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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The recent budget talks with the Iraqi federal government regarding the unpaid salaries of the Kurdistan Region’s civil servants were “positive”, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) said on Wednesday after a delegation returned to Erbil from Baghdad.
“We welcome the recent joint efforts as positive between both the regional and federal governments to reach a comprehensive agreement to fundamentally resolve the issue of salaries and to incorporate this agreement into the amendment to the federal budget law,” the KRG Council of Ministers said in a statement following their weekly meeting.
“What was on the Kurdistan Region as its obligations has been fulfilled,” the statement added, emphasizing the KRG’s position that it is Baghdad’s duty to send the salaries for the Region’s civil servants.
The frequent delay in paying salaries, which has been an issue for the cash-strapped KRG for nearly a decade, has made life difficult for civil servants, many of whom have no other source of income and have not been paid for the last three months of 2023.
A KRG delegation headed by Finance Minister Awat Sheikh Janab went to Baghdad on Saturday and met with Iraqi government officials to discuss amending the federal budget in a way that guarantees Kurdish civil servants receive their salaries on time.
Baghdad and Erbil struck a deal in mid-September that saw the federal government agree to loan the KRG 2.1 trillion Iraqi dinars in three 700 billion dinar installments, to cover three months of payroll and finally disperse wages to public servants who had been unpaid for around 90 days. The KRG has repeatedly claimed that it needs over 900 billion dinars per month to cover its payroll, but with its oil exports through Turkey halted since March, it does not have the funds.
Under Erbil and Baghdad’s September loan agreement, the KRG’s share in the 2023 federal budget will be used to pay back the loans. If Erbil’s share is not enough to cover the loans, its dues will be settled using its allocations within the 2024 budget.
“We welcome the recent joint efforts as positive between both the regional and federal governments to reach a comprehensive agreement to fundamentally resolve the issue of salaries and to incorporate this agreement into the amendment to the federal budget law,” the KRG Council of Ministers said in a statement following their weekly meeting.
“What was on the Kurdistan Region as its obligations has been fulfilled,” the statement added, emphasizing the KRG’s position that it is Baghdad’s duty to send the salaries for the Region’s civil servants.
The frequent delay in paying salaries, which has been an issue for the cash-strapped KRG for nearly a decade, has made life difficult for civil servants, many of whom have no other source of income and have not been paid for the last three months of 2023.
A KRG delegation headed by Finance Minister Awat Sheikh Janab went to Baghdad on Saturday and met with Iraqi government officials to discuss amending the federal budget in a way that guarantees Kurdish civil servants receive their salaries on time.
Baghdad and Erbil struck a deal in mid-September that saw the federal government agree to loan the KRG 2.1 trillion Iraqi dinars in three 700 billion dinar installments, to cover three months of payroll and finally disperse wages to public servants who had been unpaid for around 90 days. The KRG has repeatedly claimed that it needs over 900 billion dinars per month to cover its payroll, but with its oil exports through Turkey halted since March, it does not have the funds.
Under Erbil and Baghdad’s September loan agreement, the KRG’s share in the 2023 federal budget will be used to pay back the loans. If Erbil’s share is not enough to cover the loans, its dues will be settled using its allocations within the 2024 budget.
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