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The Council of Ministers votes on the largest budget in the country's history
Iraq 2023/03/14
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Hoda Al-Azzawi and Shaima Rashid
In a precedent that is the first of its kind in the history of Iraq, the Council of Ministers voted, yesterday, Monday, on the draft federal budget law for (3) fiscal years, which are 2023, 2024 and 2025, and the Council, in its regular session that it held under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Muhammad Shia Al-Sudani, referred the draft budget to Parliament, and the total expenditures in the draft budget are more than 197 trillion dinars, which is the largest in the history of the country.
Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani said, in a press conference yesterday, Monday: "The priorities of the government program will be present in the 2023 budget," noting that "the three-year budget supports financial stability."
He added that "the ministries enter at the beginning and end of a year with a stage of hibernation until the new budget is approved," noting, "We are facing a stability of the budget for a period of three years." The budget is practical measures, including increasing the coverage area in the protection network.
He stressed that "with the approval of the budget, the social aid will be disbursed," noting that "for the first time a fund has been established for the poorest governorates." An amount of 500 billion dinars to secure service projects and support displaced families.”
agreement with the province
And on the Kurdistan region, Al-Sudani confirmed, “We reached a comprehensive agreement on the outstanding issues between Baghdad and Erbil,” noting that “for the first time, the total revenues of oil produced in the region are deposited in a bank account in which it is deposited and is subject to federal administration,” and that “the understandings between Baghdad and Erbil were with clear points.” ", stressing that "in the event of any differences between Baghdad and Erbil, there is a committee that submits its recommendations to the federal prime minister," and pointed out that "these understandings between Baghdad and Erbil confirm the two parties' progress towards approving the oil and gas law," and added that "the share of the Kurdistan region in the budget amounts to 12.6%.
The budget in numbers
He pointed out that "the total budget amounts to more than 197 trillion dinars," stressing that "the operational budget amounts to more than 150 trillion dinars," and added that "the investment budget is more than 47 trillion," noting that "the budget deficit amounts to 63 trillion dinars."
He explained that "total revenues amount to more than 134 trillion dinars," stressing that "oil revenues amount to more than 117 trillion dinars based on the price of oil at $70, and non-oil revenues amount to more than 17 trillion dinars."
And he indicated that "the increase in the budget came due to the installation of lecturers and contracts in all ministries, in addition to the indebtedness," noting that "this year, more than 12 trillion dinars of indebtedness will be paid."
He pointed out that “this indebtedness is internal and external and must be paid,” noting that “there is an increase in some allocations, including medicines, by 300 billion dinars, to become more than a trillion.” The budget will be two and a half trillion dinars.
Iraq Development Fund
And Al-Sudani indicated that "in this budget, we gave the provinces the right to recycle the allocated amounts," noting that "the Iraq Development Fund draft law was included and one trillion dinars were allocated for it," and added that "the Iraq Development Fund draft law is directed to the private sector," pointing out that " In the Iraq Fund for Development project, the implementation of 8 thousand schools will be launched at once.
The Prime Minister affirmed: "We will preserve the funds by dealing with the private sector without any contracts or bonds," explaining that "for the first time, sovereign guarantees are given for projects implemented by the private sector."
He continued, "The government program has adopted coverage of special programs amounting to one trillion and 865 billion dinars for medical services," stressing that "the expenses of those whose contracts have been terminated have been covered, and these allocations will be in the budget law."
Receivables and loans
And he added that "the amounts of electricity imports have been reduced," stressing that "the farmers' dues have been secured for the current agricultural season." Noting that "the draft budget law for three years enjoys a political agreement."
And he continued, "I will ask Parliament to attend the second session to read the budget," stressing that "the budget law is for all Iraqis," and pointed out that "the financial abundance of oil prices will be through which the dues of the provinces will be paid and the deficit covered," noting that "the government cannot cover All the requirements of the country without the private sector.
He pointed out that "the private sector will receive real support," explaining that "tackling unemployment requires new paths," and stressed that "the government has a vision in every sector," noting that "residential cities will be implemented and will provide adequate housing for citizens."
Cabinet session
And the media office of the Prime Minister stated in a statement yesterday, Monday, that Prime Minister Muhammad Shia Al-Sudani chaired the eleventh regular session of the Council of Ministers, and the session witnessed the approval of the draft general federal budget law for the years: 2023, 2024, and 2025, and its referral to the House of Representatives.
At the outset of the session, the Prime Minister affirmed the government's keenness to ensure that the budget reflects the governmental program that Parliament voted on, and indicated that this budget will be repeated for three years, in accordance with Financial Management Law No. 6 of 2019, which authorized the Council of Ministers to present a budget for three years. years, stressing that the Ministries of Finance and Planning can make amendments with the approval of the House of Representatives in the event of changes in numbers, oil prices, or quantities.
