Iraq's top court rejects lawmaker's challenge to budget approval
Iraq's Federal Court on Tuesday dismissed a legal challenge filed by lawmaker Raed al-Maliki against Parliamentary Resolution 64 of 2024, which approved the budget.
In a statement to Shafaq News Agency, al-Maliki explained that the court justified its rejection by citing a lack of jurisdiction to hear the appeal in its current form against the parliamentary decision.
The video for this blogpost is below here:
“The court seems to be suggesting that the challenge should be filed directly against the budget tables,” al-Maliki said. “However, even in that case, the appeal would likely be rejected based on the internal regulations that prohibit non-governmental entities, including members of parliament and citizens (Article 22 of the internal regulations), from filing such appeals.”
Al-Maliki added that the court also dismissed an appeal filed by a member of the Finance Committee, Mustafa al-Karawi, who challenged the budget tables. The court reasoned that al-Karawi did not have a sufficient interest to file the appeal.
“I expected the appeals to be rejected because the court would prioritize what it considers the higher interest of the state, which is to proceed with the implementation of the budget tables, and would not reverse the process regardless of the existence of valid legal grounds for the appeal,” he stated.
Parliament falsifies the budget again.. Al-Mandlawi may lose his position!
MP Basem Khashan confirmed the possibility of terminating the membership of the acting Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mohsen Al-Mandalawi, if the charges of tampering with the budget tables that were recently revealed by the Prime Minister’s Office are proven, noting that the parliament committed legal violations in amending the budget tables and they were on their way to being published and implemented had it not been for the government’s scrutiny, indicating that many MPs were subjected to deception in this file.
The Council of Ministers had spoken of an increase of 15 trillion dinars in the last tables, and it was not included in the agreement, discussions and voting, requesting a re-audit.
Khashan said, in an interview with the media figure Ahmed Mulla Talal:
The budget tables sent by the Council of Ministers were changed and their allocations were manipulated in the House of Representatives in an illegal manner.
The forged schedules would have been published and implemented had it not been for the Cabinet's scrutiny.
Most of the budget schedules have been changed, and the process has been carried out by ignoring a large number of parliamentarians.
The legal violations committed by the House of Representatives in amending the budget tables are countless and are considered a major crime.
The funding for the ration card basket has been increased to 5 trillion dinars for contracts that include major problems.
Manipulation and alteration operations can be legally classified under the crimes of alteration with the intent to defraud, regardless of the size of the amounts and figures that were manipulated.
The acting Speaker of the House of Representatives is responsible for tampering with the budget tables sent to the Cabinet.
The Federal Court can terminate Mohsen Al-Mandalawi’s membership, if the charges of manipulation are proven.
In numbers.. The Central Bank buys dollars from the Ministry of Finance in an unprecedented move since 2003
An economic expert revealed an “unprecedented” figure for the value of the dollars purchased by the Central Bank of Iraq from the Ministry of Finance during the month of July.
The Central Bank of Iraq purchased $9.6 billion from the Ministry of Finance in July 2024, the highest value since the bank began purchasing dollars from the ministry in 2003," Manar Al-Obaidi said in a statement received by {Euphrates News}.
He added, "The purchases did not exceed this value during the past ten years except once in October of last year, at $10 billion."
Al-Obaidi explained, "Thus, the rate of dollar purchases from the Central Bank for the year 2024 has reached $5.9 billion per month, the highest over the past ten years, with an annual growth rate of 10%. The growth rate had previously risen in 2023 to 20%."
He attributed "this increase in purchases to the Ministry of Finance's need for local currency to cover its increasing expenses over the past years, especially with the increase in operating spending and raising the level of spending in the 2023, 2024 and 2025 budgets."
Al-Obaidi expected that "this rate will rise in the coming months with the Central Bank's inability to meet the need for Iraqi dinars, which may force it to increase the issued monetary mass to meet the ministry's expenditure needs."
Iraq: Qusay Shafiq reveals major financial scandals and demands investigation
Public money scandals continue in Iraq
Dr. Qusay Shafiq, a well-known activist on social media, sparked widespread controversy after revealing huge financial scandals related to the management of public funds in Iraq. He accused the government and parliament of manipulating the financial budget tables, wondering about the fate of tens of billions of dollars that were not spent transparently.
Shafiq referred in a tweet on the “X” website to what he described as the “theft of the century,” which the Integrity Commission estimated at $2.5 billion, equivalent to 4 trillion Iraqi dinars. However, he expressed his surprise at the large gap between this figure and the ongoing corruption in manipulating the budgets of recent years, as he revealed that the manipulation of the 2024 budget tables reached about $10 billion.
