Latest news with #LawNo.13
Gulf Today
20-05-2025
- Health
- Gulf Today
Dubai puts people at heart of healthcare: Sharif
Dubai is shaping a healthcare ecosystem that places people at its heart – one that is innovative, inclusive, and deeply human-centred, said Dr Amer Sharif, CEO of Dubai Health and President of Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences (MBRU). He attributed the remarkable progress of Dubai's health sector to the visionary leadership of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, and the directives of Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence, and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai. These insights were shared during a media briefing hosted by the Government of Dubai Media Office as part of its 'Meet the CEO' series. The event was attended by Mona Ghanem Al Marri, Vice Chairperson and Managing Director of the Dubai Media Council and Director General of the Government of Dubai Media Office, along with a group of senior media leaders and editors-in-chief from leading UAE newspapers. Dr Amer Sharif highlighted healthcare progress in Dubai from its early beginnings in the 1940s, culminating in the creation of its first integrated academic health system under Law No. 13 (2021). He also noted the adoption of the Integrated Physician Practice model across all facilities to enhance patient safety, reduce wait times, and improve clinical care management, aligning with Dubai's vision and the Dubai Social Agenda 33 for a sustainable, human-centred system. Dr Sharif detailed Dubai Health's vision, mission, and strategic programmes to establish global benchmarks in evidence-based care. He introduced the 'Dubai Health' brand identity, drawing on Dubai's heritage and symbolised by arches welcoming all. The central arch signifies Care, flanked by Learning and Discovery, all underpinned by Giving. Dr Sharif reiterated Dubai Health's commitment to strengthening community partnerships by involving patients and the public in shaping healthcare services. Key initiatives include 'Dubai Health Majalis: Voice of the Community' and the Press Ganey programme, which captures insights across every stage of the patient journey to enhance care quality and patient experience. These efforts align with the national 'Year of Community 2025' campaign. Dr Sharif emphasised Dubai Health's role in advancing healthcare through globally aligned initiatives. WAM
Shafaq News
15-05-2025
- Business
- Shafaq News
Stopgap spending: Iraq's budget ambitions clash with fiscal reality
Shafaq News/ A widening gap between Iraq's budgetary ambition and its fiscal capacity is forcing the government into stopgap financing measures, exposing how vulnerable the country's oil-dependent economy remains to even modest shifts in global energy markets. Despite a record three-year budget approved in 2023, the government has resorted to reallocating tax trust funds to cover public sector wages, in an unusual move that lawmakers see as a 'clear signal' of tightening liquidity. This budget, passed under Law No. 13, is based on a crude oil benchmark of $70 per barrel, but revenues briefly exceeded expectations early in the year, with oil trading around $75. However, prices have since fallen below $62 following the removal of OPEC+ production limits, cutting into the country's main revenue stream. With oil accounting for nearly 90% of government income, the fiscal impact has been immediate. Lawmaker Zuhair al-Fatlawi confirmed that the government had drawn from contractor-held tax deposits to meet payroll obligations. 'This reflects a shortfall in liquid funds,' he told Shafaq News. 'Routine revenue flows are proving inadequate.' Ministries such as Health and Water Resources are operating without full allocations. Capital projects in Babil, Al-Diwaniyah, and Karbala have either slowed or halted due to inconsistent disbursements. 'Some regions are funded, others are left waiting,' al-Fatlawi emphasized. Revenue Rigidity Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani's Financial and Economic Advisor, Mudher Mohammad Saleh, defended the fiscal approach, pointing to mechanisms within the budget law that allow for flexibility. 'The budget operates on the principle of fiscal space,' he explained. 'It enables borrowing, resource reallocation, and controlled spending adjustments.' The government is authorized to borrow up to 64 trillion Iraqi dinars ($48.89B) if needed. Iraq's vulnerability is less about the oil price itself and more about the absence of diversified revenue sources. Non-oil tax collection remains underdeveloped, and budget execution is inconsistent across agencies. 'Oil volatility is a risk, but institutional rigidity is the larger issue,' said a Baghdad-based analyst. Notably, payment delays to contractors are triggering liquidity problems in the private sector, and further disbursement lags could freeze project pipelines and reduce market activity in a heavily state-led economy. 'Liquidity stress is contagious in Iraq's fiscal ecosystem,' public finance expert Mustafa al-Faraj affirmed. 