Parliamentary Finance: The budget is in the Sudanese office and is subject to amendments before bein

POSTED ON[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] BY [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

[size=52]Parliamentary Finance: The budget is in the Sudanese office and is subject to amendments before being referred to Parliament[/size]

[size=45]Baghdad / Firas Adnan[/size]
[size=45]Yesterday, Monday, the Parliamentary Finance Committee reported that the draft budget law had reached the office of the Prime Minister, pointing out that a number of amendments had been made to it at the present time before it was presented, reaffirming that salaries would not be affected by its delay, expressing its hope to vote on it at the beginning of next March. .[/size]
[size=45]Observers believe that the government's delay in sending the budget law has multiple reasons, most notably the reduction of Iraq's export share according to the decision of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, the decline in global oil prices, and internal issues related to job grades and the food basket.[/size]
[size=45]Informed sources confirm that the budget will set a planned deficit of about 10 trillion dinars, with the possibility of resorting to loans again, while indicating the possibility of making the price of a barrel of oil below $70, given the fluctuation in global markets and fear of a new drop in prices. A member of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, Mueen Al-Kazemi, said, “The Ministries of Finance and Planning worked on preparing the budget for next year, before the project was referred to the government for a vote on it, in preparation for sending it to Parliament.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Kazemi added, "The two ministries have completed the final touches and have referred the project to the office of the Prime Minister, who is currently discussing it."[/size]
[size=45]He pointed out that “amendments are currently being made to the draft before it is presented to the Cabinet session for approval.”[/size]
[size=45]And Al-Kadhimi stated, "The legislative recess will not affect the budget, and there will be ample time for the government to complete the draft, prepare it, and hand it over to parliament early next month."[/size]
[size=45]And he stated, “The Parliamentary Finance Committee is responsible for studying the project, preparing it and preparing it for the first and second reading, and then discussion and voting.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Kadhimi estimates that “the total amounts of the law amount to between 130 to 140 trillion Iraqi dinars, and as for discussing it in parliament, that takes between one to two months.”[/size]
[size=45]And he talked about “the opinions of deputies, committees, and ministries regarding the law, as well as the case with regard to political blocs,” expressing his aspiration that “the law will be approved in early March, so that the ministries and governorates will launch their projects in the infrastructure specified within the budget.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Kadhimi affirmed, “The law paid great attention to infrastructure projects such as health, education, and the large port of Faw,” calling for “benefiting from the financial surplus achieved by the rise in oil prices and the Iraqi-Chinese Reconstruction Fund.” And he continues, “The delay in the budget will not affect operational expenses, including salaries, as there is a legal cover for disbursement under Federal Financial Management Law No. 6 of 2019 as amended.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Kadhimi stressed, “The need for the political blocs, parliament, and concerned committees to be serious about completing the draft budget law after it was received from the government, in order to vote on it as soon as possible.”[/size]
[size=45]He hopes, “that there will be no negative impact on the budget, especially from the current ongoing dialogues with the Kurdistan region; As it arose from prior agreements of the State Administration Alliance, on the basis of which the government of Muhammad Shia’a al-Sudani was formed.[/size]
[size=45]And Al-Kazemi continues, “The budget will provide salary allocations for about four million employees, in addition to those covered by social care, for whom about 5 to 6 trillion dinars are allocated in order to help the largest number of those below the poverty line.” And he stated, “Providing allocations for retirees depends on the retirement fund, which we hope will be at the level of fulfillment of this segment, and otherwise there will be support from the Ministry of Finance for this fund.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Kazemi noted, "The government's keenness to take care of the ration card by providing citizens with 12 rations for the next year, meaning that it will be every month." It is likely that “operational allocations will drain about 70% of the budget, and there will remain 30% on the investment side.” Al-Kadhimi added, "The government is serious about supporting investment projects in a manner through which the ministerial curriculum voted on by Parliament can be implemented."[/size]
[size=45]For his part, committee member Jamal Cougar said, “Iraq is living in a good economic situation, and we have excellent bank reserves, a financial surplus, and appropriate oil prices compared to the previous budget.”[/size]
[size=45]Cougar continued, "These indicators indicate that the next budget will be good, if the general international situation continues to be stable and there will be no drop in oil prices in a way that affects Iraq's revenues."[/size]
[size=45]He pointed out, “It is not possible to set a specific date for the law’s arrival from the government,” but he stated that “what we can confirm: next year will witness the rapid passage of the budget in parliament.”[/size]
[size=45]And Cougar added, “The delay in sending the budget to parliament has no justification, which is surprising,” and he believed that “the government had enough time to discuss it, just as the draft was prepared by the previous government, and the one who took over its development leads the Ministry of Finance at the present time.”[/size]
[size=45][You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]