In a related context, Shafik touched on the Food Security Law, noting that about $20 billion has been allocated to it, but he wondered about the entities that monitored the disbursement of this money, stressing that the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank have not received any of this money so far. He added, “$10 billion was spent on infrastructure projects, but where did the remaining $10 billion go?”
Shafik discussed the budgets of previous years, including the budgets of 2014, 2020, 2022, and 2023, noting that no funds were disbursed to the governorates from the 2023 budget. This raised questions about how the authorities deal with public funds, especially in light of the Central Bank’s report, which indicated that the cash reserve had not increased despite the significant rise in oil prices due to regional conflicts.
Qusay Shafiq concluded his statements by calling for a comprehensive investigation into previous financial deals, stressing that the people’s money is a trust that must be preserved. These statements come at a time when Iraq is witnessing increasing pressure from citizens and international observers, who are demanding greater transparency and accountability in the management of public funds.
Shafiq's statements are a strong call for regulatory bodies and government authorities to take urgent action to curb corruption and clarify the fate of the allocated funds, as the Iraqi people await answers on how their financial wealth is managed.
Al-Sudani stresses the adoption of economic and reform foundations by restructuring companies
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Suwani stressed today, Monday, the importance of adopting sound economic and reform foundations in restructuring public companies.
A statement from his office, received by Al-Iqtisad News, stated that “Al-Sudani chaired the second meeting of the Supreme Committee for the Restructuring of Public Companies, where the efforts made in the field of restructuring some public companies were followed up, within the framework of the general administrative and economic reform that the government is pursuing in its program.”
During the meeting, he pointed out the “seriousness of the government steps taken to target reforming the work of public companies and employing the public sector to contribute strongly to economic development, according to a mechanism that preserves public money and is based on sound economic foundations that support and activate the rest of the sectors.”
The meeting approved the principles adopted by the subcommittee, and the process of classifying companies according to performance and specialization, in order to develop an accurate picture that takes into account the public interest. The Prime Minister also directed that the meetings of the Supreme Committee for Restructuring Public Companies continue, and at a more accelerated pace, in order to keep pace with aspects of economic reform in other sectors whose work is related to the tasks of these companies, according to the statement.
"Iraq's bank reserves are excellent".. Parliament: We have sufficient resources to cover any financial crisis regarding salaries - Urgent
The Finance Committee of the House of Representatives confirmed, on Tuesday, that there are sufficient resources to cover any potential shortage in salaries.
Committee member Jamal Kojer said, according to the official newspaper, that "financial matters are under control and the government is fully committed to securing employees' salaries on time without any delay."
He pointed out that "the statements of the Minister of Finance and the Governor of the Central Bank confirm that salaries are fully secured this year, and that there is no fear in this regard."
Diversifying revenues.. the most prominent reform challenges
The Prime Minister's Advisor for Financial and Economic Affairs, Dr. Mazhar Mohammed Saleh, told Al-Sabah that "diversifying and maximizing non-oil revenue sources in the general budgets is one of the biggest reform challenges in the financial and economic fields in the country.
These challenges come from the link between diversifying budget resources and the success of diversifying the country's gross domestic product, especially the three sectors of agriculture, industry and services, as the oil production sector still dominates a percentage of the components of that gross domestic product that reaches 60 percent, which gives the national economy a rentier nature and direct coexistence with the financial flows provided by the oil resource and nothing else, mostly."
Al-Karawi reveals the date of the interrogation of the Central Bank Governor
Member of the Parliamentary Finance Committee Mustafa Al-Karaawi revealed on Monday that a request had been submitted to the Presidency of the Council of Representatives to set a date for questioning the Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq regarding several files, most notably the exchange rate of the dollar against the local currency.
Al-Karaawi said in a press interview that "members of the Parliamentary Finance Committee had previously submitted a request to the Speaker of the Council of Representatives to question the Governor of the Central Bank, Ali Al-Alaq."
He added, "The questioning relates to several files, most notably the exchange rate of the dollar and its sale to travelers, the window for buying and selling currency, financial transfers abroad, cash financing, US sanctions, and negotiations with the US Federal Reserve."
He stressed, "We were previously seeking to host the Governor of the Central Bank, but after that, a request was submitted by some members of the Council of Representatives to question the governor in the Council according to legal procedures and activate the supervisory role to question government officials." Al-
Karaawi indicated that "after the Arbaeen visit, action will be taken to the Presidency of the Council of Representatives to set a date for questioning the Governor of the Central Bank in Parliament."
