MilitiaMan and KTFA Members 6-1-2020 "The Pressure is on"

KTFA:

Samson:  Source: Political movement to choose a foreign minister before the strategic dialogue with Washington

31st May 2020

 A representative source involved in the political bloc dialogues revealed that Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi wants to complete the vacant ministries as soon as possible, indicating that the delay is due to deep differences between the political blocs

The source indicated to Arab media that the foreign and oil ministries receive the most attention in the dialogues, due to the existence of two urgent requirements, namely, the dialogue with Washington, which should be led by a foreign minister, as well as the need for the oil minister to manage the oil export file that requires contacts with an organization. OPEC

He pointed out that there is a desire on the part of most of the interlocutors that the Foreign Ministry file should be resolved in an appropriate period before the start of the dialogues with America, so that the new minister has enough time to see the files that will be raised in the dialogues

The same source pointed out that there is a preliminary approval to grant the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the "Kurdistan Democratic Party" led by Masoud Barzani, without saying: "However, a dispute is taking place regarding the candidate, as Barzani's party insists on offering the Minister of Finance in the previous government, Fouad Hussein, to the ministerial portfolio, which is An order opposed by other powers, as a matter of refusing to nominate any former minister to obtain a ministry in the Al-Kazemi booth

 It is noteworthy that a government decision was issued on the twelfth of this month that Al-Kazemi takes over the acting Foreign Ministry, until a new minister is chosen    LINK

MilitiaMan:  There you go.. The pressure is on and and big time. The 10th is not far off. imo They need time for the minister to see the files that they will discuss at the SFA meeting.. More good stuff for us.. imo.. ~ MM

Don961:  Parliamentarians and professionals propose solutions to overcome the financial crisis

Saturday 30 May 2020

Baghdad / Hoda Al-Azzawi

Although there is no government proposal to reduce the salaries and allocations of employees and retirees, a number of deputies and specialists have confirmed that this step, if implemented, will pose a threat to the stable situation of the government at the present time, especially as it has immediate options during which the salaries of employees for the months of June and July can be secured, Among these options are internal borrowing, as well as controlling revenue from border crossings, and calling on telecom companies, as well as the Kurdistan region, for their debts.

The decision of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, Dr. Ahmed Al-Saffar asserted in an exclusive interview with Al-Sabah: that “prejudice to the employees’ salaries in light of the circumstances that Iraq is going through today in the face of Corona and the economic recession is very dangerous to government stability, especially since this crisis will not exceed more than two months, Oil prices are on the rise and the global economy is beginning to regain its vitality again.

"He added," Borrowing from the central bank's reserves for two months of quick solutions that can be compensated and returned easily and at low interest being short-term ", pointing out that" internal borrowing is better than external borrowing, which depends On very large terms and benefits, the government may be exhausted at a later date. "

Al-Saffar notes that "the government should exclude unnecessary expenditures related to large allocations and other matters related to petty cash and protections, which also constitute a waste of public money," noting that "the state has from 20 to 30 items of revenue that do not enter the budget due to corruption starting with border crossings and customs And the state’s real estate, so the financial system must be re-established, move away from monetary policies, deal with cache, and rely on the electronic automation of payment, in addition to resorting to the biometer until the state gets rid of the burden of multiple salaries, and we need to review salaries and put a new ladder for them. In order that the state would not be exposed to more crises,

Al-Saffar stressed "the restructuring of the financial system for public revenues, as well as the disposal of the rentier system that relies on unstable oil revenues and dependence on diversification of resources such as agriculture, industry and tourism, and that Iraq is an importer."

Real-time proposals

In the absence of acceptance by the legislature of prejudice to the salaries of employees; Member of the Parliamentary Investment and Economic Committee, Dr. Nada Shaker Jawdat, proposes to monitor and prevent the currency auction in the Central Bank, which the MP counted during her talk to Al-Sabah as a "smuggling of hard currency outside Iraq, as well as reducing the salaries of the three presidencies to overcome the crisis."

