International Monetary Fund sets 3 structural measures to reform Iraq's finances, including "wages a

by **Rocky** Tue 07 May 2019, 2:18 am

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Post n°1

International Monetary Fund sets 3 structural measures to reform Iraq's finances, including "wages a

by Rocky Tue 07 May 2019, 2:18 am

International Monetary Fund sets 3 structural measures to reform Iraq's finances, including "wages and electricity"

2019/05/07 10:11

(Encyclopedia of this day , news | [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] ) -

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On Tuesday, May 07, 2019, the head of the International Monetary Fund's mission to Iraq, Gavin Gray, recommended a number of major reforms that Iraq must follow to reform the financial structure.

"The first of these reforms is public sector wages that can ease short-term spending pressures through compensation measures, such as setting allowances, bonuses and other non-core payments, and not fully replacing pensioners," Gray said.

"Structural measures will be required in the medium term, based on a functional review of the workforce as well as deeper reform of the civil service once new human resource and information management systems are in place," he said.

"A key factor in addressing poor quality of service and reducing high budget costs is because of the modest rates of consumer tariffs, the chronic non-payment of electricity bills, poor maintenance and over-dependence on expensive generation sources, In all stages of generation, transmission, and distribution.

"The importance of ensuring the protection of the poor and the most vulnerable during this reform is assured.

The most recent recommendation of the head of the IMF mission on strengthening public financial management, in which he explained that the strengthening of the legal framework

Baghdad today - follow-up

A US newspaper reported on Tuesday, May 07, 2019, that Iran had begun to coordinate targeting US forces in Iraq and Syria.

The Wall Street Journal reported that there was information that Iran planned to target US forces in Iraq and Sur

Baghdad today - follow-up

In a telephone conversation with Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, Iranian President Hassan Rowhani affirmed his country's readiness to develop relations with all countries in the region, stressing his country's stand with the "Qatari brothers".

The Iranian presidential website said in copies

Baghdad today _ follow-up

The daughter of US President Donald Trump on Monday sent a message to Muslims around the world on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan.

"Ramadan is a blessing for all fasting people around the world," Ivanka wrote on her official Twitter page,

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by **Rocky** Tue 07 May 2019, 2:56 am

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Post n°2

IMF calls for structural reforms

by Rocky Tue 07 May 2019, 2:56 am

IMF calls for structural reforms

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The IMF called for structural [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] , including improved governance, to sustain medium-term sustainability and to lay the foundations for inclusive growth.

He said in a statement that a team of international criticism had held discussions with the Iraqi authorities between April 25 and May 2 in the context of Article IV consultations of 2019.

The Fund explained that the major reforms that the Iraqi authorities should contain, contain public sector wages, Reforms in the electricity sector in Iraq to address the poor quality of services, and reduce the high costs of electricity in the budget.

The Fund called for supporting the management of public finances in [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]by strengthening the legal framework, improving compliance and other control systems in order to minimize the misuse of public resources and achieve budgetary discipline.

The Fund underscored the importance of a strong plan to restructure large-scale public sector banks, coupled with enhanced banking supervision, to ensure financial stability, and to promote financial development and financial inclusion.

The Fund stressed the need to address weak governance in [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] , effectively preventing officials from misusing their positions or misusing state resources.

He urged ensuring the independence and integrity of the anti-corruption bodies and activating the AML / CFT system to support anti-corruption efforts.

The IMF considered that the end of the war on a buoyant organization and the recovery of oil prices were an opportunity to rebuild Iraq and overcome long-standing socio-economic problems.

"The challenges to achieving these goals are enormous," he said.

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by **Rocky** Tue 07 May 2019, 3:04 am

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Post n°3

IMF Staff Completes 2019 Article IV Mission on Iraq

by Rocky Tue 07 May 2019, 3:04 am

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May 6, 2019

End-of-Mission press releases include statements of IMF staff teams that convey preliminary findings after a visit to a country. The views expressed in this statement are those of the IMF staff and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF’s Executive Board. Based on the preliminary findings of this mission, staff will prepare a report that, subject to management approval, will be presented to the IMF's Executive Board for discussion and decision.

