The Finance Committee begins budget discussions next week.. and seeks to reduce its amounts

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[size=52]The Finance Committee begins budget discussions next week.. and seeks to reduce its amounts[/size]

[size=45]Baghdad / Firas Adnan[/size]
[size=45]Yesterday, Tuesday, the Parliamentary Finance Committee confirmed that discussions on the budget law will begin next week, pointing out that amendments will occur to the project after holding meetings with all ministries aimed at reducing amounts or transfers in order to raise allocations for the investment part and the Development Fund, expecting their speedy passage in Parliament. , stressing the need to proceed with the implementation of projects in the month of May.[/size]
[size=45]A member of the committee, Representative Mueen Al-Kazemi, said, “The parliament presidency will refer the draft budget law to the Finance Committee, starting next week.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Kazemi added, "The committee will be in continuous session regarding the budget in order to hold meetings and discussions with ministers, agents, and stakeholders to complete the necessary amendments."[/size]
[size=45]He pointed out, "The amendment will mainly affect the deficit of 64 trillion dinars in order to reduce it."[/size]
[size=45]And Al-Kadhimi stated, “Parliament will rush to approve the budget after completing the first and second readings, because we want to help the government complete its program.”[/size]
[size=45]And he believes that “the government will start implementing its projects contained in the curriculum that Parliament voted on, at the beginning of next May.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Kazemi continues, “The amended Federal Financial Management Law No. 6 of 2019 allowed the government to submit a draft budget that extends for three years, provided that the first is binding after its approval and the possibility of amending the budget for the next two years, according to the contexts of amendments to laws, which is what the government has currently resorted to.”[/size]
[size=45]And he goes on to say, “Parliament will scrutinize all the chapters contained in the project, but in general we hope that the budget will meet the ministerial curriculum that focused on development and diversification of revenues.”[/size]
[size=45]And Al-Kadhimi stated, “Parliament’s competence over the budget, according to the constitution, enables two things: reducing the total amounts or transferring between chapters, provided that there is no increase.”[/size]
[size=45]And he talked about that “reducing the total budget amounts amounting to 197 trillion dinars in cooperation with specialists is possible,” pointing out that “the government relies on two things to cover the deficit: the first is the oil price difference between what is fixed in the budget and the real price in global markets.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Kazemi noted, "The second matter is the rejection of Iraqi oil production from 3 million and 500 thousand barrels to 3 million and 700 thousand during one day, while benefiting from the financial abundance that has accumulated during the past two years."[/size]
[size=45]And he continues, “If the deficit is covered from the previous abundance for the current year, then how will the treatment be for the next two years, because the budget extends for three years with the possibility of a drop in the oil price.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Kazemi stressed the need for "the vision of the financial file to be clear for the coming years, so that we do not enter into uncalculated expectations."[/size]
[size=45]And he finds, “The draft budget set a price per barrel of oil, which is $70, for conservative reasons, according to studies of the global market conditions, and we do not expect it to drop below that during the current year, but after that, changes may occur.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Kazemi called for "attention to the investment part of the budget, because we are facing promising projects, including the great port of Faw, the dry canal, ring roads, hospitals and schools."[/size]
[size=45]He objects to “allocating one trillion dinars for the development fund,” describing the amount as “little,” calling for “raising it so that it has a role in providing infrastructure.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Kazemi concluded, “The investment part of the budget will go mainly to electricity, especially contracts with international companies such as (General Electric) and (Siemens) and combined-cycle stations, in addition to health and education, but we have not seen significant amounts for the industrial and agricultural files, which are Melfan needs a lot of support.”[/size]
[size=45]For his part, another member of the committee, Representative Jamal Cougar, stated that “the survival of the budget bill in Parliament depends on the formulation of the government project.”[/size]
[size=45]And Cougar continued, “If the budget is verified in the legal observations, there are no many violations in it, with the provision of justice, then it will pass easily because the deputies will defend the allocations of their regions and the ministries that follow their political blocs.”[/size]
[size=45]He pointed out, "The State Administration Alliance, which forms the government, is currently in control of the House of Representatives, and therefore it is assumed that there will be a process of shortening the time."[/size]
[size=45]Cougar expressed his belief that the budget will be passed in record time, and not be delayed, as happened in previous budgets, especially since the last budget witnessed by Iraq was in 2021.[/size]
[size=45]And he finds, “The atmosphere between the federal government and the Kurdistan region is positive and will not impede the approval of the budget, and if any differences occur, they will be resolved in the last two days before the law is presented to a vote in order to resolve it.”[/size]
[size=45]And Cougar went on to say that “the budget was not devoid of job grades, as it included all contract holders and lecturers, as well as the first and those with higher degrees.”[/size]
[size=45]And the Council of Ministers had earlier submitted a draft budget law for three years to the House of Representatives at an amount of 197 trillion dinars and a deficit of 64 trillion dinars, as the operating budget allocated to salaries and the rest of the expenses amounted to 150 trillion dinars, while the operational budget was satisfied with 47 trillion dinars, while specialists described this The budget is the highest in the history of Iraq.[/size]
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