Iraqi Finance Ministry: Salary delays due to lack of localization in Kurdistan

Shafaq News/ On Wednesday, the Ministry of Finance attributed the delay in salary payments in the Kurdistan Region to the “Kurdish government's failure” to localize employee salaries.

In a clarifying statement issued by the ministry in response to comments made by its deputy, Ribaz Hamlan, on his Facebook account on Tuesday regarding the delayed salaries during his meeting with Prime Minister Mohamed Shiaa Al-Sudani, the ministry emphasized that it deals with the salary file for Kurdish employees “professionally”, in the same manner, it handles others in ministries and provinces, adding that the salary delays are not the ministry's responsibility.

"We have been seeking to implement the Supreme Court’s decision for over a year," the statement pointed out.

In addition, the ministry stressed that the Kurdistan Region has not provided the ministry with data regarding the localization of employee salaries at all banks, not just government ones, as stipulated by the Supreme Court's ruling, which treats employees in the Kurdistan Region the same as government employees. "The Ministry of Finance has complied with this decision."

It clarified that, to resolve the issue and avoid further delays, it had dispatched a team from its accounting, budget, and pension departments more than ten days ago to work with the Region to sort and audit the lists, separate those who have been retired, and calculate their pensions under the amended Pension Law No. 26 of 2019, as well as the recent increase of 100,000 dinars for retirees, and their end-of-service bonuses.

The ministry also noted that over 29,000 employees, as explained by KRG representatives during their last meeting in Baghdad, are expected to be retired.

Additionally, the ministry pointed out that the Peshmerga forces, who are part of the armed forces, are still being paid from the Kurdistan Region's share, leading to a shortfall in salary payments. “These forces should be paid by the Ministry of Defense, as their allocations and personnel have been under the Ministry of Defense for over two years,” the statement added.

The ministry emphasized the need for the Kurdistan Region to provide data on those receiving multiple salaries and details of regional laws, to prevent individuals from being excluded from the monthly payroll due to repeated discrepancies during the audit process.

The statement also reiterated that the localization of salaries is critical for implementing the Supreme Court’s decision, rather than relying on paper lists, to ensure timely monthly payments to all eligible employees, a right guaranteed by the constitution. The Ministry of Finance clarified that it is not responsible for the delay; it is the responsibility of the Kurdistan Region.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Finance stated that the monthly audit for December 2024 has not been completed due to input errors from the Kurdistan Region. "The Ministry of Finance’s Accounting Department is working with the region's Ministry of Finance representatives to correct these errors."

It added that funding for any month requires the Accounting Department to be provided with the monthly balance sheet for the previous month to allow the Ministry of Finance to complete the final state accounts and send them to the Financial Committee in Parliament, the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers, and the Financial Monitoring Bureau.

The Ministry concluded by stating that it is continuing to disburse salaries for government employees for January, as the month has not yet ended.

Notably, a delegation from the Kurdistan Regional Government is set to meet with Iraq’s Ministry of Finance on Friday in Baghdad, as part of ongoing discussions over the financial entitlements.

The talks come weeks after the KRG cabinet held an extraordinary meeting on Jan. 11, chaired by Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and attended by Kurdish representatives in the federal government and parliament. The meeting focused on securing the Kurdistan Region’s budgetary rights and salary payments for 2025.