Kurdistan region faces salary crisis as federal funding falls short in February
Shafaq News/ The Kurdish Ministry of Finance and Economy expressed concern over the federal government's "inadequate funding," resulting in the deprivation of salaries for a significant number of employees in the Region for February.
According to the Ministry's official letter, dated March 5, 2024, addressed to the Ministry of Finance in the Iraqi government, Kurdistan's authorities urged "full funding for employee salaries."
"The requested amount was set at 949,813,146,170 dinars. However, the federal government allocated only 59% of this total, amounting to 560 billion and 217 million dinars."
"Consequently, 41% of Kurdistan's employees were left without salaries, creating a deficit of approximately 390 billion dinars. This financial setback poses immediate challenges and raises concerns about the Region's ability to meet future financial obligations."
The Kurdistan Regional Government has initiated efforts to localize employee salaries through the "My Account" project, supervised by the Central Bank of Iraq.
Despite the federal government's recent release of funds for the Kurdistan Region's salaries for February, the Ministry of Finance warned that no funding would be provided for March 2024 if employee salaries are not localized.
On Monday, the Iraqi Ministry of Finance announced the disbursement of salaries to the Kurdistan Region for February 2024, aligning with the directives of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani and the approval of the Minister of Finance.
According to the Ministry's statement, the salaries encompass funding for various categories, including civilian employees, allowances for people with disabilities, retirees' salaries, martyrs' and orphans' entitlements, and financial allocations for departments in the Kurdistan Region.
"The Ministry has duly informed the Federal Court about the content of the relevant letters concerning the salary disbursement. However, the release of salaries for March is contingent upon the completion of localization requirements by the Kurdistan Region." The statement explained.
The Ministry emphasized that the Kurdistan Regional Government is urged to "bear legal responsibility for the accuracy and validity of the information and data provided to regulatory and legal authorities."
Salaries are among the main outstanding issues between the Iraqi and the Kurdish governments, along with the oil export and disputed areas.
Last month, the Federal Court, Iraq's highest judicial authority, mandated to localize the salaries for Kurdistan's employees in government banks starting this February.
The Court's new decision has sparked anger and criticism among Kurdish politicians, with some claiming that the decision is unconstitutional and politically motivated and that it undermines the autonomy and finances of the Kurdistan Region.
However, some observers and experts argue that the decisions are correct and consistent with the law and the constitution and that they will ensure the rights of everyone and end the suffering of the Region's employees who have delayed receiving their salaries for months.
