Government commits to a spending hike but delays to 2023 budget persist

Prime Minister Sudani announced a massive rise in the government’s commitment to public payroll spending after recent decisions by the cabinet to hire thousands of graduates and offer permanent jobs to daily wage earners. Sudani’s remarks came during his first press conference of the new year. The spending commitments will add further pressure on the 2023 federal budget, which according to Sudani, is still being drafted. Furthermore, new obstacles have emerged for negotiations between Baghdad and Erbil after Finance Minister Taif Sami vetoed a request last month to transfer funds to the Kurdistan Region.