The popular movement: The US embassy will not discourage us from dismissing Al-Halbousi

The information/exclusive… The popular movement for the Belt and Road demanded, on Thursday, Parliament Speaker Muhammad al-Halbousi to submit his resignation immediately, stressing that “Al-Halbousi’s preoccupation with holding meetings with the American ambassador will not discourage the demand for his dismissal.”

The head of the organizing body of the movement, Hussein Ali Al-Karawi, said in an interview with Al-Maalouma agency, “The American embassy will not discourage the people and representatives from continuing to remove Al-Halbousi from his position as Speaker of the House of Representatives.”

He added, “The honorable representatives and the people behind them realized Al-Halbousi’s corruption and his danger to the Iraqi decision and societal peace,” noting that “the authority of the people is stronger than the authority of the parliament presidency.”
Al-Halbousi called for “immediately submitting his resignation due to his apparent failure to manage all files.”

On Thursday, a source close to the Taqaddam party in Anbar province revealed that the Integrity Commission opened new files regarding the theft of state lands, indicating that the fingers of accusation are pointing at Parliament Speaker Muhammad al-Halbousi and the leaders of the Taqaddam Party.

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After the first reading… A comment from the coordination framework regarding approving the budget

Shafaq News / A member of the coordination framework, Hassan Fadam, confirmed that there is insistence on quickly approving the general budget law, especially in its tripartite body.

Fadaam told Shafaq News agency, “The House of Representatives read the first reading of the budget law, and this is a positive step, and there was a good interaction within the House of Representatives with the budget, and insistence on completing it quickly, in support of the government and its service project.”

He added, “The three-year budget is a good precedent, and the House of Representatives will pass this budget after discussing the observations of members of the House of Representatives on it, and reading it again next week or the following.”

Fadaam affirmed, “The three-year budget will lead to service and political stability, and a clear vision for projects and services, which will be in the interest of the country in general.”

Yesterday, Wednesday, the House of Representatives began the first reading of the draft federal budget law for the Republic of Iraq for the fiscal years (2023, 2024, 2025).

A member of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, Jamal Cougar, revealed in a previous statement to Shafaq News agency that the approval of the general budget will take place after Eid Al-Fitr.

Shafaq.com

The President of the Republic receives the Governor of the Central Bank and they discuss the economic situation in the country

Today, Thursday, the President of the Republic, Abdul Latif Jamal Rashid, stressed the need to consolidate economic stability in the country.

The media office of the President of the Republic said in a statement, that the latter “received, today, Thursday, April 6, 2023, at the Baghdad Palace, the Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq, Ali Mohsen Al-Alaq.”

The statement added, “During the meeting, they discussed the economic and financial situation in the country, the monetary policy pursued by the Central Bank and its efforts to improve the exchange rate of the Iraqi dinar.”

According to the statement, the President of the Republic referred to the necessity of consolidating economic stability in the country according to a comprehensive vision, stressing the importance of developing the banking sector by benefiting from the latest technical data, working to support development and investment projects, following up the work of private banks and exchange companies, and combating money laundering operations in a way that protects the economy. and the property of citizens.

For his part, Al-Alaq affirmed the Central Bank’s seriousness in developing its work, expressing his thanks and appreciation for the interest shown by the President of the Republic to the Central Bank as the guarantor of economic and financial stability in the country, according to the statement.

Burathanews.com

An economic center warns against raising fuel prices within the 2023 budget

Shafaq News / The Iraqi Political Economic Center warned, on Thursday, of the repercussions of imposing taxes and fees on the prices of gasoline, gas, and oil refinery products within the 2023 budget, noting that people with limited incomes will be the biggest losers if they take such a step.

The director of the center, Wissam Hammal Al-Helou, said in a statement today, “There are indications that the draft budget for 2023 includes a fee of 5% on the quantities of gasoline and kerosene sold to citizens, with the imposition of a 5% tax on the products of Iraqi refineries and 15% on the value of what is sold of imported derivatives.”

He added, “These taxes, through which it is intended to add 450 billion dinars to the state treasury, will add additional costs that burden the citizens, and will cause an economic downturn in the country that is paid for by the private sector due to the dependence of the majority of laboratories and factories on oil derivatives, not to mention the increase in transportation costs for citizens, especially those with income.” The limited number of people who depend on means of transportation in the private sector, such as minibuses (Kia) 11 and 14 passengers, or taxis inside and outside Baghdad and the provinces and those who travel between the provinces.

He continued, “As for private car owners, high prices will increase spending on fuel, and of course, the rise will affect all aspects of life due to the high transportation costs, as well as the high price of fuel sold to private generators.”

Al-Helou also pointed out that “Iraq consumes between 28-30 million liters per day of fuel, and a high amount of it is imported. Imposing a 15% rate on each liter consumed will mean a general rise in prices ranging between 15-20% of the current prices, to add a new burden on citizens who suffer.” Among the burdens of high prices due to the greed of some merchants with the advent of the month of Ramadan, as well as the high cost of foodstuffs caused by the Russian-Ukrainian war, which affected Iraq.

