Between 12.67 and 14 percent… Conflicting figures bring the issue of Kurdistan’s share back to the forefront
Between 12.67 and 14 percent… Conflicting figures bring the issue of Kurdistan’s share back to the forefront
10-5-2026
Information/Report…
Statements from some political parties confirm that the Kurdistan Region has not provided accurate data regarding the number of employees over the past years in order to calculate the allocated budget funds for the region. Meanwhile, some parties have gone so far as to accuse certain government entities of corruption and collusion in favor of Kurdistan, allegedly to overlook the true number of employees. The situation may become more complicated in the coming days, especially since the regional government has already begun its efforts to obstruct the process and demand an increase in its share of the budget to 14 percent instead of 12.67 percent.
Former member of the parliamentary finance committee, Abdul Hadi al-Saadawi, told Al-Maalouma, “The Kurdistan Regional Government has submitted inaccurate data in all past years regarding the number of employees and the population percentage related to the budget law. The percentage submitted by the region does not reflect the actual population density compared to the names submitted by the Kurdistan government.”
He added, “There is an urgent need for the Federal Board of Supreme Audit to audit all names in every ministry in the Kurdistan Region, as well as in other governorates, in order to link them all to a unified federal budget. This is necessary to finalize the operational budget and eliminate any potential ambiguity.”
He explained that “the investment budget must also be discussed with the region, as Kurdistan receives its allocated funds according to the percentage stipulated by law after all oil revenues have been transferred to Baghdad.”
For his part, independent Kurdish politician Haval Didar told Al-Maalomah, “The Federal Board of Supreme Audit’s failure to uncover corruption files in the Barzani government is due to bribes offered by Erbil to members of those committees, including money and luxury apartments, to turn a blind eye. Moreover, all audit records in the region’s departments are overseen and controlled by influential figures from Masoud Barzani’s party, making it difficult to uncover major corruption cases. Furthermore, the federal government lacks the authority to transfer or hold even a low-level employee in the region accountable without Erbil’s approval.”
He added, “The actual number of civilian employees continuing to work is only 382,000, while there are approximately 200,000 ‘ghost’ employees and military personnel plundering the budget in Kurdistan. Shockingly, some of them hold Syrian, Egyptian, and Filipino nationalities, in addition to Syrian Kurds, and their salaries are being disbursed continuously without justification.”
The spokesperson for the Kurdistan Regional Government, Peshwa Hawrami, had claimed during a press conference, which was monitored by Al-Maalomah, that “the Kurdistan Region’s true share of the federal budget should be 14%, not 12.67%,” considering the latter percentage to be inconsistent with the results of the population census conducted by the federal government. He called on the regional government to host the Iraqi Minister of Planning in the Council of Representatives to discuss the Kurdistan Region’s share of the federal budget.
almaalomah.me
