PM:02:31:23/09/2021
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SULAIMANI — Representative of the Kurdistan Regional
Government (KRG) in Baghdad Faris Issa told NRT on Thursday (September 23) the
federal Council of Ministers agreed at its meeting on Wednesday to send another
200 billion Iraqi dinars ($137 million) to the Kurdistan Region.
The money is likely to be sent next week after
administrative procedures are completed, Issa said.
Under an agreement with Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi,
the KRG began to receive a monthly stipend of 200 billion Iraqi dinars per
month in July with parliamentary elections looming.
The agreement, however, does not resolve major budget
disagreements between Erbil and Baghdad, which have prevented the
implementation of the 2021 Federal Budget Law. KRG officials are keen to note
that the stipend is not the Region’s budget share.
During 2020, the KRG struggled to pay its employees, missing
five monthly disbursements entirely and cutting four others by nearly a
quarter. Government employees had their pay cut by twenty-one percent during
the first six months this year.
Workers were paid in full in July for the first time in more
than a year. The KRG began distributing public sector salaries in full on
August 25, even before receiving the transfer from Baghdad.
The salary cuts have had a significant effect on the economy
of the Kurdistan Region because of the KRG’s role as the Region’s most
important employer.
(NRT Digital Media)