Parliamentary Finance: It is impossible to proceed without a budget

Shafaq News / The head of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, Ahmed Al-Saffar, said he was "surprised" by the statements of Finance Minister Ali Allawi, in which he excluded submitting the budget of 2020, indicating that the alternative solution is to approve a semi-annual operational budget.
Finance Minister Ali Allawi ruled out approving the 2020 budget, explaining in a press statement, the work is underway to prepare 2021 budget.
Al-Saffar said in a special statement to Shafaq News agency that, "We were surprised by the statement, we were expecting the government to send the budget draft", adding that, "the council of Representatives issued a decision and obligated the government to submit the budget draft this month."
"Perhaps the statement is due to the difficulties the Ministry of Finance is facing," he continued, noting that, "in general, we cannot spend a year without a budget because this is public money and its disposal - hence- is supposed to be according to law. There will be supervision and the process is done through the budget."
Al-Saffar added, "There is enough time; the budget can be semi-annual. It is fine to be operational, as we do not have enough time to implement projects", considering that, "having a semi-annual budget is better than spending the whole year without a budget".
It is noteworthy that the drop in oil prices, Covid-19 outbreak and months of political turmoil, left Iraq in a difficult financial situation, as the state seems to bo unable to secure the salaries of public sector employees and retirees. This may leads to a decline in income that affects the majority of Iraqi families.