Erbil-Baghdad issues not limited to budget dispute: KRG PM Barzani
“The [Kurdistan] Region’s problem with the Iraqi government is not only related to [the payment of] salaries,” he said in an interview aired Monday evening by five Kurdish television channels, including Rudaw. Erbil and Baghdad are primarily at odds over four different subjects: energy, the Iraqi budget, Peshmerga and disputed areas, said the Prime Minister. “We have discussed all these with the Iraqi government [in an effort] to reach a deal.”
Baghdad suspended payments of the budget to the KRG in April, delaying the salaries of over a million public employees, after the Region failed to transfer them a previously agreed upon 250,000 barrels of oil per day.
Barzani accused Baghdad of failing to abide by the deals they have made regarding the budget - an accusation the federal government has regularly levelled right back.
Iraq and the KRG have held several rounds of talks to negotiate a solution to the dispute, with delegations visiting each other in Erbil and Baghdad over the last several months, but the two sides are yet to come to an agreement.
Baghdad agreed to send three sets of $268 million monthly until they reach a permanent deal. One batch has been sent so far.
Reforms
In his Monday interview, PM Barzani also said reforms in different sectors of his cabinet will continue, referring to reforms made in KRG’s expenditure, salaries of civil servants, controlling border crossings and airports and others.
“Reform does not only include fighting corruption, but also transparency and how to serve people and have a better infrastructure,” he said.
“At the cabinet’s beginning, we started with very good things such as removing corruption and bureaucracy to a good extent. We also prevented bribery and made employees [of the government] spend more of their working hours serving people.”
The Kurdistan Region has faced a number of issues in recent months, including a serious economic crisis, the spread of coronavirus, a dramatic drop of oil prices and the loss of its income from Baghdad.
Rudaw
