Fears of delayed salaries.. State employees face increasing financial pressures!

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[size=52]Fears of delayed salaries.. State employees face increasing financial pressures![/size]

[size=45]There have been growing concerns recently about the delay in paying salaries to state employees, amid falling oil prices and reduced oil exports. Oil revenues are the main source of funding for government budgets in many countries, especially in countries that rely heavily on oil as a major constraint to their economies.[/size]
[size=45]With the decline in global oil prices and the decline in its exports, due to economic and political conditions or due to the production reduction agreed upon within the framework of OPEC and its alliances, governments find it difficult to secure the funds needed to cover public expenditures, including the salaries of government employees.[/size]
[size=45]Delays in the payment of salaries are a major concern for citizens, as these salaries are the main source of income for many. In addition, these delays raise fears of social unrest and increased criticism of governments, which complicates political matters and increases pressure on decision-makers.[/size]
[size=45]Under these circumstances, governments often look for alternative solutions such as external loans or austerity measures to deal with the revenue shortfall, but these solutions may be insufficient or increase the burden on the national economy and citizens.[/size]
[size=45]Economic expert Nabil Al-Marsoumi says, “The issue of providing salaries is still under control, and even if there is a delay, it is limited, and it is mostly related to the Ministry of Electricity only due to special circumstances and pending procedures with the Ministry of Finance.”[/size]
[size=45]But Al-Marsoumi added, “The problem of salaries may appear after two months, as we will suffer a liquidity crisis due to the decline in oil prices and the decrease in the volume of oil exports, and this may lead to a crisis in the availability of the Iraqi dinar, as the government may not have the dinar needed to cover public spending, including salaries.”[/size]
[size=45]Regarding the delay in salaries, he confirms that “this is due to the delivery of salaries at the end of each month, but the delay until the beginning of the new month is a different matter,” noting that “the delay may occur to a large extent in the future, if the conditions of the oil market remain the same, and we may return to the year 2020 when salaries were paid every 40 days.”[/size]
[size=45]He explains that “talking about solutions should be in times of abundance, as Iraq is supposed to have a sovereign fund that it can use as a buffer in times of crisis. Revenues should also be diversified, public expenditures controlled, and the lack of rationalization in public finances reduced. However, it seems that Iraq does not learn from previous experiences, and continues to deal with the economy poorly.”[/size]
[size=45]He concludes that “relying on oil is a high-risk policy, as oil is a volatile world, and its market experiences waves of rise followed by waves of decline, and we may see a wave of decline in prices, especially if geopolitical crises such as the war in Gaza and the Russian-Ukrainian war calm down.”[/size]
[size=45]Iraq, OPEC's second-largest oil producer, relies heavily on oil revenues.[/size]
[size=45]Economic expert Mustafa Hantoush warned of the danger of the decline in oil prices in the global market on Iraq's budget.[/size]
[size=45]Hantoush said, “Iraq depends entirely on oil sales revenues to finance its budget, and a decrease in those prices will have a major and dangerous impact on securing budget funds, especially in light of the significant increase in the size of the operating budget, which constitutes more than (75)% of the budget.”[/size]
[size=45]He added, "According to information, Iraqi oil is sold at less than global prices, and for this reason the budget relies on numbers lower than the price of oil sold, in anticipation of any emergency event that may reduce those prices, especially since the world is facing incidents that may lead to new declines, and this certainly has a major impact on the budget situation."[/size]
[size=45]Hantoush added, "The relevant government agencies must move quickly to find solutions to confront such an emergency, as this matter may affect the possibility of providing sufficient funds to support and finance the budget."[/size]
[size=45]Earlier, Mustafa Al-Karawi, a member of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, said, “The ministry confirmed that salaries are fully secured. There may be some delays from time to time for some institutions, but salaries are secured.”[/size]
[size=45]The committee confirmed that Iraq is going through a major and serious challenge related to financial liquidity, and indicated that the delay in employees receiving their salaries by ten days after the specified date means that the Ministry of Finance does not have sufficient cash to finance the ministries and state institutions.[/size]
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