The law of borrowing 41 trillion dinars will not be approved, MP says

Shafaq News / Member of the Iraqi parliament called on the government, on Sunday, to find quick alternatives to provide salaries for employees, retirees and social workers, indicating that the council will not approve borrowing 41 trillion dinars.

Mazhar al-Jubouri said in a statement, "there are a lot of revenues from many ministries and departments. These must be classified and distributed as salaries to ministries and agencies respectively", adding, "the government's reliance on the borrowing law to provide salaries is surprising and raises many question marks, especially since Iraq had faced very difficult conditions and a sharp decline in oil prices, without affecting the distribution of salaries".

He pointed out, "the Parliament has completed the first reading of the new borrowing law and will proceed with its second, but will not approve it without reducing the amount of borrowing".

Earlier today, Sunday, the Parliamentary Economic and Investment Committee announced that there are no salaries for the month of October because the borrowing law has not been approved yet.

Iraq is going through a stifling financial crisis due to the drop in oil prices since the outbreak of the COVID-19, which has led to concerns regarding the impact of the declining revenues on the federal budget for the year 2020, the operating budget and the salaries of government employees and retirees.