Kurdistan Finance Ministry: Baghdad cut 80 billion dinars, and the funding is insufficient to cover salaries.
The Ministry of Finance and Economy of the Kurdistan Regional Government announced on Tuesday that it had deposited 50 billion dinars into the account of the Federal Ministry of Finance as a payment of half of the non-oil revenues for the month of May, stressing that Baghdad had sent funding less than the amount required to cover the salaries of the region’s employees by more than 80 billion dinars.
The ministry stated in a statement received by Shafaq News Agency that the regional government sent, at the end of last week, the list of salaries for the month of May and the audit balance report for the month of April to the federal Ministry of Finance, noting that on Monday morning, in accordance with an official letter, it deposited an amount of 50 billion dinars into the bank account of the federal Ministry of Finance at the Erbil branch of the Central Bank of Iraq, even though the month has not yet ended.
She added that “this measure is unprecedented in any accounting system,” explaining that “Baghdad requested half of the non-oil revenues for the month of May six days before the end of the month, but the regional government responded in order to cut off any pretexts,” according to the statement.
The ministry indicated that “the Federal Ministry of Finance sent only 890 billion and 502 million dinars, out of more than 970 billion dinars representing the total funding for the salaries of employees and salary recipients in the region, which means there is a shortage of more than 80 billion dinars.”
The ministry confirmed: “Despite the official holiday, we have directed all banks, treasuries and directorates to start disbursing salaries immediately upon receiving the funds from the Central Bank of Iraq and transferring them to private banks within the My Account project and to the governorates and independent administrations.”
She explained that “the distribution of salaries will begin after the announcement of the schedule, and will continue during the days of Eid al-Adha as well, starting from ten o’clock in the morning, whether in cash or through the My Account project,” calling on the ministry to call on employees who receive their salaries in cash to “visit the banks starting from five o’clock in the evening, while those covered by the My Account project can withdraw their salaries through ATMs starting from three o’clock in the afternoon.”
The ministry concluded its statement by emphasizing that it “decided to cover the deficit in salaries through borrowing, to ensure that all employees receive their dues before the holiday and that they are not delayed.”
The Ministry of Finance and Economy of the Kurdistan Regional Government announced yesterday, Monday, that it had deposited 50 billion dinars in “non-oil revenues” for the month of May into the account of the Federal Ministry of Finance.
Shafaq.com