Erbil accept the offer of Baghdad: Oil for salaries

Erbil accept the offer of Baghdad: Oil for salaries

17/02/2016

Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government announced accept the offer of Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi receipt of his government and the province’s oil imports, to Baghdad to pay the salaries of its staff of one and a half million civilian and military employees, amounting to about 800 million dollars a month.

BAGHDAD: Kurdistan Regional Government announced its acceptance of a proposal put forward by Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi Monday receipt of imports of oil province, that the powers to pay employees’ salaries province, totaling two million and a half million employees, amounting to 890 billion dinars (800 million dollars a month), of which 336 billion dinars allocated for the salaries of the Peshmerga forces, in exchange for delivery of all oil revenues to Baghdad. And four months ago, the provincial government has not been able to pay these salaries because of the great collapse of oil prices and the costs of the war against al Daash.

Delivery of the region’s oil revenues to Baghdad to pay staff salaries
The provincial government said in a statement last night, and had seen the text “Elaf”, it can not “interpret ask Mr. Abadi to this proposal in a television interview that he was able to put these solutions, judging from his position as a statesman in the meetings and events, which took place between the two sides , especially during the official visit of the Kurdistan region delegation (headed by Nechirvan Barzani, the prime minister) to Baghdad in the last period. ”

And confirmed by saying, “We in the Kurdistan Regional Government accept this proposal, submitted by Mr. Haider al-Abadi, a judge securing the salaries of all employees in the province by the Iraqi government. In contrast, the Kurdistan Regional Government will hand over all oil imports to the Iraqi government.”

And suffer the provincial government since 2014, while Baghdad has reduced its share of the general budget of the country after the province set up an oil pipeline up to Turkey to try to achieve economic independence. Government of the Territory and was forced to cut public sector salaries by up to 75% this month under an economic crisis caused by tumbling oil prices.

The value of imports of oil province
For his part, Vice President of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Qubad Talabani pointed out that if the government in Baghdad can be secured in the region and staff salaries of the Peshmerga forces, the province is prepared to deal with Baghdad.

She said the Ministry of Natural Resources in the Kurdistan Regional Government that the revenue achieved by the ministry of the export and sale of oil operations in the second half of last year was larger than they solve it from Baghdad from the first half of the same year. She said that the second half of last year’s revenues in 2015 from the sale of oil directly was bigger than the one that was obtained by the province in the first half of the same year by the Iraqi government after being given the full revenue.

It added that during the period from the first of January (January) and until 23 June of last year, the provincial government got an amount of 1.99 billion dollars in exchange for it to hand over oil export revenues to Baghdad .. pointing out that the period from June 24 until December 31 the first of last year I got the provincial government on the amount of $ 3.95 billion as revenue from the sale of its oil directly to the Turkish port of Ceyhan, without reference to Baghdad.

She explained that the revenue was at a time when the price of oil in the first half of last year of $ 60 per barrel, while the price in the second half of the year dropped to $ 47 a barrel.

The Baghdad and Erbil have reached an agreement at the end of 2014 stipulates that delivers the Territory and the federal government in Baghdad, 550 thousand barrels of oil than those produced from the fields, as well as Kirkuk, to take over the federal government exchange the region’s share of the general budget, amounting to 17 percent, but the agreement did not implemented as a result of lack of commitment of both sides, according to released from the sides of the accusations, although in the current 2016 budget law to ensure the renewal of that commitment.

elaph.com