Shafaq News- Najaf

The creation of three new ministries and four deputy prime minister posts has “no real justification” while Iraq faces a financial crisis, senior Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq leader Sadr Al-Din Al-Qubbanji said on Friday.

Al-Qubbanji, who also leads Friday prayers in Najaf, said the Shiite religious authority had repeatedly called for preventing waste of public funds.

“We believe creating these ministries and deputy prime minister posts would place a burden on the state,” he said, adding that there was no justification for creating the ministries or expanding the number of deputy prime minister posts.

Parliament on Thursday approved three deputy prime ministers and 11 nominees for previously vacant ministries, including a minister of state, while the Migration Ministry remained unfilled.

Ahead of the vote, lawmakers from several political blocs had threatened to boycott the session, accusing political parties of dividing up new ministries and deputy prime minister posts despite calls to cut government spending.