Political faction: Al-Sudani decided to finance Kurdistan’s salaries for May and June, contingent on oil deliveries.
Political faction: Al-Sudani decided to finance Kurdistan’s salaries for May and June, contingent on oil deliveries.
2025-07-22 01:03
Shafaq News – Sulaymaniyah
Ali Hama Saleh, the rapporteur of the “National Position” movement in Kurdistan, stated on Tuesday that federal Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani decided to fund the salaries of employees in the region for the month of May. He explained that salaries and financial dues for the following month are contingent on the delivery of the agreed-upon portion of Kurdistan’s oil production to the State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) as agreed upon between Erbil and Baghdad.
Hama Saleh said in a video statement posted on Facebook that Al-Sudani decided to pay the salaries of the Kurdistan Region for May after depositing the region’s non-oil revenues, amounting to 120 billion dinars, into the Iraqi Ministry of Finance’s account.
He explained that funding for June salaries is contingent on the delivery of crude oil produced from the region’s fields to SOMO.
He added that the federal government believes that the oil fields in the Kurdistan Region have not suffered significant damage, enough to reduce production to 80,000 barrels per day, and that oil production could increase within about two weeks.
He added, “A committee from Baghdad will arrive in the Kurdistan Region to assess the damage caused by the drone attacks that targeted the region’s oil fields over the past two weeks.”
The Kurdistan Regional Government’s Ministry of Finance and Economy announced earlier Tuesday morning that the Iraqi treasury’s share of non-oil revenues had been deposited into the federal Ministry of Finance’s bank account.
The Kurdistan Ministry of Finance stated in a statement that the Kurdistan Region’s non-oil revenues for May 2025, amounting to 120 billion dinars, were deposited in cash into the federal Ministry of Finance’s bank account at the Erbil branch of the Central Bank of Iraq.
Meanwhile, press reports indicate that the Iraqi Council of Ministers will begin today funding the salaries of the region’s employees for May, after depositing non-oil revenues into the state’s account.
Reports indicate that the Coordination Framework, which comprises Iraq’s ruling Shiite political blocs and forces, requested, during a meeting held yesterday, Monday, that Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani begin disbursing salaries to the region immediately and without delay, before the matter is brought up in the regular cabinet session scheduled for today.
Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani recently announced that his government had reached an agreement with the federal government to deliver 230,000 barrels of oil per day to SOMO, and 120 billion dinars per month from internal revenues to Baghdad, in exchange for monthly salaries for public sector employees and workers in the region.
Employees, retirees, and those included in the social security network in the Kurdistan Region have not received their salaries for nearly three months after the Iraqi Ministry of Finance suspended them due to the region exceeding its budget share.
The federal Ministry of Finance transferred April salaries on May 13, while the regional Ministry of Finance distributed them within just four days. Since then, May salaries have not been funded or disbursed, despite the advent of Eid al-Adha and the increasing financial pressures on citizens.
The Ministry of Finance issued a letter ordering the suspension of funding for the salaries of Kurdistan Region employees, due to the government exceeding its budget share, as stated in the letter.
For years, the Kurdistan Region’s salary issue has remained unresolved, stuck in a tug-of-war with the federal government. This debate is renewed every year with the approval of the federal budget, which imposes conditions on the region in exchange for receiving its share of the budget, most notably the delivery of oil revenues. However, two years ago, after the region halted oil exports via the Turkish port of Ceyhan, the federal government converted employee salaries into “advances” to be given to the region.
Last February, the Federal Supreme Court ordered the Baghdad government to pay the salaries of Kurdistan Region employees directly, without sending them to the regional government. This followed months of delays in delivering these salaries.
shafaq.com
