KRG Finance Minister receives senior delegation of Iraqi Federal Board of Supreme Audit

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Minister of Finance and Economy Awat Janab Noori, received a delegation from the Iraqi Federal Board of Supreme Audit, including senior officials of the board Haider Yousef Khalkhall and Ala Hussein Muhammed, according to a statement from the KRG Ministry of Finance and Economy.

During the meeting, the Minister made it clear that the Ministry of Finance, along with joint teams is open to any audits and follow-ups.

Visits by delegations of the Iraqi Federal Board of Supreme Audit are part of the routine work and audits of joint teams between the Erbil and Baghdad auditing authorities for the review of monthly balance reports and preparation of the last six months of the previous year. 

The delegation expressed their gratitude to the Minister of Finance and the departments of the ministry, who have always been cooperative and supportive.

Although the Kurdish region has transferred the agreed-upon amount, Baghdad has paid far less than what it had initially committed itself to, according to KRG officials.

Since its adoption in early June, KRG diplomats have alleged the budget has not been implemented properly by the government. Instead of paying the Kurdish share, they allege Baghdad has released allowances to Erbil to cover public salaries. The KRG has previously said the 500 billion dinars (over $384 million) provided by Baghdad thus far is not sufficient to pay salaries.

Hailed as one of the country’s biggest budgets, state expenditures were set at 198.91 trillion Iraqi dinars ($153 billion), with a deficit of more than 64 trillion dinars (over $48 billion).

The Kurdistan Region’s share in the federal budget is set at 12.67 percent, amounting to more than $12 billion annually.

The management of oil and gas has been among the thorny issues between Erbil and Baghdad for over a decade, leading to the suspension of the region's share in previous federal budgets.