Near-term vulnerabilities subsided in 2018, with the budget in surplus and a build-up in central bank reserves. Post-war reconstruction has been limited so far.

Fiscal deficits are projected to rise over the medium term, absent policy changes, and it will be hard to sustain capital spending. Growth is likely to slow markedly.

Tight control over current spending, particularly wages, and phased measures to boost non-oil revenue would make space for scaling up public investment and building fiscal buffers.
[size=16]An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team led by Gavin Gray visited Amman from April 26 to May 2, to hold discussions with the Iraqi authorities in the context of the 2019 Article IV Consultation. At the end of the visit, Mr. Gray made the following statement:

“The end of the war with ISIS and a rebound in oil prices provide an opportunity to rebuild the country and address long-standing socio-economic needs. However, the challenges to achieving these objectives are formidable. The economic recovery has been sluggish, post-war reconstruction is limited, and large current spending increases risk placing the public finances and central bank reserves on an unsustainable path. Moreover, combatting corruption is critical to promote the effectiveness of public institutions and to support private-sector investment and job creation.

“Near-term vulnerabilities subsided in 2018, with the budget in surplus and a build-up in central bank reserves. Non-oil growth is expected to increase to 5.4 percent in 2019 on the back of higher investment spending. However, fiscal deficits are projected to rise over the medium term, requiring financing that may crowd out the private sector or erode central bank reserves. In these circumstances, it would be hard to sustain capital spending, and growth would slow markedly.

“Policy changes and structural reforms—including to improve governance—are therefore essential to maintain medium-term sustainability and lay the foundations for inclusive growth.

“Fiscal policy should aim to scale up public investment gradually while building fiscal buffers. To make space for this, staff recommends budgetary savings of around 9 percent of GDP over the medium term through tight control of current spending, particularly public-sector wages, and phased measures to boost non-oil revenue. Setting ceilings on current expenditure in the 2020 budget on-wards would strengthen the fiscal framework’s capacity to support higher capital spending and to adapt to oil price shocks. Key reforms should include:

Containing public-sector wages. Spending pressures could be dampened in the short run through compensation measures such as capping allowances, bonuses and other non‑base wage payments, and by not fully replacing retirees. Structural measures will be required over the medium term, based on a functional workforce review as well as deeper civil service reform once new HR management and information [url=http://i.viglink.com/?key=9aafeaa0dc973144cc8995b68291f36e&insertId=91966008fdcf9a8c&type=L&exp=-1%3Ana%3A0&libId=jvdibrb10100g3d9000DAlo2ind0t&loc=http%3A%2F%2Firaqidinar.forumotion.com%2Ft20348-imf-staff-completes-2019-article-iv-mission-on-iraq&v=1&iid=91966008fdcf9a8c&opt=true&out=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.shelving.com%2F&ref=http%3A%2F%2Firaqidinar.forumotion.com%2Ff1-iraqi-government-news&title=IMF Staff Completes 2019 Article IV Mission on iraq&txt=<span>systems<%2Fspan>]systems[/url] are in place.

Electricity reforms are key to addressing the weak quality of service and reducing the high budgetary costs, due to modest tariff rates, chronic non-payment of electricity bills, poor maintenance and over-reliance on expensive generation sources, coupled with losses throughout the generation, transmission, and distribution process. It would be important to ensure that the poor and most vulnerable are protected throughout this reform.

Bolstering public financial management. Enhancing the legal framework and improving commitment and other control [url=http://i.viglink.com/?key=9aafeaa0dc973144cc8995b68291f36e&insertId=91966008fdcf9a8c&type=L&exp=-1%3Ana%3A0&libId=jvdibrb10100g3d9000DAlo2ind0t&loc=http%3A%2F%2Firaqidinar.forumotion.com%2Ft20348-imf-staff-completes-2019-article-iv-mission-on-iraq&v=1&iid=91966008fdcf9a8c&opt=true&out=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.shelving.com%2F&ref=http%3A%2F%2Firaqidinar.forumotion.com%2Ff1-iraqi-government-news&title=IMF Staff Completes 2019 Article IV Mission on iraq&txt=<span>systems<%2Fspan>]systems[/url] are key to minimizing misuse of public resources and restoring budgetary discipline.

