Erbil decides to transfer non-oil revenues to Baghdad
Mawazine News – Baghdad
Prime Minister Masrour Barzani chaired, on Wednesday, a meeting of the Kurdistan Regional Government Council of Ministers.
“Today, we commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the bombing of Daza and students of the University of Sulaymaniyah University in 1974 and the shooting of the demonstration in 1982 and thanks to the blood and sacrifices of our martyrs have been achieved, and the Prime Minister stressed that we always remember the struggle and sacrifices of the martyrs,” Barzani Media Office said in a statement received by Mawazine News.
He added, “The Prime Minister, talked about the visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Baghdad and Erbil, and said that it is an important visit and will have an impact on strengthening and developing bilateral relations.”
It is sold, “In the first item of the meeting, Awat Sheikh Janab, Minister of Finance and Economy, presented a report on the steps taken by the Ministry regarding the salary of the month of April, which it officially audited days ago and approved the list of employees who receive their salaries as last month, and can be sent with the salaries of other areas of Iraq.”
He pointed out that “the Minister of Finance and Economy, within the framework of a report prepared jointly with the negotiating delegation, presented several mechanisms to implement the obligations of the Kurdistan Regional Government in the field of non-oil revenues and how to share them with Baghdad, in accordance with the Constitution, the Federal Budget Law and the Federal Financial Management Law, and this is an initiative of the Kurdistan Regional Government to solve this issue, so that the issue of revenues does not become an obstacle to the payment of financial dues to the Kurdistan Region, especially the salaries of the Kurdistan Region.”
In its congratulations on this initiative, the Council of Ministers stressed “not to leave any excuse to use the Federal Ministry of Finance as an excuse for not paying the region’s financial salaries and dues. In this regard, the Council of Ministers appointed the Ministry of Finance, Economy and the negotiating delegation to transfer what is determined by the federal law in force as the Federal Treasury’s share of non-oil revenues achieved in the region to the account of the Federal Ministry of Finance.”
Regarding the subject of localization of the salaries of Kurdistan employees, the Council of Ministers stressed that “this issue is important and the Kurdistan Regional Government was never against the settlement of the salaries of the region’s employees through (my account), which was launched in the region as an important step to strengthen the economic infrastructure, enhance banking activities and transparency in financial activities, and citizens benefit citizens from all the advantages and facilities provided by banks to citizens as followed in the developed world.
Therefore, the discussions with the federal government revolve around the banking mechanism more than the process itself, and this problem must be solved by finding a common understanding for the benefit of employees who receive their salaries and completing the process easily through approved banks under the supervision and license
The Central Bank, a settlement process is carried out within the framework of the settlement project called (Hesabi), which met all the requirements of the Central Bank, and the Kurdistan Regional Government plays only a facilitating role, as the participating banks are licensed, and some of them also participate in the Emiratization process in other parts of Iraq.
On the subject of oil exports, “the Kurdistan Regional Government wants to resume the export of oil as soon as possible as we agreed with the federal government to sell oil through SOMO and the revenues are returned to the federal treasury, and after resolving the outstanding issues, this should be within the framework of the last joint memorandum signed in January of this year, taking into account constitutional principles.”
The Council of Ministers calls on the federal government to “send financial dues to the Kurdistan region including the salaries of the region’s employees and other allocations from the operational budget and investment and development projects.”