Iraqi MP blasts government for budget delay as poor provinces struggle
Shafaq News/ The Iraqi government’s failure to submit the 2025 budget tables is harming the country’s poorest provinces and violating constitutional obligations, warned independent MP Hussein Al-Saabri on Friday.
Speaking to Shafaq News, Al-Saabri blamed the Ministry of Finance for not sending the required budget details to Parliament, despite nearly six months passing since the legal deadline on December 30, 2024.
“The delay has disrupted financial allocations and stalled employment and development efforts, particularly in governorates like al-Diwaniyah, al-Muthanna, and Babil,” he said.
Al-Saabri noted that the three-year budget law (2023–2025) required annual tables to be approved separately, calling the ongoing delay a clear constitutional violation, placing full responsibility on the government and the prime minister.
He also stressed that the Parliamentary Finance Committee has repeatedly urged the government to act, issuing statements, holding meetings, and contacting the relevant ministries—but without receiving a clear answer.
Other members of the committee echoed similar frustrations; MP Uday Awad warned that the 2025 budget may not be passed at all, citing political distractions and the upcoming elections; MP Moeen Al-Kadhimi believes that the government is “not serious” about submitting the tables; while MP Saad Al-Noubi expressed disbelief at the silence from the Finance and Planning Ministries, despite the pressure.
Separately, Mudhhir Mohammed Saleh, the Prime Minister’s economic advisor, told Shafaq News that the delay was due to ongoing revisions to oil extraction and transport costs in the Kurdistan Region, which required recalculations.
