A road map for solving the financial crisis

A member of the House of Representatives, Muhammad Sahib al-Darraji, has proposed a road map to solve the financial crisis.

Given that the economic and financial situation in Iraq has reached the bottleneck stage, there must be solutions applicable to the near and far ranges, and through some of the professional experiences gained in the areas of government executive and parliamentary legislative work, with accumulated experience from working in the private sector and touching the economic and service situation of the Iraqis at various levels. Here I would like to present a short-term road map to contribute to solving the financial crisis and protect the economy of the country must be followed by medium and long-term measures to reform the Iraqi economy and find a clear economic doctrine for Iraq that changes the form of spending and financial resources for the country in a manner commensurate with the societal nature and global ruling conditions for energy prices and the diversity of means Production.

This plan is summarized as follows:

First: – The general budget

1 – A simple budget for construction and installation must be submitted and approved for the remainder of the year 2020 showing the ruling real revenues and expenditures and what relates to these two items only and the ways of filling the resulting deficit and without touching on any other items.

2 – Building a budget for the year 2021 on a sectoral basis and on a fixed oil price for the operational budget and a mobile for the investment budget, directing the budget for salaries, purchasing the ration and medicines, sterilizing water and the educational process only and listing items that encourage dependence on investment and the private sector to address other sectors so that these provisions govern the budget law All other laws and restrict them in favor of financing the unfunded sectors.

3 – Providing the final accounts for the past years and validating them to know the deficiencies in financing certain sectors in exchange for extravagance in other sectors in order to create an economic balance between the service and productive sectors.

Second: – The cash block

Withdraw the cash mass stored with the community and try to invest it in an investment through the following: –

1 – Raise the interest rate for cash deposits in banks even if the monetary authority is forced to support the banks.

2 – Establishing projects in which the state contributes a certain percentage and the rest is offered for subscription, especially in projects of city centers (dawn town) and major industrial projects such as petrochemicals (Nebras).

3 – Offering some of the winning companies (or that could win by changing the management tactic) for subscription, such as the air navigation company, airlines, cement, fertilizers, and others.

4- Selling oil coupons locally. At the prevailing price now and buying it a year later at the prevailing price then.

5 – Building confidence between the state and the citizen by committing to pay interest and profits.

Third: – Oil licenses

1 – Negotiating to postpone the dues of oil companies or pay them in kind outside OPEC’s share.

2 – Evaluating company spending and reducing them to a minimum.

3 – Re-negotiate in consensual ways with oil companies to improve the terms of contracts for the state when the oil prices drop.

Fourth: – Legislative measures

1 – Revoking the Coalition Provisional Authority’s decision to ban the export of raw materials and the export of some materials such as gravel, sand, and others.

2- Requiring the government to start licensing rounds to invest some mineral resources, such as phosphates, and others.

3 – Preparing a new salary scale that takes into account the economic situation and achieves social justice and encourages the employee to leave the job with a set of privileges outside the framework of the job.

4- Prepare a special bill to reduce all allocations granted under previous laws by a certain percentage.

5 – Amending some transitional justice laws and laws that have concessions that are no longer needed.

Fifth: – Governance and automation

1 – The Ministry of Finance issues the e-dinar for the purpose of collecting government revenues and fees and what distinguishes them from being non-negotiable in the market as cash and thus we have reduced corruption in this aspect as well as the state’s knowledge of the value of those imports quickly, to be issued by a government bank It is not done through private companies.

2 – Encouraging and organizing electronic payment, obligating banks and institutions to electronic payment, and encouraging sales outlets in the private sector to use electronic payment devices without commissions and ensuring that their accounts are fed by the national exchange in the Central Bank daily.

3 – The necessity of automating the ports and customs and linking them to any process of transferring the dollar or opening bank credits for the purposes of importing and controlling the border outlets and preventing militias and gangs from controlling them.

Sixth: – Monetary policy

A – The exchange rate

1 – Begin to gradually reduce the Iraqi dinar price to reach 1500 dinars against the dollar until the end of the year 2020 and review the economic situation.

2 – And then start another reduction up to 1,800 within 6 months.

3 – Then we study the possibility of deleting the zeros, so we will end with a fixed price of 2 Iraqi dinars per dollar.

