Iraqi Planning: More than 41 trillion dinars are available to the governorates in 2024
Iraqi Planning: More than 41 trillion dinars are available to the governorates in 2024
2024-05-25 06:38
Shafaq New / On Saturday, the Ministry of Planning revealed the total financial allocations and amounts available to the governorates during the current year 2024, indicating that more than 41 trillion dinars, the amount of financial amounts available, including investment allocations to the ministries.
The Ministry explained in a statement received by Shafaq News Agency, “The allocations of the Territorial Development Program and the undisbursed amounts, which amounted to the amount of the remaining funds for the year 2023, which are registered in deposits with the Ministry of Finance (6,947,433) trillion dinars, in addition to the remainder of the food security funds registered in deposits with the Ministry of Finance.” The governorates (5,824,403) trillion dinars, totaling (15,875) trillion dinars, and this amount is added to the size of the investment allocations for the governorates within the 2024 budget submitted to the House of Representatives, amounting to (3,103,158), noting that “these allocations include the regional development program and petro dollars.” Combating poverty and loans.
She added, “What was allocated to federal ministries’ projects implemented in the governorates excluding the region amounted to (38,421) trillion dinars, and thus the total amounts available to the governorates reach (41,524) trillion dinars.”
The Ministry continued, “Based on the above, the comparison that appeared in the media, between the regional development allocations to the governorates, and the total investment spending of the Kurdistan Region, is an incorrect comparison. Rather, the comparison should have been made between the total investment spending of the governorates coming from investment spending.” for the ministries, amounting to (41,524) trillion dinars), and what has been allocated in the total investment spending for the region, amounting to (4,875) trillion dinars, confirming the government’s commitment to the percentage allocated to the region, in all sections of spending.”
The Ministry pointed out that, based on the Tripartite Budget Law (2023-2025) and the Financial Management Law of 2019, unspent amounts are recorded as deposits with the governorates or the Ministry of Finance, and local governments can spend them on projects in accordance with the mechanisms approved in this aspect, and these amounts are added to the allocations. The financial allocations for the governorates within the 2024 budget, noting that there are other amounts that will be allocated to the governorates, coming from the revenues of the border crossings, as most of the governorates enjoy this advantage, with the presence of land, air or sea ports in them, as well as the financial allocations allocated to the funds with their various specializations, which are reconstruction funds. Dhi Qar, Sinjar, and the affected areas, and support for the poorest areas, amounting to about (2) trillion dinars.”
She added, “The indicators proven during previous years indicate that the highest percentage of spending for the governorates did not exceed more than (4.2) trillion dinars, during the year 2022, as the spending was made according to the actual work peaks with no budget approved in that year, and therefore the presence of this bloc Of the large cash available to the governorates, spending units will not be able to spend more than 30% of it in the best of circumstances, according to the executive capabilities of the governorates.
The Ministry of Planning indicated that the directives of the Prime Minister, Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani, were always supportive of the efforts of local governments, enabling them to fulfill their financial obligations, complete their basic projects, and include new projects.
She pointed out that the House of Representatives transferred (4.7) trillion dinars in last year’s 2023 budget from the Ministries of Electricity and Oil, to the governorate budgets in Table (E) as additional amounts to what the government allocated at the time, which was (5.2) trillion dinars, which forced The government and Parliament called for borrowing and set provisions to add allocations to cover the transferred amounts, which increased the deficit resulting from this measure, stressing at the same time that the apparent differences in the Kurdistan Region’s allocations include the sovereign investment budget, including licensing rounds for the Kurdistan Region amounting to (2.7) trillion dinars, which will not be spent to stop them. Exporting oil from the region, according to the decision of the Federal Court, and that the disbursement to the Kurdistan Region is conditional on the export of oil by (SOMO) and the region’s surrender of its oil imports to the Ministry of Finance.
shafaq.com
