THE PARLIAMENTARY FINANCE COMMITTEE DOES NOT KNOW THE REASONS FOR THE “GOVERNMENT AMBIGUITY” REGARDING THE BUDGET SCHEDULES FILE.
The Finance Committee of the Iraqi Parliament said on Thursday, July 3, 2025, that it does not know what lies behind the “ambiguity” of the government of Mohammed Shia al-Sudani regarding the 2025 budget schedules. This comes days after its head addressed the government and urged it to expedite the submission of the budget.
Committee member Mustafa Al-Karawi told Al-Jabal, “The parliamentary finance committee still doesn’t know anything about the 2025 budget schedules.”
He added, “A few days ago, the committee chairman officially contacted the government to ask for details of the schedules and when they would be sent to us. However, to date, there has been no government response and there is still ambiguity regarding this matter.”
Last Sunday, June 29, 2025, Parliamentary Finance Committee Chairman Atwan al-Atwani called on Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to “expedite” the submission of the 2025 budget schedules.
A document issued by Al-Atwani to the Prime Minister stated: “We reiterate our commitment to expediting the submission of the 2025 budget tables to the Iraqi Parliament for approval, signaling the start of legal government spending and disbursements, and enabling state institutions to fulfill their obligations, particularly with regard to releasing employee entitlements (bonuses, promotions, and transfers), and addressing the demands of segments awaiting inclusion of their rights in this budget.”
Al-Karawi explained that “the government is urgently required to send the schedules at the start of the legislative session at the end of next week for review and approval, as this requires time. We do not know the reasons for all this governmental ambiguity regarding these schedules.”
Parliamentary Finance Committee member Mustafa Al-Karawi previously told Al-Jabal that “the government, from the outset, was not serious about sending the 2025 budget tables to Parliament for a vote. This was due to a lack of funds to finance this budget through projects and other means, especially since it has not yet disbursed the 2023 and 2024 budget funds due to this shortfall.”
Prior to this, Iraqi parliament member Hadi Al-Salami announced filing a formal legal complaint against the government for delaying the submission of the 2025 state budget schedules.
In a video clip during a visit to a nursing home in Baghdad, he pointed to the poor living conditions of the elderly, their low income, and the budget’s cessation for 10 months due to the delay in submitting the budget. He explained that “there is negligence and neglect that the Council of Ministers and the Ministry of Finance are responsible for. We are proceeding with our oversight measures, and we have full hope in the Iraqi judiciary.”
An official letter addressed by the Public Prosecution Office of the Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council to the office of Finance Minister Taif Sami, dated June 3, 2025, and published on Monday, June 23, 2025, revealed a previous official complaint filed by MPs Hadi Al-Salami and Mohammed Jassim Al-Khafaji against the Ministry of Finance in this regard.
At the end of last May, Moeen Al-Kadhimi, a member of the Iraqi Parliament’s Finance Committee, revealed government efforts to submit the 2025 budget tables to Parliament. He expected the tables to be submitted to Parliament in mid-June.
Al-Kadhimi told the Al-Jabal platform, “We have received information that the Ministry of Finance, along with the Ministry of Planning, is preparing budget tables for 2025 based on recent financial and economic changes with the decline in oil prices. We expect these tables to be sent in mid-June,” which has not happened.
Prior to that, during a meeting with the head of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, Atwan Al-Atwani, Al-Sudani emphasized “the government’s commitment to ensuring that the budget includes its priorities in implementing its schedules, in order to complete the government program’s components, particularly those related to providing services and completing projects, to fulfill the aspirations of citizens in all Iraqi governorates.”