'When escrow funds are repurposed, it undermines financial discipline and signals deeper structural imbalance.' The IMF has noted that delayed infrastructure investment can cut expected GDP impact by up to 40%, weakening the effectiveness of public spending even when funding is eventually restored. Tools Available, but Reforms Lag Iraq's Central Bank holds more than $100 billion in foreign reserves, offering a strategic buffer. However, economist Safwan Qusay cautioned against using reserves to plug structural gaps. 'These reserves are meant for external stability, not internal liquidity.' Qusay advocated for accelerating domestic reforms: enforcing utility payments, monetizing idle public assets, and revising land-use fees. 'The state needs to act more like an investor and less like a passive payer,' he emphasized, estimating that if prices stay below projections, Iraq could face monthly shortfalls exceeding $1.5 billion. In that scenario, options include tapping domestic bond markets or seeking external financing—a move that could further test fiscal credibility. Disparities in budget transfers across provinces have also raised concerns about equity and governance. With the next national elections set for November 2025, prolonged underfunding in public services may carry political consequences, particularly in provinces already expressing frustration over project delays and financial uncertainty. For now, Iraq is not in immediate fiscal crisis, but the warning signs are evident. Reliance on short-term measures to manage a structurally rigid and oil-dependent system has narrowed policy space, and without faster reform and revenue diversification, fiscal pressures could escalate into grave economic and political risks.
Iraqi News
02-05-2025
- Business
- Iraqi News
PM Advisor: Tax deposits are part of the budget
Baghdad-INA Prime Minister's financial advisor, Mazhar Mohammed Saleh, confirmed on Friday that tax deposits are part of the budget that can be used to adjust government spending, while specifying the financial scope for government spending from tax deposits. "The world is living in a state of anticipation for fear of entering a phase of economic contraction, and then a major economic depression. This phase takes six months during which growth and unemployment levels in the global economy are monitored," Saleh told the Iraqi News Agency (INA). He pointed out that "Iraq is an important part of the world's energy system. A 1% drop in the world's GDP will undoubtedly lead to a half-percent drop in demand for oil, leading to a glut in supply, which requires a cautious policy from OPEC+ to help the group's countries protect their financial budgets for 2025 and the beginnings of the next fiscal year 2026." He added that 'a precise technical precaution to confront the oil asset cycle was assumed by the legislator when approving the three-year federal general budget (Law No. 13 of 2023 as amended) by adopting a conservative oil price of $70 per barrel of exported oil and with the export of 3.4 million barrels of oil per day,' indicating that 'this precaution is in two directions: the first is spending with a comfortable budget, but at the minimum possible limit of 160 trillion dinars annually instead of 200 trillion dinars annually, and the second direction: spending at the maximum limit while reserve with a maximum annual deficit of 64 trillion dinars.' Saleh continued, "In the 2024 budget, spending was within the comfortable minimum of 156 trillion dinars, with an average oil price of around $75 per barrel. This spending covered the entire operating budget, including salaries, wages, pensions, social care, and support, in addition to spending on more than 8,000 suspended government investment and service projects." He pointed out that "government borrowing, most of which is from domestic borrowing sources, recorded a financing indicator in the budget deficit of 7.6% of GDP, compared to 1.3% in 2023." He pointed out that "if oil prices fall to an annual average of $60, which is the maximum possibility in the 2025 budget, there are two options: either spending around 130 trillion dinars and maintaining the same deficit-to-GDP ratio as in 2024, or spending up to a ceiling of 156 trillion dinars and accepting actual bond borrowing that rises to 9% of GDP in order to secure salaries, wages, pensions, social care, support, and spending on service projects without interruption, taking into account the drop in oil prices and the two-fold contraction in GDP growth." Saleh pointed out that these are "the expected possible options unless the oil asset cycle improves, which in all cases depends on the upcoming OPEC+ policies regarding the future of production limits and the review of member quotas, as well as the development of the geopolitical situation in the world, especially in the Russian-Ukrainian war and the development of the situation in the Mediterranean Basin region, as the Gulf region is responsible for exporting nearly 40% of global crude oil exports, and this is reflected in the fluctuations in energy prices in global markets, including crude oil markets."
