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Samson:  Economist: The Decision To Reduce The Dollar Exchange Rate Is In The Hands Of The Central Bank Only

17th February, 2022

The economic expert, Hammam Al-Shamaa, confirmed today, Thursday, that the decision to reduce the dollar exchange rate is exclusively in the hands of the Central Bank of Iraq according to the law, and no one is allowed to act on it.

Al-Shammaa said in an interview with Earth News, “The decision to reduce the dollar exchange rate in the local markets is exclusively in the hands of the Central Bank of Iraq, according to the law, and no one may act on it without a decision from the bank.”

He added, “On the other hand, the tweet of the leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, does not mean a return to the old price, as it is not permissible to reduce the exchange rate at the expense of the poor, as exchange rates must maintain their balance so that everyone maintains their standard of living without being hurt by the rise or decline.”

And the economic expert continued, “What happened in the process of changing the exchange rate neglected the consequences of the change for low-income people and the levels of the general Iraqi people, and the government did not take adequate measures to compensate the poor for the poor living conditions they suffered as a result of the high prices of imported and local materials at rates up to 25%, and this is heavier their shoulders.”

He continued, “Therefore, I think that Al-Sadr respects the laws and the powers of the Central Bank and estimates that returning the exchange rates to its previous era will lead to major economic problems.”

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Samson:  State Of Law: Changing The Dollar Exchange Rate Was Approved By Most Of The Political Parties In Force In Parliament Last Year

18th February, 2022

The State of Law coalition confirmed today, Friday, that changing the dollar exchange rate was approved by most of the influential political parties in Parliament last year.

And coalition spokesman Baha Al-Nouri said in a statement received by “Earth News” that “there has been a lot of talk recently about the need to address the exchange rate of the dollar and the implications for the living situation of the citizen, and this gives a clear indication that the vision of the State of Law coalition was the only accurate vision in rejecting the step taken by the government to raise the foreign exchange rate.”

He added, “Unfortunately, this raise was approved by most of the influential political parties in the House of Representatives, which were convinced of the justifications provided by the Ministry of Finance in support of its decision, which it described as compelling. The budget law and its articles were approved with the new exchange rate for the dollar in March of last year without any treatment of the damages that were caused.” suffered by the citizen.

And he indicated that “the continuation of the deteriorating economic situation, and the high prices of commodities and foodstuffs, harmed the middle class of employees, people with limited income, earners and others, and this calls for all political forces in the House of Representatives to take measures that contribute to restoring the dollar exchange rate according to a gradual mechanism while providing protecting the income of the poor and enabling them to keep pace with the treatment process so that the Iraqi citizen does not pay the price again.  LINK

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Samson:  The start of the work of the comprehensive digital transformation conference in Iraq

17th February, 2022

Today, Thursday, the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers opened the work of the conference on the comprehensive digital transformation project in Iraq

The General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers said in a statement received by the Iraqi News Agency (INA): “The National Data Center Department opened the first dialogue session for the work of the Digital Transformation Conference in Iraq ( iTEX ), which is held on the grounds of the Baghdad International Fair in the capital

Indicating that “the conference is being held during the period from February 15-18, under the patronage of Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi, and in the presence of the Minister of Communications, Arkan Al-Shaibani

The statement added that “the conference was organized by (Alfa Company), and a group of local and foreign companies participated in it,” noting that “the conference included several activities, including the discussion seminar of the National Data Center

He continued, “The discussion session witnessed a detailed explanation by experts and specialists in the National Data Center regarding the projects currently being implemented, data sharing and systems integration between ministries and institutions, with a graphic presentation of the secured government network,” noting that “the questions and inquiries raised were answered by participants in the episode

He stressed that “the ( iTEX ) exhibits include cloud business, mobile phones, computers, communications, networks, technologies and digital transformation technology,” explaining that “the ( iTEX ) conference is a gateway to Iraq’s launch towards digital transformation and the adoption of artificial intelligence technology in the Iraqi state institutions; to create work strategies that contribute to reducing cost, and simplify procedures

The Minister of Communications, Arkan Al-Shaibani, during his speech at the conference, praised, according to the statement, “the efforts of the General Secretariat and its owners, led by the Secretary-General of the Council of Ministers, Hamid Naim Al-Ghazi, and the work team of the National Data Center, and the exceptional effort that was made to make this project a success and provide the best services to citizens.” He affirmed, “the ministry’s readiness, with all its formations, to support and make these projects a success in the public interest

The Director of the National Data Center, Ammar Mazhar Al-Tamimi, explained to “the mechanism of work of his department and the achieved achievements, the importance of the “Ur” portal platform and its stations, and the programs and systems that were launched earlier, including the chest health system, the “Salamat” application, and electronic messaging between tax and real estate registration departments, and the application of “Watch me” and a photo system for the registration of the deceased between the Ministry of Health and the courts in Baghdad,” noting that “these programs and applications contributed to significantly reducing red tape in government institutions during the review of citizens to complete their transactions   LINK

Swedish company says a number of its employees paid bribes to ISIS in Iraq

17th February, 2022

Swedish telecom equipment company ERICSON has acknowledged that a number of its employees in Iraq may have paid bribes to members of the Islamic State so that they could use certain methods that were under their control.

The company has detected “unusual payments dating back to 2018, but has never identified the final recipient of this money,” CEO Boreh Ekholm told Dagens Industri, adding that “what we saw is that transport routes in areas under the control of Terrorist organizations, including ISIS (ISIS), are represented in paying money for their use.”

Ekholm’s comments came hours after the company published a statement late on Tuesday acknowledging that there had been “serious violations of compliance rules and the company’s Code of Business Ethics” with respect to Ericsson employees, vendors and suppliers in Iraq between 2011 and 2019.

The statement confirmed that an internal investigation conducted in 2019 revealed “evidence of misconduct linked to corruption.” These include “cash donations without a clear beneficiary, payment to a provider for work without documentation or a clear framework for action, use of suppliers to make cash payments and unjustified financing for travel and expenses, and improper use of sales agents and consultants.”

It also monitored violations of Ericsson’s internal financial controls, conflicts of interest, non-compliance in tax laws and obstruction of the investigation.

Ericsson said payment and cash transactions programs “likely caused money-laundering risks were also detected”, but “the investigation was unable to determine whether any of Ericsson’s employees were directly involved in financing terrorist organizations.”

As a result of the investigation, several employees have left the company, and “several disciplinary and corrective measures have been taken,” Ericsson said in a statement. The director of the company said that they shared the results of the investigation with the US authorities.  LINK

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Samson:  Saudi Arabia is considering changing the work system to 4 days a week

17th February, 2022

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is considering changing the work system to 4 working days in exchange for 3 days off per week, in an attempt to attract investment and provide new job opportunities.

Saudi Minister of Human Resources Ahmed Al-Rajhi said during the government communication conference, “We are studying changing the work system to 4 working days and 3 days off or 4 and a half days of work, compared to two and a half days off per week, so that the Kingdom will be attractive to investors and provide job opportunities.”

It is noteworthy that the UAE preceded Saudi Arabia in changing the work system, as it announced the new system of weekly work for the federal government sector in the country, to be 4 and a half days of work, from Monday to Thursday, and half a working day on Friday, and the weekly holiday is on Saturday and Sunday.

It is noteworthy that the vision of the UAE with the decision of the new work system came to enhance its position in the global competitiveness in the economic and business sectors, and to consolidate its position on the world economic map, and as a business center that is the most active, efficient and effective of its kind in the region.  LINK