After conflicting news, ambiguity still surrounds the delay in sending the budget to Parliament
After conflicting news, ambiguity still surrounds the delay in sending the budget to Parliament
4-16-2024
Information/report..
With the mounting criticism and calls to speed up sending the current year’s budget to Parliament, ambiguity still surrounds the government’s delay in sending the budget schedules, despite Finance Minister Taif Sami’s pledge to complete the schedules and send them soon to the Council for approval. Likewise, government and parliamentary statements were characterized by conflict in explaining the reasons for the delay.
Deputy Chairman of the Parliamentary Planning Committee, Muhammad Al-Baldawi, attributed the real reasons behind the government’s delay in sending amendments to the current year’s budget schedules to the House of Representatives for the purpose of approval, due to several reasons, including the ministries not completing their plans regarding lagging projects, as the government is working to close this file, as well as the difference in prices and currency values.
Al-Baldawi told Al-Maalouma, “The delay in sending amendments to the 2024 budget schedules to Parliament is due to several reasons, including the ministries not completing their plans regarding the lagging projects, as the government is working to close this file, as well as the difference in prices and currency values.”
He added, “Among those reasons are related to the schedules and amounts allocated to the Kurdistan region of Iraq, especially after the recent decisions issued by the Federal Court that obligated the government to do so,” noting that “most of these reasons and obstacles have been overcome by the government and will be sent to Parliament very soon.”
In addition, the Parliamentary Finance Committee revealed the fact of the delay in sending the 2024 budget tables to the House of Representatives for the purpose of voting, indicating that the tables are complete, pointing out that there are two main reasons behind the delay in sending them to Parliament.
Committee member Representative Hussein Moanis told Al-Ma’louma, “The problem with delaying the 2024 budget schedules does not lie in the completeness of its details, but rather the problem relates to two technical and monetary issues.”
He added, “The government has accomplished what it had to do, but the lack of cash is the main reason for the government’s delay in sending these schedules,” noting that “most of the projects have begun to stop due to a lack of financial funding.”
Mu’nis explained, “The Finance Committee hopes that the government will provide sufficient cash, especially after the end of Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani’s visit to Washington.”
On June 12, 2023, the House of Representatives approved the financial budget law for the three years 2023, 2024, and 2025, as the budget approved more expenditures and investments as a direct result of the increase in oil revenues, which constitute 90% of the country’s revenues.
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