Iraqi PM and Finance Minister harming provinces with budget delays, MP says

Shafaq News – Baghdad

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and Finance Minister Taif Sami are causing “serious harm” to the provinces by delaying the submission of budget tables, lawmaker accused on Saturday.

MP Ibtisam al-Hilali told Shafaq News that parliament had already passed a three-year Federal Budget Law, under which monthly expenditures proceed automatically without new votes. “However, the investment and service allocations included in the budget tables should have been delivered six months ago,” she noted.

Al-Hilali criticized what she described as a standoff between the prime minister and the finance minister, with each shifting responsibility onto the other, warning that service sectors, including education, are particularly affected as schools began the year without basic supplies due to the stalled allocations.

Although parliament passed a three-year Federal Budget Law in June 2023 to ensure stability, the government has failed to submit the detailed revenue and spending tables required for 2025. The postponement has stalled investment projects, frozen service initiatives in provinces, and created legal disputes over constitutional deadlines.

Read more: Iraq’s budget: political fiscal gaps threatennational stability in 2025