Shafaq News/ The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has accused the federal government in Baghdad of delaying the payment of salaries to its employees, despite fulfilling all necessary requirements.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the KRG cabinet said it had completed all the audits and procedures required by the federal government's Board of Financial Audit and had submitted the necessary data for July's salaries.
"The federal government's responsibility is to send the salaries of employees monthly, just like other governorates," the statement read. "The KRG has sent the salary list for July with all the required information 30 days ago, but unfortunately, the salaries have not been paid yet."
The KRG cabinet stressed that salaries are protected from disputes between the two governments, as ruled by the Federal Court. "Salaries are the financial entitlements of employees and should not be mixed with any other issue," the statement added.
The KRG also expressed frustration with the federal government's decision to withhold salaries due to minor audit observations. "There are observations by the federal Board of Financial Audit that should not cause the suspension of all salary payments, as the Federal Ministry of Finance is currently doing," the statement said. "This is discriminatory treatment against the Kurdistan Region, as we are certain that the Board of Financial Audit constantly submits reports on the accounting deficiencies of federal institutions, but the Ministry of Finance has never resorted to delaying the payment of salaries in other governorates of Iraq."
The KRG cabinet called on all ministries to strengthen coordination with the joint committees between the KRG and the federal Board of Financial Audit to remove any technical obstacles that prevent the timely payment of monthly salaries.
The statement also touched on other issues, including the coordination between the KRG and the federal government on financial procedures and the upcoming elections.
The KRG cabinet expressed its support for the electoral process and called for free and fair elections.