KRG discusses speeding up efforts to digitally connect banks, treasuries
The committee approved the decision to centralize the revenue collection mechanism.
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Monday chaired a high-level government meeting on setting mechanisms for restructuring the public finances, during which the officials agreed to accelerate efforts to digitally connect the Region’s banks and treasures in a bid to boost transparency and prevent waste.
Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Jalal Talabani, Minister of Finance Awat Sheikh Janabt, interim Minister of Natural Resources Kamal Mohammad, and other senior officials attended the meeting.
The public salaries are “sovereign expense” and should be the government’s top priority, the officials agreed, adding other public expenditures should be dispersed equitably and proportionately according to the population of the provinces, districts, and independent administrations, according to a statement from the PM’s office
The committee approved the decision to centralize the revenue collection mechanism.
In order to prevent the waste of public finances and increase transparency, the officials urged for the speedy implementation of the digitization project to connect all the Region’s banks and other financial institutions.
Prime Minister Barzani noted that the KRG is currently working on developing a “modern and advanced financial and banking system” in collaboration with local and international teams.
The officials also discussed the Region’s financial share in the federal budget bill for the fiscal years 2023, 2024, and 2025, currently under consideration by the Iraqi parliament.
They reiterated the KRG’s commitment to the temporary oil deal struck with Baghdad on April 4 to resume the Kurdish region’s oil exports via Turkey, which had been halted since March 25 after Iraq claimed victory in an international legal dispute against Ankara.
The KRG last week held its regular session in the presence of Prime Minister Barzani and his Deputy Talabani along with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) ministerial team, following months of boycott by the party over administrative and financial issues.