On the occasion of World Banking Day.. A call for a comprehensive review of the work of banks in Iraq, 5 DEC

 On the occasion of World Banking Day.. A call for a comprehensive review of the work of banks in Iraq

The Federal Ministry of Finance revealed, on Wednesday, that the size of Iraqi revenues in the general budget during 9 months of the current year 2024 exceeded 114 trillion dinars, indicating that non-oil revenues amounted to 11%.

Shafaq News Agency followed up on the data and tables issued by the Ministry of Finance in December, for the accounts of January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August and September of the current fiscal year, which showed that oil is still the main resource for Iraq's general budget, reaching 89%, indicating that the rentier economy is the basis of the country's general budget.

The financial tables indicated that the total revenues for the nine months of the current year amounted to 114 trillion, 349 billion, 735 million, 335 thousand, and 311 dinars, indicating that the total advances amounted to 15 trillion, 796 billion, 51 million, 63 thousand, and 162 dinars.

According to the financial tables, oil revenues amounted to 101 trillion, 944 billion, 446 million, and 923 thousand dinars, which constitutes 89% of the general budget, while non-oil revenues amounted to 12 trillion, 405 billion, 292 million, and 412 thousand dinars, which constitutes 11% of Iraq’s general budget.

For his part, economic expert Mohammed Al-Hasani told Shafaq News Agency, "The defect of the Iraqi economy is that it is rentier and depends mainly on oil, and that Iraq has not activated the customs tariff that contributes to raising financial revenues properly. "

He added that "attempts to support the agriculture, industry and tourism sectors in order to be a second tributary to oil were timid, and each sector did not contribute more than 4% of the gross domestic product," calling for "activating a number of laws that encourage the local and foreign private sector to enter the Iraqi market, including customs tariff laws, consumer protection and anti-monopoly laws."

In March 2021, the Prime Minister's advisor for financial affairs, Mazhar Muhammad Salih, confirmed to Shafaq News Agency that the reasons for the economy remaining rentier are due to the wars and the imposition of an economic blockade on Iraq during the past era, and the political conflicts we are witnessing today, which led to the dispersion of economic resources.

The continued reliance of the Iraqi state on oil as the sole source of the general budget puts Iraq at risk from global crises that occur from time to time due to the impact of oil on them, which makes the country turn every time to cover the deficit through borrowing from abroad or domestically, and thus indicates the inability to manage the state’s funds effectively, and the inability to find alternative financing solutions.  link