Lawmaker lambasts KRG's failure to disburse salaries amid budget surplus

Shafaq News/ The Kurdistan region's revenues from oil and non-oil amounted to more than one trillion Iraqi dinars, lawmaker Omar Gulpi said on Sunday, raising question marks on delaying the disbursement of the public servants' salaries.

"After cutting the oil firms, the region's revenues from oil exports amounted to $464 million, equivalent to 700 billion dinars," the member of the region's parliamentary finance committee said in a press conference today, "adding up revenues from customs services (200 billion dinars), taxes (60 billion dinars), fees (200 billion dinars), and financial aids from the Global Coalition to the Peshmerga forces (25 trillion dinars), the total of oil and non-oil revenues stand at 1.186 trillion dinars."

"According to government statements, salaries cost the treasury a total of 910 billion dinars, in addition to nearly 100 billion dinars in operational costs. Therefore, the region ended up with a surplus of 176 billion dinars," he said.

The lawmaker held the government liable for the delay of December salaries. "In addition to its negative impact on the people's living conditions, the market that awaits 900 billion dinars a month will also be affected."

"We have 27 thousand temporary employees, 27 unpaid lecturers, 600 thousand unemployed citizens, including 400 thousand between 18 and 22 years old," he explained, "we also need to pay more than 90 persons in pensions that amount to a total of 300 thousand dinars."