billion dollars, according to what was announced by the Central Bank.

He added that "this matter means that Iraq has transferred 40 billion dollars for the purpose of importing and receiving goods worth 15 billion dollars only," noting that "the loss of 25 billion dollars should be disclosed to public opinion immediately without any hesitation."

Al-Salihi added that "guaranteeing the rights of the citizen and exposing corruption is one of the responsibilities of the government, which must not cover up for those whose hands have been stained by wasting public money, so the government must deal with transparency and not neglect the rights of the Iraqi people."

Last Sunday, the Ministry of Planning announced a sharp drop in imports during the year 2020 compared to the years 2018-2019, attributing this to the outbreak of the Corona epidemic. The official spokesman for the ministry, Abdul-Zahra Al-Hindawi, said in a statement that (Al-Oula News) received a copy of it, that "the report prepared by the Central Statistics Organization showed that the total imports for the year 2020 of commodity materials and oil products amounted to (15.4) billion dollars, equivalent to (18.4) trillion dollars. Iraqi dinars, recording a decrease of (25.9%) compared to 2019, which amounted to (29.9) billion dollars, equivalent to (24.8) trillion dinars.   LINK

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Samson:  Where did the financial surplus from the selling prices of oil go

4th August, 2021

With the significant rise in oil prices...there has been talk again about the financial surplus provided by this rise, at a time when the budget is still incapable of twenty-eight trillion dinars.

Was the financial surplus from oil selling prices going to fill the deficit in the budget, or was it spent in other chapters, or was it still in the state treasury?

The price of a barrel of oil has exceeded the seventy dollars. The price of a barrel of oil is recovering in the sales market, achieving a lot of revenues at a time when the budget is still incapable by twenty-eight trillion dinars, which raised the astonishment of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, wondering about the fate of this financial surplus and where it was spent specifically? 

Observers of economic affairs stressed that the government must clarify, with high transparency, the fate of these funds, which, according to their estimates, suffice to fill a large part of the financial deficit, in addition to launching the private sector allocations and suspended projects.

The Parliamentary Finance Committee’s move to hold the government and the concerned authorities accountable for the financial surplus should be by adding the concerned authorities and the specialists inside the parliament building and obliging the government to submit a detailed report with numbers to see the size of the surplus and the ways to spend it.

In conjunction with the launch of the economic reform plan, the government must be transparent in dealing with such issues affecting the country's economy, and inform Parliament and the citizen periodically on everything that is spent according to what economists think.  LINK

Samson:  Deputy: Money laundering continues in Iraq

4th August, 2021

Today, Wednesday, a member of the Parliamentary Economy Committee, Mazen Al-Faili, revealed 5 points that make the decision to raise the dollar ill-considered, while indicating that the money laundering process continues in Iraq.

Al-Faili said in a statement that (Al-Oula News) received a copy of it, that "it is not hidden from any follower that the decision to raise the dollar exchange rate has negatively and significantly affected citizens in the poor and fragile classes of society, employees, and even traders and contractors," noting that "the justifications that the government made it unrealistic and unstudied for the following reasons:

1- The rise in oil prices in global markets, which contributed to a significant increase in the financial returns to the state treasury, which negates the need to raise the exchange rate of the dollar

2- The average sale of the dollar in the sale window of the Central Bank increased relatively, which means that raising the exchange rate did not stop the depletion of hard currency and money laundering operations, as the government claimed, as the data shows, for example, that Iraq sold in July 2020 an average of 183 million dollars per day, while In July 2021, he sold an average of 210 million dollars, which shows an increase in the quantities of dollars sold, which means the futility of raising the exchange rate.

3- OPEC's decision to increase Iraq's share of selling oil in world markets by 150,000 barrels per day, equivalent to (300) million dollars per month.

4- What some people claim to justify raising the exchange rate for the purpose of supporting the local product is contradicted by the decisions that granted Jordan exemptions from customs duties for hundreds of materials and the sale of oil at a low price, as well as the absence of infrastructure for national industries and many raw materials imported from abroad in dollars, which raises the cost of production and weakens its competitiveness With the similar imported product

5- After more than eight months of the exchange rate hike, we wonder what the financial savings have been achieved as a result of the exchange rate hike. Raising the exchange rate also leaked into the pockets of the corrupt!”

He added that "the points we mentioned clearly indicate that there is no need to raise the dollar exchange rate," calling on the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank "to restore the exchange rate to what it was previously and not to invoke justifications that do not withstand the data and data that we have indicated."  LINK

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Samson:  Parliament demands the Minister of Transport to answer a question about the loss of 50 billion annually 

4th August, 2021

A document issued by the Iraqi Council of Representatives, on Wednesday, revealed a request addressed to the Minister of Transport to set a date for him to attend Parliament to verbally answer a parliamentary question by Representative Jamal Al-Muhammadawi related to a contract that incurs losses estimated at 50 billion dinars annually to the state.

The document, which (Al-Oula News) obtained a copy of, stated, “Based on Article (61/Seventh/A) of the Constitution and Articles (27/Second) and (29) of Parliament Law No. (13) of 2018 and Article (50). And (51) of the parliament’s bylaws, we refer to you the question posed by Representative (Jamal Al-Muhammadawi), a member of the House of Representatives.

And she added, "This is for the purpose of setting a date for the Minister of Transport to attend the parliament session to answer orally according to the period specified in the legal articles."

On July 18, Representative Jamal Al-Muhammadawi had asked the Minister of Transport an oral question regarding the joint operation contract concluded between the General Company for Iraqi Ports and the Gulf Neighborhood Company, which incurs losses estimated at (50) billion dinars annually.  And he demanded from the Presidency of the House of Representatives to set a date for the minister to attend the session of the House of Representatives to answer orally the parliamentary questions.  LINK