Jawdat calls the Prime Minister, "to immediately freeze the Rafha law, to issue a law to that effect, and to transfer money to the employees sector to confront the crisis instead of deducting their salaries that are a right of their rights, to adopt the electronic system of border ports and ports, whose resources are estimated at the amount of oil revenues that can feed salaries instead of Borrowing, because Iraq does not need a heavy financial and political burden for it to borrow. "

Real risks

And economist Dr. Faleh Al-Zubaidi said in an exclusive interview with Al-Sabah: “There are many border outlets that are not affiliated with the state and that most of its resources go into the pockets of the corrupt.” He stresses that, according to specialists, Iraq imports $ 40 billion annually that the state can impose on it. Taxes and customs duties and provide revenues, even if they are at 10 percent.

Al-Zubaidi states, "The state at this time must be firm in recovering debts from communication companies (Asia, Zain and Korek), especially since there is favoritism and a delay in paying the debts, just as the state must ask the Kurdistan region for debts that have not been recovered from it, especially since the region's sales For oil exceeds 700 thousand, and the share of Iraq is 250 thousand. "

Al-Zubaidi asserts that "Iraq is already going through a financial hardship as a result of the decline in oil revenues, so the state can seek the assistance of the foreign reserves of the Iraqi Central Bank, but it has a great risk, especially as the central bank uses these reserves to control the exchange rate of the dollar against the Iraqi dinar, and lack of control will increase From inflation rates and high prices,
as there is another way through issuing a new cash, i.e. currency printing,

which the government can resort to, except that it has risks and also leads to inflation and affects significantly the owners of fixed and limited income, so it also constitutes a risk,except that the effects of borrowing The interior is less dangerous than foreign borrowing,

such as borrowing from the World Bank fund or from countries that will curtail the Iraqi economy because of the conditions that follow the political position on which the donor country depends. He added, "The borrowing money from foreign countries must go to investment, not for consumption, so that we can pay those sums from investment projects, but that these funds go to consumer sectors, Iraq will remain reimbursed from the oil revenue sold instead of using it to benefit the country."

  Law and withholding

From a legal point of view, the legal expert, Tariq Harb, confirmed in a special statement to Al-Sabah that “the salaries law has been in effect since 2008 and it cannot be deducted except by issuing a law. In disposing. Noting that "deduction of salaries does not constitute one-fifth of the allocations that the general directors of the Council of Ministers and others take, so we demand the deduction or reduction of those allocations for justice."   LINK

 MilitiaMan:  In the end they show they may print a new currency.. Well, interestingly enough the CBI shows they have spent about 200+ million for already newly printed money.. Internal borrowing comes when they raise the rate to be allowed into the secondary markets. The 2019 budget they keep talking about has the 2019 FML amendment in it that has yet to be exposed in the 2020 yet.. The fact they are freshly talking about it is very very bullish, that they are about to expose the rate.. Like we just talked about. SA wants to interlink banks with Iraq.. They have been waiting in the 2019 FMLA just as we are and the world imo for that matter.. imo ~ MM

Don961:  The government's approach to borrowing from the cash reserve is rejected

05/30/2020 08:52:51 PM  Baghdad / extent

Mustafa Al-Kazemi’s government is moving towards borrowing from the central bank’s reserves to secure the employees ’salaries until the end of the current year, while deputies and economists oppose this approach. The Prime Minister and his team were forced to use the cash reserves due to financial constraints and lack of liquidity due to the deterioration of oil prices in global markets on the one hand and the outbreak of the Corona epidemic on the other hand.

And Mohammed Sahib Daraji, the independent deputy for (Al-Mada), talks that "the government cannot withdraw from the currency reserves to fill the budget deficit except with the approval of the Iraqi Central Bank, which is an independent entity" noting that "the Prime Minister has no
solution but to resort to the central bank reserves to bypass The economic crisis. " The government is studying several options to provide and secure the salaries of employees, retirees, and social welfare for the months of June and July, including the reduction of salaries of the highest levels and internal and external borrowing, and the House of Representatives is awaiting the arrival of these decisions in order to discuss and review them. Darraji believes that "the borrowing that the government will offer during the coming period is an unsuccessful solution

," suggesting "to gradually change the dinar exchange rate and stop the currency auction with a series of measures to prevent inflation." 

