Parliamentary Economic questioned the government's ability to cope with the budget deficit



Author: HH, MK
Editor: BK, HH

2015/09/23 10:48


Long-Presse / Baghdad
Economic Commission parliamentary suggested, on Wednesday, increasing the deficit in the fiscal budget for next year in 2016, due to falling oil prices, and questioned the government's ability to cope with the deficit, and as warned of prejudice to the salaries of the lower grades, which has been invited to give effect to the customs tariff and consumer protection laws, and to require ministries hiring Iraqi factories to meet their needs.

The Committee member Nora Albjara in an interview to the (long-Presse), said that "the available indicators point to the possibility of increasing the budget deficit in 2016, especially that economists expect a decline in world oil prices to below $ thirty-barrel", questioning the "government's ability to fill the deficit of through borrowing, which involves a significant risk to the future of the country because of the benefits of it. "

She Albjara, that "the government received the ball annually in the court of the House of Representatives to resolve the problems in the budget, but they are back to challenge them to the Federal Court, when the representatives of the people develop the necessary solutions," warning of the "cut part of the employees' salaries, as this has a negative repercussions the transformation of the middle class to the poor box. "

She called a member of the parliamentary Economic Committee, the government has to "activate some laws legislated by the House of Representatives, as well as on customs tariff and consumer protection", stressing the need to "adopt the ministries, especially trade, on the production of local factories, to secure the ration card items."

Accused Albjara, the Ministry of Commerce officials, that they "do not want to contract with local factories because of the commissions they receive from foreign factories", usually they "cite high cost of the goods, although the Iraqi local contract processing faster and cheaper transport."

She Albjara, that there was an article in the "budget obliges ministries contracting with Iraqi factories, but it is disabled, although they provide important amounts of corporate self-financing the private sector and enable it to pay its employees' salaries itself and develop, and believes the lack of hard currency out outside the country," pointing to "The Council has canceled paragraph furniture and buy cars from the 2015 budget but officials have crowded the legal tricks."

The Ministry of Finance Posted on the 15th of September 2015, the draft budget law for fiscal 2016, which estimated the B84 trillion dinars, indicating that it was prepared to sell a barrel of oil price of $ to 45, with an average export of 3.6 million barrels.
As he emphasized the Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, in the 19th of September 2015, that Iraq is facing an economic problem due to lower oil prices, which depend upon the financial budget by 95%, and pointed out that the current budget represents 40% of the budgets of previous years, as called for spending cuts government to face the economic challenges, he stressed the need to continue the policy of reducing spending even with high oil prices to build a healthy economy.

The Cabinet Adviser for Economic Affairs, the appearance of Mohammed Saleh, warned, in (23 August 2015), from excessive borrowing because of the lack of liquidity, while stressing that this would be a "heavy burden" on future generations, called to invest borrowed money in projects generate direct investment income.

The Parliamentary Finance Committee confirmed, in (the thirtieth of April 2015), they are passed to the government borrowing to fill the budget deficit and meet the essential needs in light of the state of war with "terrorism", while showed that Iraq will receive loans worth three billion and $ 400 million of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, revealed a tendency to privatize the stalled government projects are viewing investment.

The Finance Minister, Hoshyar Zebari, recently confirmed that Iraq sought to issue treasury Sndt billions of dollars to counter the impact of the financial crisis experienced by, and in collaboration with major international banks.

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