MPs to vote on budget bill tomorrow
22/02/2012 15:13

ERBIL, Feb. 22 (AKnews) - MPs will vote on the budget bill tomorrow after receiving the Finance Committee's final report on the proposed legislation.

Second Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Aref Tayfur said no parties, including the Kurds, have objected to the bill as a whole.

Kurdish MP and member of the Finance Committee Najiba Najib said another article was added to the bill earlier concerning compensation for citizens who lost their property as a result of Saddam Hussein's Arabization policy. According to the article, compensation will be awarded provided that the court supports the claim.

AKnews previously reported that 52bn IQD ($45m) has been allotted to the budget to reimburse families affected by Arabization. Kurdish politician Shorsh Haji said this figure was sufficient for "only 5,000 families".

"The total number of families to be compensated reaches almost 650,000 in the Kurdistan region alone," he said at the time.

Reports estimate each family will be given 10m IQD ($8,500).

According to the final report of the Finance Committee the budget stands at 117tr IQD ($100bn). Some 19.8tr ($17bn), equivalent to 17 percent, will go to the Kurdistan Regional Government.

The news follows renewed threats from Ahrar parliamentary bloc to boycott the budget vote unless its demands are met.