2026-06-09T09:32:12+00:00
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Shafaq News- Erbil
Kurdistan
Region’s Ministry of Finance and Economy on Tuesday criticized remarks by Adnan
Fayhan al-Dulaimi, First Deputy Speaker of the Iraqi Council of
Representatives, who had called on the federal government to halt financial
transfers to the Region pending a full financial settlement.
In an official
statement, the Ministry said the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has
consistently demonstrated readiness to address any financial observations or
conduct any relevant settlement, and affirmed that the Region has fulfilled all
obligations stipulated under Financial Administration Law No. 6 of 2019 and
Federal General Budget Law No. 13 for the years 2023, 2024, and 2025.
The Ministry
took direct aim at al-Dulaimi’s framing, describing the call to suspend salaries
for one category of citizens while exempting others as “surprising and
astonishing,” particularly coming from an official of his institutional
rank. The statement said such a position stood in contrast to the
responsibilities of the First Deputy Speaker, who, it argued, should be among
the most committed to protecting the rights of all citizens and ensuring
equality among them.
Al-Dulaimi, on
Monday, urged the federal government to cease transferring any funds to the KRG
until a full settlement is conducted in accordance with the Budget Law and the
joint audit report prepared by the federal and regional financial oversight
bodies. He cautioned that any action inconsistent with those conditions would
expose the government to legal accountability.
Salaries Dilemma
The salary
dispute between Baghdad and Erbil dates back to 2014, when Baghdad halted the
transfer of the KRG’s share of the federal budget, prompting the Region to
begin exporting oil independently to cover public salaries and services.
Tensions sharpened in March 2023, when Kurdistan’s oil exports through
Turkiye’s Ceyhan port were suspended following an international arbitration
ruling in favor of Baghdad, after which the federal government tied salary
payments to the transfer of oil revenues, classifying funds sent to the Region
as temporary advances rather than regular budget allocations.
Under Iraq’s
2023–2025 federal budget law, Kurdistan was allocated a total of 58.3 trillion
Iraqi dinars (approximately $44.8 billion) over the three-year period, but
received only 24.3 trillion dinars, or roughly $18.7 billion, equivalent to 41%
of its dues, according to KRG figures. The last salary payment transferred
under that budget cycle covered October 2025 and was deposited on December 28,
2025, amounting to 942.8 billion dinars ($725 million.)
The shortfalls
have continued into 2026. In February, the KRG’s Ministry of Finance reported
that more than 36 billion dinars ($27 million) had been deducted from January’s
salary funding without transfer to the Region, with some retirees receiving
only a single payment despite entitlement to several months of pension. Most
recently, on May 26, the KRG said Baghdad transferred approximately $674.6
million of the more than $735.4 million needed to cover May salaries and
pensions, a gap of more than $60 million, despite the Region depositing roughly
$38 million in non-oil revenues to the federal treasury before the month’s end.
The KRG said it would borrow funds to cover the shortfall and ensure salaries
were distributed before Eid al-Adha.
Iraq’s new Prime
Minister Ali al-Zaidi personally informed KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani
during talks in Baghdad on May 24 that he had instructed the federal Finance
Ministry to release Kurdistan Region payroll funding regularly and without
discrimination, framing equal salary treatment as a stated priority of the
incoming government.