An economist places “extortion, bribery and smuggling” as the first causes of the fluctuation of the dollar exchange rate
Today, Tuesday, economic affairs researcher Diaa Al-Mohsen listed the extortion, bribery and smuggling operations carried out by dollar dealers who cannot disclose the sources of their money as the first reasons for the fluctuation of the dollar exchange rate in local markets.
Al-Mohsen explained, “The old authority is still floundering in dealing with the issue of the dollar exchange rate, as all the measures it has taken since it took over the management of the Central Bank hardly touch the real problem that led to these rises , which in one way or another led to a major impact on the economic situation of the Iraqi family.” Noting that, “The Iraqi market depends entirely on securing its needs through imports, which eat up all the revenues obtained from Iraqi oil sales .”
In an interview with (Al-Mada), Al-Mohsen indicated, “There are many reasons for the fluctuation of exchange rates other than the above. Many dealers do not enter dollars for reasons related to the nature of the money they obtain (the national currency). There are those who obtain the Iraqi dinar through bribery, and others who obtain They are subjected to it through blackmail, some of whom trade in drugs and human organs, and many others who cannot disclose the sources of their money nor the ultimate beneficiary of the Sending process abroad, which exposes them to many legal problems and may expose them to penalties according to Iraqi law.” Pointing out, “These people are forced to go to the black market to request the dollar, and thus the exchange rate of the dollar against the Iraqi dinar rises to increase the demand for the dollar. We should also not forget that there are those who smuggle the dollar by tampering with documents for importing goods, and this manipulation occurs at the border crossings, and as a result In the end, the country is the biggest loser, followed by the simple citizen . ”
Regarding the dominance of the dollar, the researcher in economic affairs continued, “There does not seem to be a glimmer of hope on the horizon to get rid of the dominance of the US dollar as long as the bank’s management insists on keeping the Iraqi economy revolving around the US dollar. If there was a real administration working for the benefit of the national economy, it would do everything in its power to do so.” A way to diversify the sources of currencies you deal with, which is what the current administration does not want . “
He continued his speech, "I think that the government should seriously think about revitalizing the economic sectors, especially with the Central Bank of Iraq talking about reserves exceeding 115 billion dollars. It is possible to simplify the procedures for granting loans to project owners who have feasibility studies on the projects that they want to implement and that are in the interest of The Iraqi economy, and grant them soft loans in exchange for the project's guarantee, to reduce the gap between market requirements and imports, and fill this gap by increasing local production to cover the need of the local market and by relying on modern technology with regard to industries, and by relying on modern agricultural techniques with regard to agriculture.” Stressing, “Only here we will have put the Iraqi economy on the right path, and anything other than what we said will be nothing more than plowing into the sea .”
The exchange rate of the dollar in the parallel markets in Iraq has risen again, as the price of the dollar recorded an increase with the closure of the Al-Kifah and Al-Harithiya stock exchanges, reaching 149,300 dinars against 100 dollars, while last Saturday It recorded a decrease with the closure of the Al-Kifah and Al-Harithiya stock exchanges, reaching 149,550 Iraqi dinars against 100 dollars.
The deficit in the monetary mass deprives people of the budget. Employees' salaries, under the pretense of finances, are insured
The Iraqi economic reality is threatened by the lack of financial liquidity and the weakness of the Iraqi monetary mass despite the presence of an explosive budget that, according to experts, may reach 2011 trillion Iraqi dinars in the coming years, coinciding with the rise in oil Prices and the rise of the dollar in the local market, skirmishes between members of Parliament and the Finance Committee over... Whether there is a deficit in the monetary supply or not.
There are many accusations against the Central Bank of Iraq and the administrative confusion that it always encounters regarding the organization of banking work, to deny today in a statement that there is no deficit in the monetary mass, contrary to the rumors. Will the Central Bank announce figures about the size of the Iraqi monetary mass and the amount of gold insured to it, or will the accusations and skirmishes continue to sweep the sites? Social networking and other media.
*Money supply deficit
Speaking about this file, Mustafa Al-Karawi, a member of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, denied the Ministry of Finance's reassurances regarding employee salaries, while revealing a very significant shortage of cash liquidity.
Al-Karaawi said in a statement to the “Al-Ma’louma” agency, “Iraq is going through a major and serious challenge related to financial liquidity and employee salaries,” categorically refuting “the financial statements that talked about financial luxury and the Availability of cash liquidity.”
