Iraq sends $210 million to Kurdistan for salaries

BAGHDAD, Iraq – The Iraqi government has decided to send the Kurdistan Region 250 billion Iraqi dinars (about $210 million) for the salaries of Kurdish state employees, particularly the health and education ministries, two ministries whose payroll lists are being audited by the Iraqi Central Government, a Kurdish MP told Rudaw.

A source from the Kurdish finance ministry also told Rudaw on Monday that they have received the money from Baghdad but he said they have yet to receiver orders from the Iraqi government on whether to spend it. 

Masud Haidar, a Gorran MP who is sitting on the finance committee of the Iraqi parliament, said the Iraqi government's order to the central bank was issued.

He added that he is in constant contact with people relevant to the audit of the Kurdish salaries.

“They reaffirmed today that orders have been issued in order to spend 250 billion dinars from the amount that is already in the bank account of the Kurdistan Regional Government [in Baghdad],” Haidar said.

Rudaw earlier reported that the Central Bank of Iraq has opened a bank account for the Kurdistan Region and deposited 450 billion dinars (approximately $380 million) into it. 

The Iraqi government has sent a number of audit committees to the Kurdistan Region to audit the payroll list of the two ministries.

They finished their work at the headquarters of the two ministries based in the Kurdish capital of Erbil, and are supposed to visit health and educations departments of the Kurdish provinces including Erbil, Sulaimani and Duhok.

Haidar said that the audit so far is going well, and that Iraqi-appointed committees have found “no problems” as of yet.

The two ministries have the largest number of employees after the Ministry of Peshmerga.

The Kurdistan Region have faced difficulties to pay the salaries of its 1.249 million people on its payroll in full or in time, something that caused protests on different occasions including in December.