ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – A new Iraqi government committee has begun working to solve the salary crisis of public employees in the Kurdistan Region. The committee held its first meeting this week and asked for information from federal and regional bodies, according to a senior official.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani on Tuesday directed the formation of the committee to investigate the disputes between Erbil and Baghdad, over the funding of the Kurdistan Region’s civil servant salaries by the federal government, and the issue of resuming the Region’s oil exports.
The committee was tasked with studying the drafts put forth by the two governments, holding meetings with relevant parties on both sides, and then submitting recommendations to the Iraqi Council of Ministers based on their findings to help the council make a final decision regarding the outstanding issues between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Iraqi government.
The source told The New Region on Thursday that the committee, formed by the federal cabinet, has no set deadline to finish its work.
“The first meeting took place on Wednesday and focused on technical and legal matters,” the official said. “The committee requested information from both federal and regional institutions.”
The official, who asked not to be named, said the committee did not meet on Thursday and is waiting to receive the required data before holding a second meeting early next week.
“After the next meeting, the committee will submit a report to the Council of Ministers before Tuesday for a vote,” the source added. “The outcome will be binding because the committee was formed based on both political and ministerial agreement. It represents all Iraqi political groups.”
A recent suspension of the Kurdistan Region’s civil servant salaries by the Iraqi finance ministry has sparked outrage among the Region’s public as well as the officials and politicians, who have slammed the decision as “political.”
In a letter addressed to the KRG in late May, Iraqi Finance Minister Taif Sami said that Baghdad was “unable to continue funding the Region” for the rest of the year, arguing that Erbil has already exceeded its share of the annual budget, a move prompting the Kurdish government and civil servants to file complaints to the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court against the decision by the federal government.
Last week, spokesperson of the KRG Peshawa Hawramani said that funding the salaries of the Region’s employees by the federal government is contingent upon an agreement between international oil companies (IOCs) and Baghdad for the resumption of Erbil’s exports.
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