Iraqi budget to be approved after Eid Al Fitr

Shafaq News / The Parliamentary Finance Committee confirmed on Wednesday, that the federal budget for the current year 2020 will be discussed and approved in Parliament after Eid Al-Fitr(Festival of Breaking the Fast", is a religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide that marks the end of Ramadan.)

, denying that there is a trend to approve "monthly or bi-annual" budgets.

"The Parliament is awaiting the budget to be sent by the Council of Ministers for consideration, discussion and approval, according to the financial situation and the requirements of the current circumstance," noting that " it will focus on salaries , basic expenses and will be free of investment projects due to the financial deficit,” Member of the Committee, MP Ahmad Mathar al-Jubouri, told Shafaq News Agency .

Al-Jubouri denied, "The existence of any directions or proposals to approve monthly or bi-annual budget, as was recently rumored," stressing that "there is no legal or constitutional basis for adopting monthly or bi-annual budgets."

The transmission of the federal budget by the government to the Iraqi parliament was delayed due to the continuous protests since last October, which led to the resignation of the previous government headed by Adel Abdel-Mahdi and its transformation into a caretaker government that is not within its powers to send the draft budget to the parliament.

The current year’s budget (according to the government’s proposed project) is 162 trillion dinars (135 billion dollars), with a planned financial deficit of 48 trillion dinars (40 billion dollars), including three trillion dinars (2.5 billion dollars) to implement the projects agreed with China.