ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said on Sunday that Baghdad has “no justification” for delaying civil servants' salaries, insisting the Region has met all of its obligations.
"There is no justification for delaying the disbursement of salaries because the Kurdistan Region has fulfilled all its obligations،" Barzani said, responding to a question by Rudaw's Ranja Jamal after he laid a symbolic cornerstone for a water purification plant in Erbil.
Kurdistan Region's public employees have received salaries only eight months so far this year, unlike their Iraqi counterparts, who have been paid on time throughout the year.
According to Rudaw’s Halkawt Aziz in Baghdad, the federal government is expected to release the Region’s salaries next week if Erbil transfers 120 billion dinars (nearly $92 million) in non-oil revenues in the coming days, as part of an agreement between Baghdad and Erbil to release monthly salaries.
Referring to the long-awaited September salaries, Prime Minister Barzani said, “there is no justification for delaying this salary [September salary] - not only this salary, but all salaries this year.”
For years, the Iraqi government has failed to release the Kurdistan Region’s share of the federal budget on time, often accusing Erbil of not meeting its financial obligations - a claim the KRG has consistently denied.
The KRG independently exported its oil for over a decade. However, those exports were halted in March 2023 following a ruling by a Paris-based arbitration court. Exports resumed in late September after a landmark deal between Erbil, Baghdad, and international oil companies operating in the Region.
While the agreement initially raised hopes of easing financial tensions between the two sides, disputes have persisted.