B – Methods to address potential inflation and the effects of the devaluation of the Iraqi dinar so that this procedure is accompanied by the following steps: –

1 – Increasing nominal salaries for grades five to nine and increasing the salaries of the social protection network by 12% to reduce the impact of potential inflation on the
vulnerable classes .

2 – Amending the currency selling mechanism to maintain the hard currency inside the country and that the dollar and other foreign currencies are sold and traded directly in the currency markets or through the stock market in order to get a real price of the Iraqi dinar against the US dollar and that the guarantor of the prices is the value of the available reserve The Central Bank of Iraq has hard currency.

3- Government projects pricing in the investment budget in dollars and financing the exchange units budget for the investment budget in dollars.

4- Setting an import platform, stopping some imports, controlling customs outlets, supporting the tax system and exempting the local product from income tax for a period of two years.

5 – The state imports commercial foodstuffs into the market and injects it into the ration program in the event of high prices.

6 – Supporting fuel for public transport, factories and irrigation projects, and giving high relative importance to the food industries.

7 – Pumping a hard currency to the exchange markets to maintain the price level of the Iraqi dinar, which prevents price fluctuation due to possible speculation.

8 – Activating the role of economic security and entering the relevant government agencies to control the cash rhythm in the currency market and the food market.

Seventh: – State property

1 – Liquidate unexploited government assets from real estate, buildings, vehicles, furniture, etc. by selling them or entering in investment partnerships

2 – Selling overdated lands for those overruns at the same price to give a justification for recovering them from those who do not pay (and vice versa it cannot be recovered and ejecting the exceeders)

Eighth: – The private sector

1 – Increasing the credit ceiling of government banks to give loans.

2 – Activating the central bank loan initiative and easing guarantees for industrial, construction and agricultural projects, while controlling payments and linking them to completion rates and opening credits to move the private sector.

3- Finding ways through joint financing or external borrowing to finance government-funded projects and completing projects with high percentages.

4- Reducing the restrictions of letters of guarantee and their expenses for ongoing unpaid advances due.

5 – Displaying productive projects for the purpose of investing them by the implementing agencies in exchange for completing them and entering the service.

6 – Moving the housing fund and real estate bank loans to move the construction sector that withdraws unemployment as it is the largest employer sector .

7- Increasing taxes on imported commercial products and reducing them from imported raw materials to encourage the national product.

Alsabaah.iq

Al-Kazemi topples four prominent officials in the ports of Basra

Shafak News / A source in the Prime Minister revealed, on Wednesday, that Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi decided to fire four prominent officials in the southern Basra ports.

The source said to Shafaq News, that Al-Kazemi dismissed Hamid Hussain Ali, director of the Umm Qasr Al Shamali Center, Alaa Abdul Moneim Dawood, director of the Umm Qasr Al Janoubi Center, Abdul Jalil Subhi Jassem, director of the Umm Qasr Al Awsat Center, and Muayad Yassin Abdul Jabbar, director of the Basra Gate customs.

Al-Kazemi is expected to appoint replacements for the dismissed officials.

This decision comes within Al-Kazemi’s efforts to fulfill his pledges to fight corruption in state institutions and bring those involved to justice, as Iraq is among the most corrupt countries in the world over the past years.

The decision also comes hours after Al-Kazemi arrived in Basra with his government ministers and held a cabinet session there.

During his visit, Al-Kazemi toured the northern port of Umm Qasr, as part of an anti-corruption campaign at the border outlets, according to a statement of his office.

He directed the Prime Minister to “protect the customs sanctuary in ports by military forces and prevent any force or entity trying to enter it by force,” and directed “to reduce complex routine procedures and work to rotate employees to reduce corruption.”

Al-Kazimi vowed to be involved in corruption, saying, “Everyone is under surveillance, and we have information about the corrupt people in the ports that will be prosecuted.”

Shafaaq.com

White Paper Plan .. Will it be the key to solving the economic crisis in Iraq?

The Prime Minister, Mustafa:

(1) Al-Kazemi, described dependence on oil as a failed experiment that put the state and the government into a permanent embarrassment, and there is a plan to break free from his slavery.

(2) Al-Kazemi emphasized that the lack of funds and the lack of liquidity came due to mismanagement and absolute dependence on oil, and there is a “white paper” plan to reform the financial and administrative system to be free from it.

He pointed out that

(3) Iraq relies to this moment on oil by 95 percent, and this was reflected in the provision of liquidity and hard currency when prices were subjected to collapse, indicating that the private sector, including agriculture, must take its role in building the financial economic relationship in Iraq and the relationship with society and building job opportunities For the citizen.