He added, "Employees are now receiving their salaries ten days later than the scheduled date each month, which means that the Ministry of Finance does not have sufficient cash to finance ministries and state institutions," warning that "a drop in the price of oil by four to five dollars will increase the percentage of the deficit recorded in the year’s budget.” present".
He shows that "the state is unable to provide the necessary financial liquidity in the future, especially since the number of employees increases annually."
- The deficit in the monetary mass deprives people of the budget. Employees' salaries, under the pretense of finances, are insured
*Menstrual vertigo whoaaaaa!
In addition, economic expert Mustafa Hantoush said that the Iraqi government needs 18 to 20 trillion dinars per month in order to spend the budget, stressing that there is no financial liquidity to compensate for the current spending.
Hantoush said in a statement to the “Al-Ma’louma” Agency, “Despite the huge volume of revenues in Iraq, the government lacks financial liquidity due to the lack of a monthly turnover between the banks,” noting that “the monthly turnover Enjoyed by Iraqi banks does not exceed 12 trillion, while the Iraqi state’s share does not exceed 9 trillion dinars of it.”
He continues, "The government printed 100 trillion, 12 trillion of which is the monthly circulation," pointing out that "the amount that must be available to cover the budget is 18 to 20 trillion dinars per month, which is higher than the available amount of 8 trillion dinars.”
*Central denial
For its part, the Central Bank of Iraq denied that there was a shortage of cash liquidity with the government.
The bank’s deputy governor, Ammar Khalaf, said in a statement followed by the Maalouma Agency, that “the bank has tens of trillions of dinars in cash,” indicating that “there is no truth to any talk related to a lack of liquidity.”
Khalaf adds, “Anything the Ministry of Finance and the Parliamentary Finance Committee say about the lack of liquidity is their own matter and interpretation.”
Reuters: BP's deal with Iraq will be based on profit-sharing model
An agreement with BP to develop oil and gas fields in Kirkuk will be based on a profit-sharing model, and a final deal is expected by the end of this year, two oil ministry officials told Reuters.
Iraq and BP signed a preliminary agreement this month to develop four oil and gas fields in the Kirkuk region of northern Iraq, an area where BP estimates about nine billion barrels of oil could be extracted.
The two officials said the ministry and BP, which is returning to the region after an absence of about five years, are expected to sign an agreement, the terms of which will not be disclosed, this week under which Iraq will hand over a data package for the four Kirkuk fields and their facilities.
The two officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press.
BP has not yet responded to a request for comment.
BP withdrew from the area in late 2019 after a service contract signed in 2013 expired without reaching an agreement to expand the field.
Deputy: The coming months will witness the announcement of the international coalition's exit from Iraq
The representative of the coordination framework, Abdul Amir Al-Mayahi, confirmed on Tuesday that the next few months will witness the official announcement of scheduling the withdrawal of the so-called international coalition from Iraqi territory, pointing out that there is seriousness on the part of the government to resolve this issue and make Iraq free of foreign military presence.
Al-Mayahi told Al-Maalouma Agency, “There are negotiating committees that have reached their final stages regarding scheduling the removal of all foreign forces, or the so-called international coalition, from the military bases within which they are located.”
He added, "The government is serious about scheduling the exit of the aforementioned forces, but the current conditions in the region prevented the announcement of this schedule after it was scheduled to be announced to ensure the exit of the forces from Iraq."
He stated, "The next few months will witness the announcement of scheduling the international coalition's exit from Iraq, through the negotiating committees formed between the two sides, thus ending the foreign military presence inside Iraq."
Al-Nujaba: The truce is over and the option of striking American bases in Iraq is now available
The Al-Nujaba Movement - one of the Iraqi factions involved in the so-called "Islamic Resistance in Iraq" - considered on Tuesday that the truce that was aimed at giving the government time to negotiate the withdrawal of US forces from the country has ended, and the options of targeting military bases have become available.
“The resistance factions in Iraq have ended this truce, and therefore all options are available to the resistance forces to target all American bases inside Iraq,” Haider al-Lami, a member of the political council of the al-Nujaba movement, told The National.
Al-Lami considered that there was "procrastination and delay" by America regarding the withdrawal of its forces during the talks with the Iraqi government.
"There will be a response in the coming days that may target more than one place, not necessarily in Iraq, Syria and Israel," added Al-Lami, who warned after the Babylon strike that such a move was under consideration.
He said that some forces will remain in the Kurdistan Region until September 2026 to supervise counter-terrorism operations in Syria. The situation there is different from Iraq, as ISIS is stronger in Syria and has strongholds.
No comments:
Post a Comment