ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - All of the Kurdistan Region Government’s (KRG) civil servants in Erbil are registered with the My Account program and most will be receiving their salaries digitally this month, government officials said on Saturday.
“Nearly all of KRG’s Erbil-based civil servants - or approx 176,000 people - will be paid digitally into their new bank accounts this month,” Aziz Ahmed, deputy chief of staff to the prime minister, wrote in a post on X, “calling it a significant milestone.”
My Account was launched last year by Prime Minister Masrour Barzani as part of a government initiative to digitize services and improve the salary disbursement process, allowing public employees to receive payments directly through the banking system.
“All 175,958 employees in Erbil province are registered with the My Account project and will receive their November salaries through our project,” a source in the project’s team told Rudaw on Saturday.
Across the Kurdistan Region, 219,000 civil servants will receive their November salaries through My Account this month, an increase of 28,000 compared to December.
"In Sulaimani, 8,321 employees, 34,589 in Duhok and 554 in Kirkuk will receive their November salaries through My Account," the source said.
So far, 720,000 people have registered with the My Account project, 350,000 cards have been distributed and more than 550 ATMs have been installed in 200 different locations. There are plans to increase the number of ATMs.
The KRG has failed to pay the salaries of its civil servants on time and in full for a decade due to a financial crisis that further deteriorated in March 2023 when a Paris-based arbitration court ruling suspended its oil exports to international markets. Erbil is reliant on its local income and federal budget funds.
The KRG has repeatedly accused Baghdad of not making regular payments of its share of federal funds.