(4) Will Al-Kazemi succeed in drawing a new economic policy for Iraq?

The economist, on behalf of Antoine, says, according to a report of the Russian Sputnik, that “dependence on oil is not a failed experiment, but it must be harnessed in other economic sectors.

(5) Mismanagement and corruption have brought us to what we are now, and the process of transforming the Iraqi economy from oil-dependent rentier is not With the easy process, it needs talents and an honest government, and in general we should start now better than not starting.”

Antoine added:

“There is a distorted budget in Iraq, where 75% of it goes to salaries and concessions, which pushes the government towards borrowing and mortgaging oil, and

(6) the white paper for the Prime Minister needs to be implemented, and the question is who will implement this paper, which needs an efficient and impartial administrative apparatus to achieve it?” ?, The task is difficult in the presence of forces obstructing any reforms and causing the loss of more than a trillion dollars.

He continued:

(7) “The real window of reform is to create a safe environment for investment away from extortion and bureaucracy. Otherwise, the country is moving towards decay, because the government did not benefit from the experience of oil decline in 2008 and 2014, because of the same faces in power, and if no sincere faces came It is difficult then to change the economic direction of the country.”

Mawazin.net

Al-Kazemi will be in Saudi Arabia on Monday for his first foreign visit

Al-Hadath TV reported, on Tuesday evening, that the Iraqi Prime Minister, Mustafa
Al-Kazemi, will visit Saudi Arabia next Monday.

This visit will be the first foreign station for Al-Kazemi since he assumed the presidency of the Iraqi government last May.

Al-Kazemi will also conduct visits to Iran, America and Europe.

Shafaaq.com

Qasim Al-A’raji officially takes over from Al-Fayya

Shafaq News / Former Interior Minister Qasim al-Araji officially assumed the duties of the National Security Adviser instead of Faleh al-Fayyad, who held the position for several years.

In the National Security Advisor, this morning a ceremony was held to hand over and hand over the responsibility of the National Security Adviser to Al-Aaraji, by former National Security Adviser Faleh Al-Fayyad.

The media office of the National Security Adviser said in a statement received by Shafaq News that these ceremonies took place in the presence of a number of advisors and managers in this institution.

The statement added that Al-Araji presented an introductory meeting with the consultants and managers, as he welcomed the attendees, wishing them “more tender to serve the public interest and build Iraq.”

The Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Mustafa al-Kazimi, had ended in the beginning of this July the assignment of Al-Fayyad and appointed Al-A’raji in his place. The tasks of Al-Fayyad were carried out in the conduct of the affairs of the National Security Agency, and Abd al-Ghani al-Asadi was assigned to administer the agency.

Shafaaq.com

Iraqi PM Pushes Electricity Projects

July 2020 in Iraq Industry & Trade News – By John Lee.

Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi has held a meeting with the Ministers of Electricity and Oil to discuss electricity supply in Iraq, and directed that all electricity projects, especially those agreed with Siemens, be implemented without delay.

He added that Iraq has spent billions of dollars on the electricity sector in recent years, but because of corruption, waste and mismanagement, it failed to build a modern power grid that meets the needs of its citizens.

the PM said he is determined to address the problems in the electricity sector, implement plans for its development, and tackle corruption in all its forms in this critical sector.

(Source: Govt of Iraq)

Iraq-businessnews.com

Parliamentary finance reveals the number of outlets “out of control” in the north and south and stresses monitoring the currency auction

The Parliamentary Finance Committee revealed the number of “uncontrolled” outlets in the north and south, while stressing monitoring the auction of selling the currency and where its money goes, in light of the widespread corruption in the country .

The committee member, MP Ahmad Hama, said, “Today, the prime minister is required to start a campaign against the corrupt and influential mafias and controlling Iraqi ports in Basra and border crossings, as it is the economic focal point for Iraq .”

He added that “eleven border outlets in Basra and the same in the Kurdistan region of Iraq are outside the control of the state and no one knows what is going on in them, especially since the volume of waste in them is estimated at about nine billion dollars annually .”

Hama stressed that “the currency auction sells about $ 60 billion annually to purchase goods, but it is without supervision and there are no conditions for the import of goods, which makes waste in importing billions of dollars that are the right of the people .”

