KRI's Finance Minister announces agreement on salary issue after Financial Committee Mmeeting

Shafaq News / The Minister of Finance and Economy in the Kurdistan Region (KRI), Awat Sheikh Janab Nuri, stated on Wednesday that there is a consensus between KRI’s delegation currently visiting Baghdad and the Parliamentary Finance Committee, and the Federal Minister of Finance, Tayif Sami, to resolve the issue of financing the salaries of employees and workers in the public sector in KRI in one installment.

He made this statement during a press conference held today following a meeting convened by the Parliamentary Finance Committee, which hosted the ministers of finance from both Kurdistan and the federal government.

Nuri stated, "We sat down with the Parliamentary Finance Committee and the Federal Minister of Finance, per our duties and responsibilities in the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to defend those who receive salaries." He added, "In a very friendly atmosphere, we provided our information, and I can say that there is a substantial understanding between us regarding how to solve the salary recipients' problem and address the issue of actual spending."

He emphasized that the meeting focused on removing salary issues from political disputes. Nuri pointed out that the statistics and data presented by the KRI delegation were largely accepted, allowing them to provide sincere and transparent reasons for the problem faced by salary recipients to the committee.

Nuri added, "There was a national response from the Parliamentary Finance Committee and the Federal Minister of Finance regarding the information we provided." He confirmed that they have reached substantial consensus on resolving the problem of those receiving salaries in the region in one legal installment through the budget or actual spending.

He further stated that the meeting lasted for four hours and was very friendly and brotherly. He expressed that it was a strategically important step for the relationship between KRG and Baghdad. Nuri noted that they decided to hold a second meeting to discuss what they have achieved, as the Parliamentary Finance Committee does not have the authority to amend the budget law, but it can provide recommendations in this regard.

In the meantime, the Parliamentary Finance Committee issued a statement indicating that, based on the directive from the Speaker of the Council of Representatives, the committee held an extended hearing session today, presided over by Attwan Al-Attwani, the head of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, with the attendance of all its members.

During this session, the Federal Minister of Finance, Tayif Sami, and the Minister of Finance and Economy in KRI, Awat Sheikh Jahanab, attended, in addition to the President of the Federal Audit Bureau, Amar Al-Mashhadani, and the head of the Prime Minister's Office in the region, along with the accompanying delegation, to follow up on the implementation of the General Federal Budget Law's provisions and the revenues, both oil and non-oil, in the Kurdistan Region, as well as the issue of loans granted.

Deputy Speaker of the Council of Representatives, Shakhwan Abdullah, emphasized during the session that the Council supports all the recommendations made by the Finance Committee in order to achieve fruitful results, and he pointed out the committee's keenness to resolve the problems related to this file to ensure the results meet the requirements of the public.

Committee Chairman Attwan Al-Attwani, during the session, pointed out that there are problems related to the implementation of the budget items related to KRI, requiring joint efforts. He highlighted the importance of the session to reach comprehensive results.

Al-Attwani added that the Finance Committee is responsible for monitoring the extent of commitment to the application of Articles 12-13-14 related to the revenues from oil, non-oil, and taxation for the region, as well as emphasizing that there are matters that require genuine resolutions between Baghdad and the Region.

Meanwhile, Federal Minister of Finance explained that the ministry operates under the laws of financial administration and the federal budget in funding and executing projects. She also mentioned opening an account in which the Region commits to depositing its revenues since it represents the Region's treasury. However, no financial amounts have been deposited into it. She presented details of the Ministry of Finance's procedures regarding the provisions related to the region within the federal budget law.

The session witnessed a presentation by Amar Al-Mashhadani, the President of the Federal Audit Bureau, regarding the bureau's procedures in monitoring the budget's implementation and preparing a detailed report and issuing special recommendations on it. Moreover, he disclosed the observations related to verifying the data and confirmed that the final report on auditing the entire database will be submitted tomorrow.

The Minister of Finance and Economy in KRI also provided an explanation about the issues and the overall situation regarding the mechanism for implementing the budget instructions. This included discussing the Region's share in the budget and the details of the actual agreement and the expenses for investment projects. Details and tables related to expenses and revenues were presented.

The members of the Finance Committee focused on the total amounts of oil and non-oil revenues and the realized border outlets, as well as actual expenditures and the extent of the Region's commitment to applying the budget articles. They also discussed the issue of Region employees and how to localize their salaries in banks approved by the Central Bank (CBI). It was emphasized that a session should be held to find radical solutions.

The committee, in its interventions, stressed the need to rely on the principle of justice for all governorates, including KRI, taking into account all observations. They requested to provide them with the data in official documents to form a unified vision.