PM:01:01:04/10/2021
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SULAIMANI — A source from Kurdistan Regional Government’s
(KRG) Ministry of Finance told NRT that Iraq’s federal government has
transferred a stipend of 200 billion Iraqi dinars ($137 million) to the KRG.
The source spoke on condition of anonymity because the
announcement has not yet been made public by the KRG.
On Sunday, KRG Spokesperson Jotiyar Adil said that the
stipend had not yet been sent because of technical issues.
The stipend is not a part of the 2021 Federal Budget Law,
which has not been fully implemented because of persistent disagreements
between Erbil and Baghdad over oil and customs income. Rather, it is based on
side deal between the KRG and Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi that went into
effect in July.
The KRG has said that it is only able to pay full public
sector salaries because of the stipend. It had been either missing monthly salary payments entirely or cutting them by nearly a quarter between March 2020 and July 2021.
Public servants at some ministries have not yet been paid
the September salary disbursement, which was supposed to be given out to
employees starting on September 25.
Ensuring that public servants are paid is critical to the
electoral campaigns of the ruling parties in the Kurdistan Region.
Voters go to the polls on October 10 to elect members of the
Council of Representatives.
(NRT Digital Media)