Al-Sudani explained, according to the statement, that these steps have been taken by the government based on its confidence in the vision and the approach that it carries, and it has set its goals in advance and set this budget in its details, and we will finish the process that is stalling all development and construction facilities, as ministries are usually paralyzed before the end of the fiscal year, which is what makes Work is suspended, then another chapter begins until the new budget is approved.
The Council of Ministers also approved, in yesterday's session, a draft law to create the Halabja Governorate in the Republic of Iraq, and refer it to the House of Representatives, in fairness to this city, and in honor of its martyrs. The Council is one of the public companies affiliated to the Ministry of Construction, Housing, Municipalities and Public Works, implementing the Daquq Bridge project.
Parliamentary finance
In addition, the Parliamentary Finance Committee suggested that the vote on the draft budget would take twenty days if it was sent before the month of Ramadan to the House of Representatives.
Committee member Jamal Cougar said, in an interview with "Al-Sabah": "It is possible that the approval of the budget in Parliament will not be delayed by more than twenty days if it is sent before the Newroz holidays or before the month of Ramadan."
He added, "There will be hosts and discussions for all ministries within the committee regarding the budget, and this procedure will not delay voting on it, because the Finance Committee will be divided into sub-committees and the ministries will be divided into them to sit with them and discuss their shares."
He continued, "Parliament's powers in the budget have two tracks; the first is to reduce expenditures, and the second is to transfer between chapters."
Cougar stressed that "the speedy approval of the budget depends on the extent of the existence of legal violations in it, and the second point is the duration of the controversy of some paragraphs, and the third is the extent of fairness in the distribution of resources between the ministries on the one hand and the governorates on the other, as the less irregularities, controversy and poor distribution, the more fluidity in legislation The budget is bigger and faster, and the more these three points are and the less justice, the more time the discussions will take and the differences will increase.”
annual rule
In turn, the rapporteur of the Parliamentary Finance Committee for the fourth session, Dr. Ahmed Al-Saffar, said in an interview with “Al-Sabah”: “The annual rule is one of the most important rules of the general budget for many reasons, including that the public and private accounts that are determined annually, such as the national income accounts, are a document of where it relates to balancing.
And he indicated that “the period of the year is a typical period through which the budget can be counted, especially since the budget is a document that contains speculative and estimated data for a future period. From a political point of view, the issue of oversight, whether it is financial, related to the legislative, independent or administrative authority, can be effectively achieved within a year, but if this period is exceeded, it can be weakened. He pointed out that "the financial system in Iraq or the financial authority is not committed to the general financial rules and the financial management law, which is a constitution, and which no government has committed to since 2003, and not a single budget came on time and is committed to the timings stipulated in the financial management law."
He noted that "it is expected that the non-annual budget cannot be approved by the Finance Committee, given that it is the legislative authority that approved the financial management law," stressing: "The Federal Ministry of Finance can prepare a medium-term budget for a period of (3 years) presented once and legislated and be The first year is obligatory, and the Council of Ministers, based on the proposal of the Ministries of Planning and Finance, amends it for the second and third years, meaning that it can be submitted for a period of three years, provided that it is divided. This is for an annual period.
Shorten the time
For his part, the specialist in financial affairs, Obaid Mahal, confirmed in an interview with “Al-Sabah” that “the subject of preparing the budget for three years is a subject contained in the Financial Management Law Article 4 Second, but it has not been implemented, and this is the first time that this law has been applied.” 6 of 2019, and the purpose of that is to shorten the time to discuss it once in the House of Representatives and not to delay in preparing the budget as it happens every year, and sometimes not even a budget is prepared because of these discussions,” noting that “submitting the budget for three years guaranteed us the aspect of not delaying or not approval, as it had previously.
Mahal noted that "there are real risks that must be mentioned, including the instability of the state's resources, especially as it depends entirely on the price of oil, so it is not relied upon in estimating three years due to fluctuation." He concluded his speech by saying: "The budget for three years is good if it is It had the elements of good preparation and overcoming the expected risks.
The independent politician, Omar Al-Nasser, mentioned in an interview with Al-Sabah that "every year, the issue of approving the budget takes a large part of the citizen's thinking and the political kitchen, and currents, parties and political forces enter into disputes, debates and bargaining due to the inability to resolve the outstanding issues between the center and the region on the one hand." And between the political blocs in Baghdad on the other hand.
Al-Nasser promised that "approving the current budget in this way has some positives and negatives, including; avoiding the issue of delaying allocating the necessary funds to implement the stalled and delayed development projects caused by mismanagement and planning, which the government program emphasized on implementing, and ensuring the payment of salaries of employees, retirees, social welfare and others without worry or delay. Or delay.” He added, “However, one of the negatives in it is the lack of a guarantee of stability in global oil prices and Iraq’s dependence on oil revenues as a single source of income, due to the absence of planning and the lack of qualitative strategies to maximize the state’s resources to make the budget safe from domestic and international momentary political fluctuations and changes.” and regional influences on the quality of government decisions.
Edited by: Muhammad Al-Ansari
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