ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A minister in the Kurdistan Region has raised concerns about the lack of financial support for more than 30,000 disabled people, as Iraqi and Kurdish officials discuss budget allocations and ongoing salary disputes.
“Since 2013, no disabled person has been registered. [They number] over 30,000,” Kwestan Mohammed, Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) labor and social affairs minister, told Rudaw's Zana Kayani on Tuesday.
A delegation led by Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein and Finance Minister Taif Sam met on Sunday and Monday with the KRG’s economic council, chaired by Prime Minister Masrour Barzani to discuss outstanding issues between Erbil and Baghdad, including salaries and various economic and financial topics.
“[T]he results were positive. Some dossiers were settled, and others will continue to be discussed between relevant ministries,” said Mohammed, who was part of the meeting.
She also mentioned that the Iraqi finance minister said that supporting the 30,000 disabled people requires financial allocations which are not accounted for in the budget approved by the Kurdistan Region’s parliament.
However, Mohammed said the law could be amended if discussions lead to an agreement.
The minister added that more than two million people in Iraq receive social protection welfare funds, but no family in the Kurdistan Region receives such support. She also noted that disabled people and those in poverty in Iraq receive four extra food rations annually - benefits that people in the Kurdistan Region do not receive.
Iraqi and Kurdish representatives will hold more meetings to further discuss these issues, according to Mohammed.
The Iraqi government has blamed the delay of the disbursement of salaries since June on the KRG for not completing the biometric registration process for some civil servants.
“Biometric [registrations] ... are continuing, and they are going very well,” Mohammed said.
However, she acknowledged challenges exist for biometric registration, especially for people with mental illnesses and for others with vision issues.
Nearly 12,000 people face difficulties with biometrics, according to Mohammed.
Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament Shakhawan Abdullah said in late August that 500,000 fingerprints had been registered, and the process is ongoing, dismissing the issue as a justification for the delays.
After two months of delay, civil servants began receiving their July salaries last Tuesday; the KRG delayed the disbursement, arguing with Baghdad over the amount sent for that month. The Iraqi government sent only a partial payment and pointed to a report from the Federal Board of Supreme Audit that indicated KRG has received an extra 600 billion dinars this year - the board argued that this amount, combined with the KRG’s local income, should suffice to cover July’s salaries.
The Kurdistan Region is currently financially dependent on local income sources and its controversial federal budget share.