Shafaq News
23-04-2025
- Business
- Shafaq News
Iraq's Oil Gamble: Budget on the brink amid global price collapse
Shafaq News/ Iraq stands at a perilous fiscal crossroads. The dramatic decline in global oil prices is not just a fluctuation in commodity markets—it is a seismic shift threatening to undermine Iraq's economic foundation, disrupt state operations, and jeopardize long-term national stability. As one of the world's most oil-dependent economies, Iraq is finding itself once again exposed to the raw volatility of energy markets, just as it hoped to implement its first three-year federal budget under Law No. 13 of 2023. This budget, hailed at its passage as a pragmatic framework for medium-term fiscal planning, now appears increasingly outdated. Its projections and assumptions were anchored in oil optimism—a $70-per-barrel benchmark and an export rate of 3.4 million barrels per day. But Brent crude has since dipped below that target, trading around $60–$65 amid a mix of global economic slowdown, geopolitical tensions, and trade disputes. The implications for Iraq are severe. Budget Built on Shaky Foundations Government financial adviser Mudhhir Mohammed Saleh has consistently defended the 2023–2025 budget's 'flexibility,' noting that it set upper and lower expenditure thresholds: a maximum of 200 trillion Iraqi dinars (approximately $153 billion) and a lower limit of 156 trillion dinars (about $122 billion). The built-in deficit—estimated at 64 trillion dinars (about $49 billion)—was supposed to provide a cushion against external shocks. However, the cushion is wearing thin. With prices dipping below the planned benchmark, Iraq is now operating near the lower threshold of the spending envelope. Borrowing has been limited to about 20% of the projected deficit, a move intended to preserve fiscal discipline. Yet even this careful calibration cannot mask the deeper issues embedded in Iraq's financial model. Former Central Bank Director Mahmoud Dagher pointed to a dual source of pressure: "Falling oil prices and rising expenditures in the budget.' While salaries remain secure, operational costs tied to production, maintenance, and investment are becoming increasingly difficult to sustain. The government recently approved the issuance of 5 trillion dinars (approximately $3.4 billion) in domestic bonds to finance essential capital projects—a clear signal that liquidity stress is mounting. Structural Flaws Exposed Beyond the temporary measures, economists warn of more entrenched problems. International economics professor Nawwar Al-Saadi criticized the budget's foundational assumptions as 'detached from reality.' He stressed that Iraq's persistent reliance on oil—accounting for over 90% of government income and virtually all export revenues—leaves the country at the mercy of global fluctuations. 'Every fluctuation in oil prices translates immediately into instability in financial planning,' Al-Saadi said, likening Iraq's economic posture to 'walking a tightrope amid global economic storms.' Oil expert Hamza Al-Jawahiri has also sounded the alarm over deep-seated inefficiencies and corruption, criticizing the proliferation of "phantom projects" that serve as vehicles for embezzlement. Without immediate audits and accountability measures, he warned, the fiscal deficit—now estimated to exceed 84 trillion dinars (around $64 billion)—could spiral further out of control, draining state liquidity and crowding out private sector credit. If unaddressed, this dynamic could trigger a rise in borrowing costs, a drop in investor confidence, and the kind of austerity measures Iraq has long tried to avoid: cuts to infrastructure spending, education, and healthcare. Public Sector Burden Another layer of fragility stems from Iraq's bloated public sector. Around 8 million Iraqis are on government payrolls, and when dependents are factored in, government support touches over 40 million people. This massive base of beneficiaries consumes more than 60% of the federal budget. While this system provides a social safety net, it also restricts fiscal maneuverability and entrenches a politically driven patronage economy. Public employment has often been used to buy political loyalty rather than improve governance outcomes. In the current climate, such spending patterns are unsustainable. 'Budget allocations are increasingly consumed by salaries, pensions, and subsidies,' Saleh acknowledged. This leaves little room for productive investments or development projects, further perpetuating Iraq's economic stagnation. Revenue System in Disrepair Compounding the problem is Iraq's chronically underperforming non-oil revenue system. Economist Karim Al-Hilu estimated the country could raise over $20 billion annually from taxes and customs alone. But entrenched corruption, political interference, smuggling, and weak enforcement cripple these efforts. 