Iraqi MPs: KRG Delays Salary Settlement, Compelling Baghdad to Disburse Sulaymaniyah Salaries

Reports 12:32 PM - 2024-10-28

logos of Rafidain, Rashid, and the Trade Bank of Iraq.

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) continues to delay the issue of nationalising employee salaries in the federal banks while pushing the "My Account" project associated with a certain party.

The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) aims to secure the rights of the Kurdistan Region’s employees by nationalising their salaries and keeping them separate from political conflicts. Members of the Iraqi parliament assert that nationalisation is essential and mandatory, as per a ruling from the Federal Court.

 

Nationalisation is Essential & Mandatory

In this context, Moein al-Kadhimi, a member of the Finance committee in the Iraqi parliament, stated to the al-Masra Channel: "Sulaymaniyah Province is currently working on nationalising the salaries of its employees in government banks, including Rafidain, Rashid, and the Trade Bank of Iraq."

Al-Kadhimi emphasised that "Nationalising the salaries of the Region's employees is essential and mandatory." However, if Sulaymaniyah employees’ salaries are nationalised in government banks, it will be mandatory for the Federal Ministry of Finance to pay them, just like the employees in other Iraqi provinces." He expressed hope that "employees in Erbil and Duhok will follow Sulaymaniyah’s lead, achieving transparency and credibility in names, numbers, and data, thereby fostering mutual trust between the Federal Ministry of Finance and the KRG."

 

Sulaymaniyah is Transparent

For his part, Member of the Iraqi parliament Yasir al-Hussaini told al-Masra: "There is a degree of uncertainty surrounding the settlement process by the KRG, which appears unwilling to move forward with the nationalisation of salaries in federal banks. This is evident in its actions regarding the employees of Erbil and Duhok, and it also seems reluctant to provide accurate information about its employees and their entitlements to the federal Ministry of Finance (the employee database)."

He stressed: "So far, there has been no transparency from the KRG concerning the employees of Erbil and Duhok, whereas there is transparency and clarity regarding the employees of Sulaymaniyah, with its officials firmly committed to expediting the settlement process before the end of the year."

Al-Hussaini added: “According to the Federal Court’s ruling, it is possible to pay the salaries of one province directly. However, the federal government is currently paying salaries to the Kurdistan Region’s employees in violation of the budget law, as nationalisation has not taken place and the Region lacks transparency regarding its non-oil revenues. This will undoubtedly impact future budgets, especially given the Region’s disregard for judicial and legal decisions and its ongoing failure to comply, coupled with a lack of transparency.”

 

The PUK is Committed to Employees' Rights

The PUK is making serious efforts to nationalise the Kurdistan Region's civil servants' salaries via the Iraqi state-owned banks. Sozan Mansour, spokesperson PUK bloc in the Iraqi Parliament, told PUKMEDIA: "My Account is the past and there is nothing left under that name; the right course of action is to open branches of the federal banks in the Region."

"With the resumption of the Iraqi Parliament sessions, we will intensify our efforts to nationalise the salaries of civil servants in the Kurdistan Region," she said.

She added: "My Account is a personal project that directly contradicts the ruling of the Iraqi Federal Court. Our bloc deems it its duty to end the salary delays by intensifying efforts to address the issue in accordance with the Federal Court's ruling. We expect the issue to be solved by the end of the year."

Previously, Dr. Narmin Maruf, a member of the PUK bloc in the Iraqi Parliament, told PUKMEDIA: "Despite the launch of the 'My Account' project by the Kurdistan Regional Government, the Iraqi Ministry of Finance has yet to endorse it."

"The Iraqi government is unwilling to place its funds in private banks following legal and accounting protocols but deposits them in public banks and will only send salary funds to a state-owned account," she stated.

The Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani previously confirmed that they rejected the ‘My Account’ project and considered it a financial project for a particular party in the Kurdistan Region. He also urged civil servants to nationalise their salaries in Iraqi state-owned banks. 

The insistence of a party to establish bank accounts for civil servants in the Kurdistan Region within banks affiliated with the 'My Account' has resulted in delays in the disbursement of several months' salary. The PUK bloc in the Iraqi Parliament is working to establish branches of federal banks in the Region, as mandated by the Iraqi Federal Court.



PUKMEDIA