Kurdish Finance Minister accuses Baghdad of obstructing salary payments

Shafaq News/ On Monday, the Kurdish Finance Minister Awat Sheikh Janab accused the central government in Baghdad of creating obstacles to the payment of employee salaries under the pretext of audits.

The minister's media office stated, "Minister Janab received Liu Jun, the Consul General of China in the Kurdistan Region, along with an accompanying delegation."

The statement noted that Janab discussed the financial and economic situation of the Region with the Chinese Consul and emphasized the importance of relations between the ministry and the Chinese consulate, particularly in the areas of customs and border crossings.

In another part of the meeting, the Finance Minister briefed the guest on the ministry's reforms in taxation, customs, banking, pensions, digitization of institutions, and expenditure reduction. He also highlighted that the Regional Government has provided significant facilities for foreign companies to invest in the Region, with substantial progress in building economic infrastructure in agriculture, industry, and other sectors.

Minister Janab pointed out that there has been progress in resolving the salary issue. He stated, "There have been multiple audits of the security forces' lists and names. However, despite the Federal Court's decision that salaries should not be delayed, problems are created each month under the guise of audits, even though the budget law stipulates that audits should be conducted every three months. The Kurdistan Region has fulfilled its commitments, including returning the federal treasury's share of non-oil revenues, sending the lists of security forces, and submitting the monthly budget review report."