Peshmerga’s Force 70 clarifies retiree salary delays, the solution in a couple of days

Shafaq News/ On Tuesday, Peshmerga's 70th Forces announced new details regarding the crisis of delayed salaries for some of its retirees, confirming that the problem is due to regulatory procedures in the Ministry of Finance and Economy of the Kurdistan Regional Government.

Brigadier General Ahmad Latif, the spokesperson of the 70th Forces told Shafaq News Agency, “The retirees used to receive their salaries from the Force 70 budget during their service, but their names are required to be added to the pension lists of the regional government after their retirement.”

Latif indicated that all the administrative procedures required to include these retirees on the government payroll have been completed by the competent authorities, and all that remains is the approval of the Minister of Finance to transfer them to the official retiree lists. "I personally spoke with the Minister of Finance who assured me that the problem will be solved within two days.", he added.

The spokesman explained as well that this problem is not new, as it recurs monthly due to delays in salaries for some retirees as a result of the incomplete transfer to the government payroll system, noting that “the problem began when Force 70 stopped paying the salaries of retirees after their retirement, which necessitated their transfer to the government's retiree lists, a step that has not yet been fully completed.”

The crisis of delayed salary payments for Peshmerga retirees in the Kurdistan Region is a part of the structural problems related to the payment of pensions in the Region, where some bureaucratic processes are stalled, leading to salaries delays.