And he warned that “adding such price ratios to fuel will further complicate the economic situation, with fluctuations in the exchange rate and the government’s inability to control it, and the impact of this on the costs of production and imported materials, which clearly raised prices in the market, which reduced the value of the Iraqi dinar, which needs deliberate decisions to return to its recovery.” The former against the dollar.

Al-Hilu noted that “the government is invited to study its plans again and not be drawn into solutions that do not match the rentier Iraqi economy, in which spending on salaries provides liquidity in the market in light of the continuous inability to find a private sector capable of providing resources that provide additional income for citizens that increase their purchasing power as well as It enables the state to seek the help of a major partner that supports its economy.

And he stressed that “the government should consider, before issuing any decision, its repercussions on those with limited incomes, and not implement plans that target groups it considers to have high purchasing power, while previous experiences confirm that the poor citizen is the biggest loser.”

Shafaq.com

Finance is discussing with the International Monetary Fund joint cooperation and developing the performance of the banking sector

The Ministry of Finance discussed with the International Monetary Fund joint cooperation, support for financial reforms, and development of the banking sector’s performance.

And the Ministry of Finance stated in a statement: “Minister Taif Sami Muhammad met with the Regional Director of the International Monetary Fund in Iraq, Ghazi Shbeikat, and discussed with him a number of files related to the framework of joint cooperation between the two sides, most notably the provision of the necessary technical advice by the Fund to enhance financial reform plans, to In addition to involving international experts in the process of developing the performance of the banking sector and improving accounting systems and budget work.

“Iraq is looking forward to more cooperation with the IMF, in support of the government’s reform programs that it is implementing in the sectors of finance, economy, investment and sustainable development projects,” the minister stressed.

For his part, Shbeikat “expressed his optimism that the Iraqi economy will witness an improvement in annual growth rates, and that this improvement will be reflected in supporting the rest of the development sectors.”

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Al-Sudani’s advisor reveals the reasons for the continued rise of the dollar and confirms a “soon breakthrough” in the crisis

Shafaq News / The financial advisor to the Prime Minister, Mazhar Muhammad Salih revealed, on Wednesday, that the continued rise in the price of the dollar is due to Iraq’s commitment to international compliance with regard to foreign transfers, stressing an imminent breakthrough in the dollar crisis.

In an interview with Shafaq News agency, Salih said, “Reorganizing foreign remittance sales by the Central Bank of Iraq according to the international compliance platform, which the latter has started since October 2022, is not an easy matter.”

And that “the value of these foreign transfers amounts to 80% of the bank’s total daily sales.”

He added, “The process of financing foreign trade in dollars is in the recovery phase after international compliance operations,” explaining that “the bank’s sales through the auction window, after the three packages launched by the Central Bank previously, have returned to their normal level, at an amount of $200 million per day.”

Saleh pointed out that “these sales have become stable and meet the demands of merchants and the local market for dollars, and the bank provides them based on what it possesses of large reserves of hard currency, which enables it to intervene at any time to control exchange rates for long periods, and it also has the ability to support the economy.” by financing foreign trade.

And Saleh stressed that “the price differences between the official exchange rate of the dinar against the dollar and the price equivalent to it (the black market), have begun to gradually shrink, albeit slowly,” adding at the same time that “the period between last October to the end of February 2023 During which requests from rejected transactions have accumulated because they violate the controls of the compliance platform.

And he pointed out that “the foreign currency window in the central bank needs some time to absorb that surplus of demand for foreign currency and according to the terms of the compliance platform,” stressing that “signs of the market show that it is moving positively and gradually towards a breakthrough in the coming days.”

Iraq witnessed a shortage of dollars after it was exposed to pressure from the United States aimed at limiting the flow of money to neighboring countries, which were imposed financial sanctions by the United States of America, and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York last November imposed stricter controls on transactions. Dollars for Iraqi commercial banks, as a result, slowed down the approval of transfers and eventually prompted traders to buy dollars from exchange offices, which raised the prices of the dollar against the Iraqi dinar to high levels, which led to a rise in the prices of basic and food items in the local markets.

Shafaq.com

Economists: Any budget that depends on the rentier economy is doomed to failure

Shafaq News / Iraqi economists predicted, on Monday, that the fate of any budget that relies on the rentier economy will be failure and an increase in the deficit.

“It is difficult to define a single scenario for a budget for more than a year, in light of a rentier economy that depends on oil as the country’s only resource,” economist Dergham Muhammad Ali said, in an interview with Shafaq News agency.

And he indicated that “the safest scenario is to set a multi-scenario budget, a pessimistic scenario that depends on a low oil price, a moderate scenario that depends on an average barrel price that is close to the current one, and an optimistic scenario. Expenditure accounts are placed on these three scenarios and are determined in light of allocations, the value of the deficit, and the mechanisms to bridge this deficit.”

