Economy

KRG reduces employees’ salary

"The KRG to delay a portion of the salaries for all government employees, except for the Peshmerga and other security forces."

Kurdistan 24 2016/02/06 11:00

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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (K24) – The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) enacted further measures in an attempt to trim the Region’s budget and pay employees' salaries on time.

During the KRG Council of Ministers meeting this week, new decisions were made to reduce expenses.

In a press conference, the KRG spokesperson Safeen Dizayee said, “The KRG does not deny financial and administrative mistakes and shortcomings that contributed to the economic problems.”

"The KRG economy was mainly affected by the Iraqi budget cut that started last year, the sharp decline in global oil prices, the war with Da'esh, and hosting 1.8 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and refugees,” Dizayee added, using the pejorative term for the Islamic State (IS).

For more than a year, the KRG has been seeking to develop a successful management system within a reform plan framework. Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani officially declared part of this program last week at the opening of a financial reform conference in Erbil.

“KRG will reach its ultimate objectives, including destroying Da'esh, building new industries—exporting natural gas internationally—and establishing justice, and a united and prosperous community,” he announced last week.

“KRG measures do not include cutting the civil servants’ salaries; this is not part of the reform. The government will implement a real reform plan that will encompass all sectors, especially the oil, gas and electricity,” Barzani added.

Furthermore, Dizayee stressed that reducing salaries is a temporary measure that only aims at overcoming the current financial crisis. “We will have to delay a portion of the wages to all government employees, except for the Peshmerga and other security forces,” he said.

This plan is for the government to ensure the quick distribution of employees’ earnings according to the new salary system, Dizayee explained.

In late 2015, the Kurdistan Region Council of Ministers (KRCM) discussed the financial crisis. In the first phase of reforms, the KRCM approved 11 decisions to deal with the acute situation. The second chapter of the reform, authorized by the KRCM in early January, has already been put into action.

Reporting by Baxtiyar Goran

Editing by Ava Homa and Karzan Sulaivany