“In the financial sector, a robust plan to restructure the large public banks coupled with enhanced supervision is essential to secure financial stability and will help promote financial development and inclusion. Strengthening anti-money laundering and countering financing terrorism (AML/CFT) controls and oversight will help prevent Iraq’s financial sector from being misused for the laundering of criminal proceeds and terrorist financing.

“Addressing governance weaknesses and corruption vulnerabilities is critical to achieving the described policy objectives. As a first step, the authorities need to develop a comprehensive understanding of the corruption risks present in Iraq and then implement policies to tackle these risks in a coherent and coordinated manner.

The legislative framework needs to be strengthened to effectively prevent officials from abusing their position or misusing state resources. To this end, laws strengthening the asset declaration regime and criminalizing illicit gains should be rapidly adopted. Furthermore, the independence and integrity of bodies involved in combatting corruption should be ensured and the AML/CFT regime should be mobilized to support anti-corruption efforts.

“The team will prepare a report that, subject to management approval, is tentatively scheduled to be considered by the IMF’s Executive Board in July 2019.

“The IMF team would like to thank the authorities for the candid and constructive discussions during this visit.”

MEDIA RELATIONS
PRESS OFFICER: WAFA AMR
PHONE: +1 202 623-7100 EMAIL: MEDIA@IMF.ORG

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by **Rocky** Tue 07 May 2019, 3:05 am

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Post n°4

The International Monetary Fund sets out 3 structural measures to reform Iraq's finances, including

by Rocky Tue 07 May 2019, 3:05 am

The International Monetary Fund sets out 3 structural measures to reform Iraq's finances, including wages and electricity

International Monetary Fund

06 May 2019 11:03 PM

BAGHDAD - The head of the International Monetary Fund's mission to Iraq, Gavin Gray, has recommended a number of key reforms Iraq must follow to reform the financial structure.
The head of the IMF mission said that the first of these reforms was public sector wages, which could reduce short-term spending pressures through compensation measures such as the identification of allowances, bonuses and other non-core payments, and full replacement of pensioners.

Structural measures would be required over the medium term, based on a functional review of the workforce as well as a deeper reform of the civil service once new human resource and information management [url=http://i.viglink.com/?key=9aafeaa0dc973144cc8995b68291f36e&insertId=91966008fdcf9a8c&type=L&exp=-1%3Ana%3A0&libId=jvdibrb10100g3d9000DAlo2ind0t&loc=http%3A%2F%2Firaqidinar.forumotion.com%2Ft20348-imf-staff-completes-2019-article-iv-mission-on-iraq&v=1&iid=91966008fdcf9a8c&opt=true&out=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.shelving.com%2F&ref=http%3A%2F%2Firaqidinar.forumotion.com%2Ff1-iraqi-government-news&title=IMF Staff Completes 2019 Article IV Mission on iraq&txt=<span>systems<%2Fspan>]systems[/url] were in place.

The second recommendation on electricity reforms, which was seen as an essential factor in addressing poor quality of service and reducing high budget costs, was due to the modest rates of consumer tariffs, the non-payment of chronic electricity bills, poor maintenance and excessive reliance on expensive sources of generation, All stages of generation, transmission, and distribution.

The head of the IMF mission stressed the importance of ensuring protection of the poor and the most vulnerable during this reform.

The latest recommendation of the head of the IMF mission on strengthening public financial management, in which he explained that strengthening the legal framework and improving compliance and other oversight [url=http://i.viglink.com/?key=9aafeaa0dc973144cc8995b68291f36e&insertId=91966008fdcf9a8c&type=L&exp=-1%3Ana%3A0&libId=jvdibrb10100g3d9000DAlo2ind0t&loc=http%3A%2F%2Firaqidinar.forumotion.com%2Ft20348-imf-staff-completes-2019-article-iv-mission-on-iraq&v=1&iid=91966008fdcf9a8c&opt=true&out=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.shelving.com%2F&ref=http%3A%2F%2Firaqidinar.forumotion.com%2Ff1-iraqi-government-news&title=IMF Staff Completes 2019 Article IV Mission on iraq&txt=<span>systems<%2Fspan>]systems[/url] was a key element in reducing misuse of public resources and restoring budgetary discipline.

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