A pile of Iraqi dinar banknotes (File)
PM:02:01:29/08/2021
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SULAIMANI — The federal government sent a monthly cash
transfer of 200 billion Iraqi dinar ($137 million) to the Kurdistan Regional
Government (KRG) on Sunday (August 29) for the second time since July, a source
from the KRG Ministry of Finance told NRT.
Under an agreement with Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi,
the KRG began to receive a monthly stipend of 200 billion dinars per month in
July.
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)