Latest figures show decline in KRG budget transfers

The KRG’s budget transfers in May fell compared to the previous two months, but remain in line with the sums pledged by Baghdad.

On July 9, the KRG’s Ministry of Finance and Economy announced that it had received nearly 500 billion IQD from Baghdad to cover public employee salaries. The announcement noted that 421 billion IQD had been deposited in its bank account by the federal government to pay the salaries of civil servants for the month of June.

Meanwhile, the KRG’s Minister of Peshmerga Affairs, Shoresh Ismail, said on Tuesday that the federal government had agreed to pay the salaries of the Peshmerga forces. In an interview with reporters, he stated that a committee from Baghdad would visit his ministry to finalize an agreement. He added that the salaries of the Peshmerga forces would be released within the next few days, noting that the reform process within the Peshmerga forces is progressing well.

Kurdish officials have asserted that there are no political or legal issues preventing Baghdad from covering Peshmerga salaries; rather, it is due to technical issues related to verifying the lists of Peshmerga forces and internal security forces.

But in a meeting with the Chinese Consul General in Erbil this week, the KRG Minister of Finance and Economy expressed concern that salaries for civil servants and security personnel were being delayed because of Baghdad’s insistence on auditing the names of employees provided by Erbil.

The minister’s remarks likely reflect a decline in transfers to Erbil in May compared to the previous two months. Iraq Horizons previously reported that the Finance Ministry’s spending figures from March revealed unexpectedly high payments to the KRG.