A KRG delegation headed by Finance Minister Awat Sheikh Janab arrived in Baghdad on Sunday to discuss the issues with the delayed payment of the salaries of the employees and retirees in the Region.
The Iraqi finance ministry announced in a statement following the meeting that based on directives from Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani, it has “taken necessary measures to release November salaries for the Kurdistan Region employees,” and will coordinate further adjustments with the ministerial team.
The statement also noted that a “technical delegation from the federal ministry of finance’s accounting department will visit the KRG ministry of finance to assist in adjusting the monthly review balances related to salary and pension disbursements.”
Civil servants in the Kurdistan Region and employees in disputed areas such as Kirkuk, whose payroll is managed by the KRG, have not received their salaries for nearly two months.
Due to the delays, schools across the Sulaimani and Halabja provinces have boycotted classes since December 1.
During a parliamentary session earlier this month Sudani told the lawmakers that the federal budget allocation for the Kurdistan Region’s civil servant salaries has been depleted, adding that increasing the funds would require a reallocation from another budget section.
The ministry said that “necessary reallocations will be made to address financial discrepancies related to retiree entitlements amounting to 430 billion dinars [around $326 million].”
“Remaining financial concerns will be resolved in coordination with the ministerial technical team within ten days, starting from December 15” the statement added.
Following the meeting, the KRG released a statement saying the “discussions were positive and a common understanding was reached to provide the entitlements of the employees of the Region.”
The statement added that the finance ministry will start disbursing the October salaries on Tuesday, and later the following months, when the newly relocated funds arrive.
Baghdad has allocated 761 billion dinars ($580 million) for the October salaries of the KRG's civil servants. However, the Kurdish government did not accept the payment, holding out hope that its efforts to secure the full amount would succeed. The KRG has said that it needs over 900 billion dinars (about $687 million) monthly to cover its payroll.
During the parliamentary session earlier this month, Sudani suggested that the resumption of the Kurdistan Region’s oil exports, which have been stalled since March last year, could help resolve ongoing issues. He also remarked that the KRG needs to comply with its obligations, particularly regarding the handover of non-oil revenues to the federal government, adding that Erbil has failed to comply so far.