Aynaliraqnews.com

Al-Kazemi from Karbala: Supporting the private sector will provide job opportunities and we seek to activate the Iraqi industry

Baghdad today – Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi, during his visit to Karbala, said today, Tuesday, that he supports private sector projects in order to provide job opportunities.

Al-Kazimi stated in a press conference attended by the correspondent of (Baghdad Today) that “we support the private sector, and we are working to provide all the requirements for its success and improve its reality and activate and support the private sector will contribute greatly to providing job opportunities.”

He added that “the partnership between the public and private sectors is very important during the next stage and we support local projects and the Iraqi product, and we strive with full force to support, activate and revitalize the Iraqi industry.”

Al-Kazimi had arrived earlier in the day in Karbala Governorate, for the first time since he assumed the position of Prime Minister.

The Governor of Karbala, Nasif Jasim Al-Khattabi, received, today, Tuesday, the Prime Minister, in the local government building in the province.

The Prime Minister, Mustafa Al-Kazemi, held a meeting earlier today (July 14, 2020), with the local government in Karbala Governorate.

According to the official news agency, “The prime minister held a meeting with the head of the local government in the Karbala governorate, Nassif Jassem al-Khattabi, to open service projects in the governorate.”

Baghdadtoday.news

The Iraqi Central Bank discusses linking banks to the multi-currency “structures” platform

Baghdad – Mawazine News, The Central Bank of Iraq discussed, on Monday, the plans of action of banks operating in Iraq, to ​​ensure that it is easily linked to a multi-currency “structures” platform.

A statement issued by the bank / Mawazine News / a copy of it stated that “the Central Bank of Iraq, in cooperation with the Arab Monetary Fund, organized a workshop for banks operating in Iraq to participate in the platform, this came after the announcement of the launch of a platform for Arab payments of the Regional Foundation for the Clearing and Settlement of Arab Payments, which It is managed by the Arab Monetary Fund and preparations are made for this bank and a number of local banks for direct participation in the platform.

The statement added, “The workshop discussed the proposed banks ‘business plans and touched on the technical requirements and the steps required to ensure that they are easily connected to the platform and to know the banks’ readiness to do so.”

The “Bani” platform represents a multi-currency payment platform that provides clearing and settlement services in Arab currencies and international currencies that meet the eligibility requirements, to clearing and settling inter-Arab financial transactions as well as financial transactions between Arab countries and the main trading partners of Arab countries.

It aims to enable financial and banking institutions in the Arab region, including central and commercial banks, to send and receive inter-payments in all parts of the Arab region and outside in a safe and reliable manner at an appropriate cost and high efficiency, in addition to that the Bani platform provides participants with modern payment solutions that are in line with standards and principles International and international compliance requirements.

And in the opportunities for economic and financial integration in the Arab region, it actively contributes to it to support investment links with the trading partners of the Arab countries on various continents.

The platform will be available to all banks that meet the criteria and conditions for participation in them, foremost among which are the standards and procedures for compliance aspects. Ended 6/29 n

Mawazin.net

Al-Kazemi: The time to waste money has gone nowhere and today is launching a new phase

{Baghdad: Al Furat News} Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi confirmed today, Saturday, during the opening of the Mandali border crossing, that the time for wasting the misplaced funds has gone and today is launching a new stage.

Al-Kazimi said in a statement received by his media office, that “the Mandali port is one of the important outlets, but it has turned into a den and a crossing for the corrupt.”

He added, “The time for wasting money has gone out of place, and today we are launching a new phase,” indicating that “the port is under the protection of our military forces, and it has the right to shoot anyone who violates the customs campus.”

He continued: “We will work to automate the administrative aspects of customs to protect public money and fight corruption,” noting that “there are (ghosts) present in the customs campus that blackmail the merchant and businessmen, and our message to them is that we will track them and rid the ports of them.”

He explained that “the money is the money of the people and not the money of the corrupt, and today I directed to protect the customs sanctuary and to proceed with the procedures of automation and the pursuit of (ghosts).”

He continued, “Security authorities and the director of ports were given powers to deal with the situation of the outlets,” noting that “there are those who try to cover up to cover up and protect the corrupt, but we will proceed to restore the prestige of the state and the law, which is an opportunity to launch into the future.”

Al-Kazimi added: “We need the solidarity of all Iraqis in order to move forward, and we will not stop fighting the corrupt.”

Alforatnews.com