On Thursday, Amanj Rahim, Secretary of the Kurdistan Regional Council of Ministers, stated that the Federal Supreme Court, which is the highest judicial authority in the country, declined to issue an order to suspend the Iraqi Council of Ministers’ decision to send 700 billion dinars to the region for financing the salaries of public sector employees and workers.
According to a written statement distributed to local Kurdish media, Rahim stated that the Federal Court has denied Representative Mustafa Sanad’s request for a state order to halt the implementation of Federal Council of Ministers Resolutions No. 23500 and 23520 for the year 2023. These resolutions involve providing a monthly loan worth 700 billion dinars to the Kurdistan Region government for a duration of three months.
Last week, Masrour Barzani led a delegation from the Kurdistan Regional Government to visit Baghdad. They held multiple meetings with the three presidencies, political blocs, and leaders to find a solution for financing the monthly salaries of the region’s employees and ensuring Kurdistan’s budget share. A formula was agreed upon and the Council of Ministers announced their understanding in a later session.
The Council of Ministers decided on September 17 to amend their previous decision, number 23500 of 2023, as follows:
- The Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government will receive a loan of 2.1 trillion dinars from Rafidain and Rasheed Banks and TBI for the current fiscal year. The loan will be paid in three equal installments of 700 billion dinars each, starting in September.
- The loan amounts mentioned in Paragraph (1) will be repaid by the Federal Ministry of Finance using the region’s allocations from the federal general budget for the fiscal year 2023, after settling any outstanding debts.
- If the remaining amount of the region’s share is not enough to pay back the loan according to Paragraph (2), the Federal Ministry of Finance will repay the mentioned loan amount using the region’s allocations in the federal budget for the fiscal year 2024 or from any other dues owed to the banks. This will happen before any dues are paid to the region.
- The Ministry of Finance deposits the loan amount with the banks and withdraws it after implementing paragraphs (2, 3).
- The Federal Office of Financial Supervision will work with the regional Office of Financial Supervision to conduct an audit of the number of employees, as well as those receiving social welfare salaries and retired individuals in the region. This audit will be based on the lists submitted to the Federal Ministry of Finance and will include an examination of their salaries. The audit must be completed within 30 days of the issuance of this decision and must comply with the requirements set by both offices.
