Shafaq News / The Iraqi Parliamentary Finance Committee is hosting daily meetings with ministers and concerned departments that constitute government spending units to discuss key expenditure items, financial allocations, and comparisons with the budgets of 2019 and 2021. The committee also focuses on the main sources of revenue for these units, which will be taken into consideration during the final budget discussions, expected to conclude later this month.

Committee member Nermin Maarouf informed Shafaq News Agency of these ongoing discussions. She explained that a significant part of the talks revolves around the alignment of financial allocations in the budget and their distribution across ministries in accordance with the government's agenda. This agenda prioritizes addressing poverty, inflation, unemployment, and providing essential services to citizens.

Regarding the three-year budget, Maarouf emphasized that legally, the government is allowed to submit a mid-term budget (three years) in accordance with the prevailing Financial Administration Law. The government aims to achieve a degree of economic stability through this project and provide an opportunity to implement its program, ensuring the continuity of strategic projects that may take more than a year to complete.

Maarouf added that the government is compelled to continue spending at a rate of 1/12 of the total actual expenditure of the preceding year. In the case of a three-year budget approval, it would offer the government a better chance to maintain its investment programs without having to halt them.

She further confirmed that the Finance Committee is focused on expediting the budget approval process, as there is limited time for the government to implement budget provisions. The government is currently spending at a rate of 1/12 of the 2021 budget, as there was no budget for the government last year.