Shafaq News/ On Wednesday, the Ministry of Finance in the Kurdistan Regional Government received 443 billion dinars ($338 million) from the Federal Ministry of Finance to fund April's salaries for the Region's employees.
Earlier today, the Kurdish Ministry of Finance confirmed the start of distributing salaries to retirees, both civilian and military, as well as the families of martyrs, Anfal victims, and persons with special needs, for the month of April as Iraqi Finance Minister Taif Sami approve it.
The Federal Ministry of Finance announced yesterday, Tuesday, the release of funding for the salaries of employees in the Kurdistan Region and eligible categories for April.
Notably, the Kurdish government has faced significant challenges in meeting the timely and complete payment of salaries to its civil servants for the past decade. This financial strain intensified following a ruling by a Paris-based arbitration court that suspended the KRG's oil exports to international markets a year ago, exacerbating its financial crisis.
As a result, the KRG has been heavily reliant on local income sources and its allocated share from the federal budget, which has been a subject of controversy. Despite efforts to manage its fiscal situation, the KRG has consistently struggled to meet its salary obligations.
The Federal Supreme Court of Iraq's decision worsened the situation by issuing a ruling ordering the "localization" of salaries for all Kurdistan Region employees in federal banks. This decision has resulted in the halt of salary disbursements, leading to numerous strikes across various sectors.
Last April, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Iraqi federal government announced a breakthrough, agreeing on a long-standing dispute regarding public sector salaries in the Kurdistan Region.
The new pensions came after visits from Kurdish President Nechirvan Barzani and a government delegation to discuss Erbil-Baghdal relations and Kurdistan's share of the 2024 federal budget.