Al-Sadr's proposal is consistent with the reform paper, the Ministry of Finance says
Shafaq News / The Iraqi Ministry of Finance announced on Saturday its support for the proposal of the leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, to address the economic crisis.
The ministry said in a statement received by Shafaq News Agency, that it “welcomes the proposal of Sayed Muqtada al-Sadr, as it was consistent with the vision of the Prime Minister, on which the White Paper was based, and adopted by the Ministry of Finance and the Government, to improve the Iraqi economy and develop its production capabilities in the sectors of agriculture, industry, services and others; to ultimately bridge the economic deficit and supporting investment in Iraq."
The Ministry of Finance called on all political blocs to "join efforts and invest the proposal of Sayed Al-Sadr to vote on the white paper because it was laid down to reform the management of the financial situation in light of the current financial crisis. Sayed al-Sadr's proposal detailed the solutions necessary to achieve financial reform and improve the performance of financial institutions at the medium and long levels, and set an economic reform program."
The leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, warned earlier in the day of internal and external financial borrowing to fill the deficit in the general budget, and stressed the need to pay the salaries that the federal government had failed to disburse on time during the past months.
On Sunday, the Minister of Finance, Ali Abdul Amir Allawi, announced that the salaries of employees will be paid immediately after the Parliament approves the borrowing law, and a two-week deadline was set for the payment of the salaries of last October.
The Cabinet Secretariat had submitted a law draft on financing the fiscal deficit to the council of Representatives.
The Parliamentary Finance Committee ruled out on Friday reading and voting on the fiscal deficit financing law in today's session, while the committee called on the Finance Ministry to submit data and figures for borrowing money.
Iraq suffers from a stifling financial crisis as a result of the drop in oil prices on which the Iraqi budget depends by more than 90%.
