Latest news with #FederalBudgetLaw
Rudaw Net
18 hours ago
- Business
- Rudaw Net
KDP warns of 'serious stance' if Baghdad fails to pay KRG's financial entitlements
Also in Iraq Coordination Framework delegation to visit Erbil amid Baghdad-KRG strain Kurdistan workers urge Iraq's top court to order salary release from Baghdad Iraq transfers military college cadets to Baghdad after tragic deaths Iraqi leaders receive Lebanese president for talks on bilateral ties, security A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The Kurdistan Region's strongest political party on Thursday slammed Baghdad for its decision to stop paying the Region's civil servants. The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) also warned it may take a "serious stance" if the Iraqi government fails to release the Region's financial entitlements by June 6. In a sharply worded statement, the KDP accused the federal government of continuing 'to violate the constitutional rights of the Kurdistan Region,' adding that the latest violation is the Iraqi finance ministry's decision on Wednesday to cut the Region's funding. The KDP further warned that 'if the rights and financial entitlements of the people of the Kurdistan Region,' including public employee salaries, 'are not sent before Eid al-Adha [on June 6], we will take a serious stance and announce it.' Iraqi Finance Minister Taif Sami claimed on Wednesday that the ministry is 'unable' to continue financing the Kurdistan Region, alleging that Erbil has exceeded its 12.67 percent budget share set by the 2025 Federal Budget Law. In an official letter to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), Sami said that Erbil exceeded its allocated share by 13.547 trillion dinars ($10.34 billion), adding that under Iraq's Federal Supreme Court decisions, further funding in such circumstances is prohibited. Sami further added that the Region's oil and non-oil revenues from 2023 until April of this year amounted to 19.9 trillion dinars ($15.19 billion); however it only transferred 598.5 billion dinars ($456.87 million) to the federal government. Importantly, the finance ministry was expected to pay the salaries of civil servants in the Kurdistan Region for the month of May ahead of the Muslim holiday on June 6. Sherwan Dubardani, a KDP member of the Iraqi parliament, told Rudaw on Wednesday that 'the audit process for the salary lists of employees and beneficiaries in the Kurdistan Region has been completed,' and anticipated that salary distribution would occur before Friday. However, the finance ministry's recent decision has effectively brought the process to a halt. The KDP on Thursday censured Sami's decision, calling it contradictory to 'the constitution and the principles of the government formation agreement,' and said it 'reflects the politicization of the people's funds.' Importantly, the KDP is a key member of the governing State Administration Coalition, which includes the Shiite-led Coordination Framework, the Sunni Sovereignty Alliance, and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). The coalition's September 2022 formation was marked by the nomination of Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani as prime minister and it currently holds 275 of the 329 seats in the Iraqi parliament. In the lead-up to the formation of the Coalition, Kurdish parties, namely the KDP and PUK, outlined several key demands to ensure their participation and safeguard the Kurdistan Region's constitutional rights. The Kurdish parties' demands included implementing the Oil and Gas Law, ensuring timely payment of the Kurdistan Region's financial entitlements, recognizing Kurdish constitutional rights, and protecting disputed territories such as the oil-rich city of Kirkuk. In light of the finance ministry's recent decision, it remains to be seen whether the KDP will consider withdrawing from the governing coalition. Rudaw has learned that the KRG's finance ministry will respond to Sami's claims soon.
Shafaq News
2 days ago
- Business
- Shafaq News
Kurdish parties hold emergency meeting in Erbil over salary suspension
Shafaq News/ A broad meeting of Kurdish political parties convened Saturday in Erbil, as tensions escalated over the Iraqi government's decision to halt May salary payments to Kurdistan Region public employees. Held at the Kurdistan Democratic Party's (KDP) political bureau, the meeting will discuss the financial entitlements and assess the broader state of relations between Erbil and Baghdad, according to Shafaq News correspondent. The Iraqi government recently suspended salary transfers, citing the Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) failure to remit oil and non-oil revenues as required by the Federal Budget Law and a ruling by the Federal Supreme Court. A KRG delegation is expected to travel to Baghdad on June 1 to resume negotiations with Iraqi officials over the unresolved fiscal arrangements.
