Dollar pricing might drag 70% of Iraqis below the poverty threshold, MP says

Shafaq News/ A member of the Parliamentary Services Committee warned of the exacerbation of poverty in Iraq in the absence of sustainable solutions for the lower classes amid a stifling financial crisis and skyrocketing dollar exchange rates.

Committee member, MP Manar Al-Shadidi, said in a statement to Shafaq News Agency, "the current exchange rates will aggravate poverty due to the absence of ration items and market manipulation," indicating that it inflicts the Iraqi citizen's sustenance.

Al-Shadidi called for fixing the US dollar exchange rates at 130,000 dinars for every 100 to interdict immoral commerce that targets the lower classes, warning of the rise of poverty rates in Iraq from 30% to 70%.

The lawmaker demanded the government to disburse 500 thousand dinars to bolster social and special needs care to confront the increased sustenance costs.