He added, “The budget in its current form is threatened with failure in the event of a deterioration in oil prices, which is an expected scenario, which will make it difficult to implement the budget paragraphs.”

For his part, the financial and economic expert Hilal Al-Taan considered, in his interview with Shafaq News agency, that “it is not possible to predict future oil prices because oil is a political and economic commodity that is subject to the laws of external and not internal supply and demand, and therefore the problem of the Iraqi economy is that it is a rentier that depends on oil by 93% by achieving budget revenues.

Al-Taan indicated that “this matter is considered a mistake in fiscal policy, despite our assurances in previous years, since 2003 until now, that it is necessary to reduce dependence on oil as a main resource for the budget and rely on other non-oil resources that include taxes, customs, state real estate revenues, and encouraging the productive and agricultural sector.” industry and reduce imports.

He stressed that “until now, there has been no development and oil is still the main source in the budget, and therefore the assumption of a price of 70 dollars per barrel in the budget is a large and dangerous number in light of the unstable conditions in the world, and this will cause embarrassment to the state.”

He pointed out that “the budget is currently talking about the existence of 63 trillion dinars as a deficit in light of setting the price of 70 dollars per barrel of oil in the budget, and in the event that oil prices drop from what has been determined in the budget, which is what is happening now, this will lead to a disaster as the deficit will exceed 100 trillion.” dinars, and therefore it is difficult to cover the budget, and the coverage will take place again, either by borrowing from abroad, which is difficult, or relying on internal debt from the central bank or commercial banks, and then we will suffer a real problem after that.

Al-Taan called on the government, “the need to reconsider the budget in terms of setting a new price for oil that protects it from global oil fluctuations, and to reduce and pressure unnecessary public expenditures in state departments. There are also incorrect concessions that must be reduced by a courageous and decisive decision.”

It is noteworthy that oil prices fell again today, Monday, after rising this morning, with Brent recording losses amounting to more than 2%, and approaching the price of 70 dollars.

Shafaq.com

Baghdad, Erbil reach comprehensive agreement

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The Iraqi Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, announced on Monday that a comprehensive agreement had been reached on the standing issues between Baghdad and the Kurdistan region.

Al-Sudani, during a press conference, said that the understandings between Baghdad and Erbil were on clear points, noting that if any disagreements between Baghdad and Erbil took place, there is a committee that submits its recommendations to the Prime Minister.

“For the first time, the total revenues of the oil produced in Kurdistan are deposited in a bank account controlled by the federal administration,” Al-Sudani explained.

Al-Sudani added that the understandings between Baghdad and Erbil confirm that the two parties are moving forward to approve the oil and gas law.

The oil and gas law in Iraq, which has been stagnant in the Iraqi Parliament since 2005 due to disagreements with the Kurdish political forces, stipulates that the management of Iraq’s oil fields must be entrusted to a national oil company supervised by a specialized federal council.

This means that Baghdad is responsible for oil in Kurdistan, which Erbil rejects, and considers it a measure that violates the constitution.

The issues between Baghdad and Erbil are among the major problems the successive Iraqi governments face.

Some of the major issues between Baghdad and Erbil include the salaries of employees in Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), security coordination in disputed areas, and a mechanism for exporting oil from fields in the Kurdistan region.

Iraqinews.com

Parliamentary Finance: We have not received the 2023 budget yet

Information / Baghdad… A member of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, Representative Mudar Al-Karawi, confirmed, on Monday, that the budget has not reached his committee yet.

Al-Karawi said, in an interview with Al-Maalouma, that “the 2023 budget is still with the Presidency in the House of Representatives, and it has not officially reached the Finance Committee.”

He added, “The budget may begin its dialogues in the Parliamentary Finance Committee, starting next week.”

He pointed out that “the budget has many complexities, which we hope will find solutions leading to its resolution before voting on it, but it takes weeks.”

And the Presidency of the House of Representatives had announced a few days ago that the 2023 budget had arrived, pending discussion by the Parliamentary Finance Committee.

Almaalomah.me

A parliamentarian determines the fate of the oil and gas law and the next legislative direction

Information/Baghdad… Today, the representative of the State of Law coalition, Muhammad Radhi, determined the fate of the draft oil and gas law and its next destination.

Radi said in an interview with the information agency, “The draft oil and gas law will go to Parliament, and there is a technical delegation that meets from time to time and has reached advanced stages between the Federal Ministry of Oil and the Ministry of Natural Resources in the region.”

He added, “Prime Minister Muhammad Shia’a al-Sudani pays great attention to important laws, including the oil and gas law, which guarantees a better use of financial and oil resources.”

Radi pointed out, “Passing the draft oil and gas law requires the approval of the Kurdistan Regional Government on the conditions set by the central government in the capital, Baghdad.”

The Oil and Gas Law stipulates that the management of oil fields in Iraq must be entrusted to a national oil company under direct supervision by the central government in the capital, Baghdad.

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