'Customs revenues are dominated by politically connected networks,' Al-Hilu said. Attempts to modernize and digitize the system have stalled, with bureaucratic inertia proving to be a formidable barrier. As a result, Iraq's tax-to-GDP ratio remains among the lowest in the region, even as the private sector remains constrained by outdated regulations, arbitrary licensing, and a lack of legal protections. Many businesses operate informally or exit the market entirely. The absence of consistent regulatory frameworks and reliable government payments discourages entrepreneurship and investment. Instead of fostering a diversified economy, Iraq is reinforcing its dependence on state jobs and oil income. A Troubled Past and a Cautious Present Iraq has weathered financial storms before. Between 2014 and 2017, during the military campaign against ISIS, the country experienced a 60% drop in oil revenue. A second shock came in 2020–2021 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In both cases, the government managed to maintain core spending despite extraordinary pressure. Now, however, the challenges are different. While Iraq holds a foreign reserve of $104 billion and nearly 160 tonnes of gold, economists argue that these buffers cannot substitute for meaningful reform. 'Reserves are not a solution—they are a lifeline,' said economist Hilal Al-Taan. 'Iraq needs a full restructuring of its financial priorities to withstand prolonged oil volatility.' The current downturn has been exacerbated by two recent developments: OPEC+'s decision to raise oil production by over 400,000 barrels per day, and a series of new import tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump. The latter has triggered retaliatory trade measures from China and renewed fears of a global recession. Saleh confirmed that the government's economic team is closely monitoring global trends, but acknowledged that Iraq's fiscal room is narrowing. 'If oil prices dip to $60 or below, we face real risks to liquidity,' he warned. Time for Reform—or More Turmoil Ahead? Despite these alarms, meaningful structural reform remains elusive. Al-Saadi and Al-Jawahiri both advocate for urgent steps, including enforcing tax laws, eliminating fraudulent spending, reassessing leases of state-owned assets, and investing in productive sectors like agriculture, tourism, and industry. They agree that cutting politically driven expenditures is essential, as is creating a modern and equitable revenue collection system. 'If we do not reform, we will face a recurring and worsening cycle of economic crisis,' Al-Saadi warned. Analysts further stress the need to curb corruption, reassess infrastructure projects, and improve fiscal oversight to restore credibility. Otherwise, austerity could become inevitable—and politically destabilizing. A Global Energy Shift, and Iraq Left Behind As Iraq grapples with these internal crises, the global energy landscape is shifting away from hydrocarbons. The International Energy Agency's April 2025 report noted an acceleration in the transition to renewables, with major economies investing heavily in solar, wind, and hydrogen technologies. The appetite for heavy crude, while still present, is in gradual decline. This trend places Iraq in an even more vulnerable position. The country has been slow to diversify its energy sector and has made minimal investments in renewables. Current policies, focused on short-term stabilization, do little to prepare the economy for a post-oil future. To date, the government has launched only piecemeal efforts: trimming spending, reviewing OPEC+ commitments, and attempting to improve efficiency across ministries. But without a comprehensive roadmap, these steps are insufficient. A Tipping Point Iraq is approaching a tipping point. The country's deep reliance on oil is no longer merely a structural weakness—it is becoming a systemic threat. Falling prices, rising deficits, inefficient spending, and institutional inertia have converged to create a perfect storm. The 2023–2025 budget was intended to offer a buffer against volatility and a blueprint for sustainable growth. Instead, it has exposed just how ill-prepared Iraq is to face a world in transition. Unless bold reforms are initiated now, the country risks deeper economic malaise, social discontent, and a dangerous erosion of its fiscal sovereignty. In the words of Al-Taan, 'This is no longer a question of balancing numbers. It is a question of national survival.'
Shafaq News
12-03-2025
- Business
- Shafaq News
Iraq's 2025 budget won't reach parliament in next two months
Shafaq News/ Iraq's government is unlikely to submit the 2025 budget tables to parliament within the next two months, a senior lawmaker said on Wednesday. Ikhlas al-Dulaimi, deputy head of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, told Shafaq News that the Finance Ministry had yet to send the budget tables to the cabinet, despite a legal requirement to do so by October 2024 for approval before the new fiscal year. "The total budget amounts to 216 trillion dinars (about $165B), while actual expenditures are estimated at around 160 trillion dinars (about $122,)" al-Dulaimi said, ruling out the possibility of sending the tables to parliament soon, which could push the approval process into Iraq's election period. In February, Iraq's parliament passed the first amendment to the federal general budget law for the fiscal years 2023–2025, originally enacted as Law No. 13 of 2023.