Shafaq News
3 days ago
- Business
- Shafaq News
Ruling clarifies: Federal-KRG disputes cannot impede salary payments
Shafaq News/ On Friday, Iraq's Federal Supreme Court ruled that disputes between the federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) cannot be used as grounds to delay or suspend salary payments, KRG Cabinet Secretary Amanj Raheem disclosed. Quoting a February ruling, Raheem highlighted that disagreements over Articles 12 and 13 of the 2023 Federal Budget Law—relating to oil exports and non-oil revenues—must not obstruct monthly payments to employees, retirees, and welfare recipients in the Kurdistan Region. 'This decision reaffirms the court's stance on insulating citizens' livelihoods from political conflict,' Raheem, a member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) party, said in a statement. Earlier, Parliamentary Finance Committee member Raed al-Maliki confirmed that the Ministry of Finance halted salary disbursements to the KRG, citing the Region's failure to transfer required oil and non-oil revenues to the federal treasury, despite the KRG receiving its entitlements. The KRG Ministry of Finance rejected the justification, asserting that Baghdad is constitutionally obliged to continue salary payments to civil servants, retirees, and beneficiaries of the social safety net. It also criticized the federal government for neglecting reparations to survivors of the Anfal campaign and chemical attacks, calling such omissions a breach of duty. In response, the federal Finance Ministry published data indicating that the KRG exceeded its designated budget share by failing to submit full oil and non-oil income, with joint reports from the federal and regional audit bureaus substantiating the findings, leading to the suspension of transfers. The salary dispute comes amid deeper budgetary tensions between Baghdad and Erbil. Since oil exports from the Kurdistan Region through Turkiye's Ceyhan port were suspended in 2023, the federal government shifted to issuing monthly loans instead of direct budget payments. Despite court intervention, the funding impasse continues, with both sides accusing each other of failing to meet their fiscal responsibilities under the national budget law.
Shafaq News
4 days ago
- Business
- Shafaq News
Baghdad politicizing Kurdistan's salaries ahead of elections, official says
Shafaq News/ The Iraqi government is deliberately targeting public sector salaries in the Kurdistan Region for political gain, former Deputy Finance Minister Rebaz Hamlan said on Thursday. In a statement, Hamlan accused Finance Minister Taif Sami of yielding to political pressure, alleging that Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and the influential Shiite Coordination Framework (CF) are 'exploiting the financial file for election campaigns and political bargaining at the expense of Kurdistan's stability and development.' 'The May salary list is free of any legal or administrative issues. Withholding payments is purely political and directly harms the people of Kurdistan,' he stated, calling the decision a violation of the Constitution, the Federal Budget Law, and Federal Supreme Court Decision No. 224, which requires the federal government to disburse salaries irrespective of political disputes. Hamlan noted that only 3.8 trillion ($2.3B) of the Kurdistan Region's agreed share of 11.5 trillion Iraqi dinars ($8.2B) for 2025 has been disbursed so far, urging Kurdish ministers in Baghdad to present a unified position in the federal cabinet and defend the financial rights of the Region's citizens. The salary dispute between Baghdad and Erbil has remained unresolved for years, often resurfacing during budget negotiations. Tensions escalated after oil exports through Turkiye's Ceyhan port halted two years ago, prompting the federal government to classify salary transfers as temporary advances rather than fixed allocations. In February, the Supreme Court ruled that salaries for Kurdistan Region employees must be paid directly by Baghdad, bypassing the Kurdistan Regional Government, after months of delays.
Shafaq News
04-04-2025
- Business
- Shafaq News
‘Misleading': Iraq slams Kurdistan oil group
Shafaq News/ Iraq's Ministry of Oil rejected, on Friday, recent claims by the Association of the Petroleum Industry of Kurdistan (APIKUR), labeling them 'inaccurate and misleading.' The ministry refuted APIKUR's March statement, which alleged Baghdad had refused to engage on contracts between its member companies and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), reiterating its commitment to implementing the amended Federal Budget Law passed on February 2, 2025, and citing 'tangible steps' taken to show good faith. It criticized what it described as 'legally unsubstantiated demands' by some parties, claiming these undermine dialogue and violate previously agreed principles. The ministry stressed that future negotiations must align with the federal budget framework, safeguard national resources, and uphold Iraq's obligations to international investors. The ministry also called for immediate talks to resume oil exports through the Iraq-Turkiye Pipeline (ITP). Under the revised budget law, oil produced in the Kurdistan Region must be delivered to the State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) or directly to the Ministry of Oil. An international consultant has been appointed to audit actual production and transportation costs, which will guide reimbursement to the KRG.
