KRG demands immediate Peshmerga salary payments

Shafaq News/ On Wednesday, the Kurdistan Regional Council of Ministers called on the Federal Government to pay the salaries of the Peshmerga and security forces members for May and June as soon as possible, stressing the strengthening of coordination and cooperation with the federal institutions concerned with the border crossings.

The Kurdistan Council of Ministers' Media Office stated to Shafaq News Agency, "Today, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani chaired the Kurdistan Region Council of Ministers' regular weekly meeting."

It added, "The Minister of Interior, Rebar Ahmed, presented in the first paragraph of the meeting's agenda the results of the joint meeting of the Federal and the Regional Governments, held on 7/1/2024 in Baghdad regarding border crossings,” stating that "during the meeting, emphasis was placed on strengthening cooperation and coordination between the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Federal Government, in line with the Constitution."

In this context, "the Council of Ministers expressed its support for the negotiating committee formed by the Kurdistan Regional Government, and recommended forming a legal committee of experts to agree on establishing a coordination mechanism with federal institutions, until a special law regulating the Border Ports Authority's work is amended," the Office affirmed.

According to the statement, the meeting addressed the issue of salaries for various groups in the Kurdistan Region, especially the Peshmerga and security forces. Unfortunately, the Federal Ministry of Finance has not yet disbursed the May and June salaries, despite the Peshmerga payroll being submitted to the joint team of the Kurdistan Regional Financial Supervision Bureau and the Federal Government.

Moreover, the meeting discussed the latest developments related to the audit and review process conducted by the joint team emphasizing the ministries' commitment to providing necessary facilities for the audit process. It also addressed the joint team's efforts to unify financial and tax procedures between the Regional and Federal Governments, considering constitutional powers to enhance the diversification of financial resources.

The Council of Ministers reaffirmed the Kurdistan Regional Government's commitment to resolving all outstanding issues with the Federal Government.

The Kurdistan Regional Government has met its obligations, and now the Federal Government must fulfill its responsibilities, including payment of the Kurdistan Region’s dues and not delay the salaries payment to disburse the rest of the dues allocated to it in the 2024 budget, the statement affirmed.

Due to oil exports, the Kurdistan Region previously had independent funding that partly covered salaries. However, a dispute involving the Federal Government and Turkiye, the route through which oil was exported, has blocked this income source for the regional administration since March 2023.

Iraqi Kurdistan and Baghdad later reached a preliminary agreement for Kurdish oil sales to pass through the Federal Government. In exchange, the autonomous region will receive 12.6 percent of Iraq's public spending.

In a court ruling, the Kurdish administration was ordered to transfer "all its oil and non-oil revenues" to the Federal Government and undergo an audit of relevant accounts.

With oil revenues ceased, Kurdistan's current main revenue source is taxes collected at border crossings with neighboring countries, including Iran and Turkiye, two of Iraq's major regional trade partners.