He continued: "

The deputy from Baghdad governorate asserts that "the federal budget will be limited to monthly accounts to pay the salaries that will be insured until the end of the current year." 

In his speech at the summit meeting on financing sustainable development to confront the Corona pandemic, President of the Republic Barham Saleh emphasized that our budget imports have decreased by more than 70% compared to the levels before the current crisis, which compels us to take emergency measures to cover basic expenses.

"We may need, as an inevitable consequence, to rationing our spending, but even so we may face the possibility of a large budget deficit this year, which will necessitate financing by drawing on reserves and increasing debt. In general, our economy is expected to shrink by about 10% during 2020, with Prospect for recovery in 2021. " "We cannot hope for success without the cooperation of the international community, including international financial institutions and partners," he said, noting that "the financial and liquidity crises we face make it difficult to achieve our core financing and our debt obligations."

He continued, "We hope that the international community will support these efforts, including helping us with economic restructuring and supporting us in achieving our investment budget, which are important efforts to build infrastructure, maintain basic services and create jobs," noting that "according to World Bank estimates, the number of Iraqis living below the poverty line range from less than 20% at the end of 2019 to about 40%.

For his part, economist Majid Al-Suri explains that "from a legal standpoint, it is not permissible to use the central bank reserves to cover budget expenditures directly," without realizing

"but it is possible to intervene by the central bank indirectly through the secondary market of government bonds, unless the government issues borrowing bonds . The central bank cannot use the reserve. "

The photo shows in a statement to Al-Mada that "the central bank reserves are not used in any way to cover the operating expenses of the budget," noting that "the central bank can finance foreign trade (by providing the dollar to traders) in order to meet the needs of the people." In the month of March, the Parliamentary Finance Committee decision, Ahmed Al-Saffar, revealed in a press statement that "the central bank reserves reached $ 87 billion, and it does not include cash and foreign currency only, but it includes gold bars." On the interest that is taken from the loans granted by the bank to the government, banks and state institutions. "

The economist adds that "one of the solutions that the government is supposed to follow is to reduce large salaries (what exceeded a million) as allocations and concessions to a large degree." ".

He explains that "the size of salaries (nominal and allocations) is estimated at 42 trillion Iraqi dinars, and therefore a 50% reduction in allocations will provide us with approximately 14 trillion dinars annually, or more than a trillion dinars per month." Government. "

In a related context, the Prime Minister directed, in a brief statement, to make the necessary reforms in accordance with the principle of achieving social justice, by addressing double salaries, the pensions of detainees in Rafha, and a group of residents outside Iraq who are paid other salaries.  LINK

MilitiaMan:  To be able to get the money from borders, taxes, tariffs the new elecronic system needs to be in place and transparent.  It believe that is in place and ready to go. An addition to that for offsetting the risk from oil shocks is they need to have an internationally excepted currency. They need that to get into secondary markets to sell bonds, not to mention their stock exchange will need it as well.. So by the above they know full well what hey need to do and are even telling us they are going to do exactly that. imho.. ~ Very very very good times indeed.. imo ! They stop the auctions the way we think they will? Game over.. imo.. lol Looks like it about over regardless.. lol

Don961:  The government is preparing to issue a new reform package mid this week

05/31/2020 09:57:39 PM
Baghdad / extent

The Parliamentary Economy and Investment Committee expected the cabinet to issue a new reform package next Tuesday, stressing that the government will freeze Rafha's salaries after the Reform Committee decided to address double salaries and pensions for those covered. 

Nada Shaker Jawdat, a member of the Parliamentary Committee on Economy and Investment, said in a statement to Al-Mada that "everyone should wait for the decisions of the government financial reform committee to address double salaries and reduce the salaries of high grades and the detainees of Rafha before judging them."

Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi directed yesterday, during his presidency of the periodic meeting of the Financial Reform Committee, to address the double salaries and pensions of the detainees of Rafha, and demanded that a number of measures be taken to address them, most notably the reduction of salaries of the highest levels in state institutions.

Jawdat continues that her committee "made several proposals to overcome the current financial crisis by controlling border ports and ports that generate huge funds, and obliging mobile phone companies to pay the financial dues that they paid", pointing out that "canceling these salaries requires the legislation of some laws in Parliament."

And confirms that "the government can freeze the implementation of these laws until they are amended and legislated in proportion to what the government wants," expecting that "the cabinet session will have new decisions to fix the deteriorating financial situation."

In turn, Rahim Darraji, the former lawmaker, said in a statement to (to the extent) that "the financial reform committee formed by Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazimi needs exceptional decisions to deal with the operations of wasting public money and eliminating outrageous salary cases of so-called Rafha salaries." Darraji calls for "reviewing the Rafha law, which the House of Representatives voted in 2013," stressing that "all officials and politicians have included the names of their relatives in the lists included in Rafha's salaries, and they are not present in the Rafha camp."

The Rafha privileges are the salaries allocated to opponents who took refuge in Saudi Arabia, and put them in a camp in the city of Rafha close to its borders with Iraq, after the "popular uprising" against Saddam Hussein's regime in 1991, whereby the law that Parliament legislated in 2013 grants residency to the camp, even for a period of one week, They and their families have fixed monthly salaries that include even those who were breastfed at the time, at a rate of one million and 200,000 dinars per month, in addition to free treatment, travel and study.

The Secretary-General of the Enough Movement adds that "the prime minister must stop these salaries while mandating the State Shura Council to review these salaries and allocate the salary to those who participated in the popular uprising and went to the Rafha camp."

The Minister of Finance, Ali Abdul Amir Allawi, had revealed on Friday (May 22, 2020) the categories covered by the reduction of salaries, while specifying the deduction mechanism and ways to reduce it or withdraw it saving.

Allawi said in a televised meeting that "the government will determine the priorities of the crushed and poor class, and that any reduction in salaries will not include employees, or retirees at lower levels who receive a salary of 500 thousand dinars or less," noting that "the rest of the other groups that consume half the budget with high salaries It will be covered and reduced. "

As for those with dual salaries, Darraji says, "The governmental financial reform committee must open the file of alien and imaginary salaries that generate monthly funds for political parties," noting that "the number of these delusional is estimated at 600,000 fake and space names in all ministries."

The member of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, Jamal Kujer, has confirmed in press statements that the Parliamentary Finance Committee does not have an accurate database of space employees in government institutions. Stressing the "need to open this file and review it to eliminate aliens."

On May 12, 2020, Judge Raheem Al-Okaili revealed the total pension payments that political prisoners and residents of Rafha camps receive.

Al-Okaili said in a post on his Facebook page, "The total number of political prisoners and detainees who are receiving pension salaries is: - (99612) ninety nine thousand six hundred and twelve."

He added, "There are (18577) political prisoners, (51854) political prisoners, and (29181) detainees of Rafhawi." Al-Aqili continued, "These categories collect a total of (one hundred and one billion, one hundred and seventy-six million dinars) per month, without counting double salaries for those who have double salaries."

Several efforts to cancel the law previously failed, as the beneficiaries of the Rafha Law accused the authorities and personalities that demanded its abolition by working with "Baathist agendas", which caused the suspension of any demands in this regard, for fear of these charges.  link

MilitiaMan:  Wednesday there is to be meetings on the Laws needed for many things that include Laws for Monetary Reforms. I suspect that since they have been talking about the 2019 FMLA and the secondary markets it will be a day to watch close. When I see secondary markets is see the reforms need the international rate to be applied to the currency to facilitate the ability for the IQD and the ISX to interlink internationally.. BTW the CEO of the ISX is talking in a video today..  Lets see over time what he had to say..