The Council of Ministers issues decisions on lagging projects and financial reform

Political| 08:54 – 21/05/2024

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Baghdad – Mawazine News


The Council of Ministers on Tuesday adopted new decisions related to the country’s neglarizing projects and financial reform steps, while deciding to install 17 general managers in separate departments.

This came, during the presidency of Prime Minister Mohamed Shiaa Al-Sudani, the 21st regular session of the Council of Ministers, in which the general situation in the country was discussed, the topics on the agenda were discussed, and the necessary directives and decisions were issued thereon, according to a statement received by Mawazine News.

At the beginning of the session, the Sudanese touched on the painful incident that claimed the lives of the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and their companions, stressing the solidarity of Iraq, the government and people, with the Iranian people and the Iranian leadership in these difficult times, and described the departure of the Iranian president as a great loss, because of his personality that loves peace, work and cooperation, referring to the joint files, whether between the two countries and with the countries of the region, which witnessed, during his presidency, further progress and achievement.

The session witnessed the review of the results of the report on the evaluation of the performance of ministries in the field of anti-corruption for 2023, and the Prime Minister directed all ministers to pay attention to the results of the report, and work to follow up on his recommendations and observations and remedy them in the results of the evaluation for 2024.

In the context of following up on infrastructure projects, the Prime Minister directed the preparation of a comprehensive vision and an integrated study on the Hally Road project in Basra Governorate, attracting sober companies in implementation, and coordinating with Basra Governorate on completion and implementation.

The Prime Minister also directed, within the framework of reforming the administrative structures of state institutions, to re-form a committee that is studying the merger of the General Company for Food Trading and the General Company for Central Markets, to present the results within a month.

The Council of Ministers continued to consider the file of lagging and suspended service projects, and put the processors to complete the work in them, as it approved the following:

1- Increasing the amount of the reserve for the project (processing and implementation of two treatment stations in Nasiriyah / Dhi Qar Governorate), and increasing the total cost of the Nasiriyah sewage project.

2- Increasing the total cost and amount of reserve for a construction (establishment of the second corridor of the Ghammas Junction Road – Al- Hamza 62 km).

3- Increasing the total cost and amount of reserve for a construction (establishment of a modern bridge and its approach).

With regard to evaluating the efficiency of general managers and follow-up performance, the Council of Ministers approved the installation of (17) Directors-General in various state ministries and institutions, distributed by (4) general managers in the Ministry of Water Resources, (3) in the Ministry of Agriculture, (3) in the Independent High Electoral Commission, (3) in the Military Industrialization Authority, and one Director-General in the ministries of electricity, industry, the Political Prisoners Foundation, and the Federal Financial Supervision Bureau.

In the context of following up the implementation and completion of traffic jam mitigation projects, the Council of Ministers approved what is confirmed in the book of the Ministry of Construction, Housing, Municipalities and Public Works, on the project to develop (front torm), provided that the Ministry bears the integrity of the procedures related to contracting. The project includes the expansion of the road from the front towards the Diyala Bridge, to improve traffic, and to ensure that the realization of the flow of integration with the project of the Mohammed Al-Qasim road connecting the road to the army canal road from the side of Rustama, in addition to the expansion of adjacent streets within the track, the establishment of two bridge intersections and the organization of the front.

The Council of Ministers voted to exclude the Italian company (GKSD) from the registration conditions set out in the amended Foreign Companies Branch Law (2 of 2017), and approve the financing of the preparation and management contract for the Internal Security Forces Hospital from the budget of the Directorate of Welfare Affairs of the Internal Security Forces, while ensuring the implementation of the restriction of all revenues, which the hospital receives from its operation, finally in favor of the budget of the aforementioned Directorate.

In the field of financial and administrative reform, the Council of Ministers approved the adoption of the (National Methodology for Good Governance Standards in Iraq), prepared by the Diwani Order Committee (84 of 2021), based on the provisions of the Constitution, taking into account the observation of the Legal Department in the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers, not to create a section related to the follow-up of the implementation of the adoptions of good governance and administrative configurations, within the planning departments in ministries and entities not associated with the Ministry and governorates; to to conflict with the government’s vision of reducing and rationalizing administrative structures. A specialized team, from the Ministry of Planning, the Board of Advisors and the Follow-up Committee of the Government Program, submits a report every (3) months, to the Prime Minister for decision.

As part of the follow-up of the energy projects with foreign companies, the Council of Ministers approved the recommendation of the Ministerial Council for Energy (24035 i) for the year 2024, which includes the contractor (Dutch Boskas Company) for a period of one month to sign the contract, starting from the date of issuance of the decision of the Council of Ministers, otherwise the appropriate measures will be taken in accordance with the instructions for the implementation of government contracts (2 of 2014).

In the same file, the recommendation of the Ministerial Council for Energy (24039 I) for the year 2024, on the supply of gas from (Al Hilal Oil Company) was approved, which includes the approval of the findings of the committee composed in the Ministry of Electricity, on discussing the price of dry gas to be processed from (Al-Hilal Oil Company), to the Kirkuk gas power plant, according to the details established by the ministry, and its continuation of signing the contract with the aforementioned company, taking into account interest the opinion of the Legal Department in the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers, and the Ministry bears the integrity and accuracy of contractual procedures, in accordance with the laws, regulations and instructions.

In the foreign relations process, the Council of Ministers agreed to submit the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through an official memorandum, to ensure the right to open a consulate general of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Republic of Iraq, in case of a future request in accordance with reciprocity, and the matter will be presented to the Council of Ministers at the time after determining one of the Iraqi provinces from the German side to be the headquarters of its consulate.

In application of the Council’s approach to supporting the localization of the pharmaceutical industry, and encouraging the production of medicines and medical supplies inside Iraq, the Council of Ministers approved the exception (National Health Factory) from the provisions of paragraph (1) of its resolution No. (23151), related to the classification of pharmaceutical factories and the controls of referring the contracts of the Ministry of Health to them, in accordance with the classification mentioned in the aforementioned article.

The Council also approved the amendment of its resolution (24045 of 2023), regarding the Ministry of Industry and Minerals to take over the processing of the Justice Book and Real Estate Registration Departments with real estate agencies and bonds, in order to ensure the printing of the needs of the real estate registration and the law book departments in all the Ministry of Justice, not the agencies and the real estate bond (25) only, as well as the General Company for Food Products / Ministry of Industry and Minerals, amending its founding statement in line with the activity mentioned in accordance with the law.

In the direction of cooperation in the judicial and legal field with friendly countries, the Council agreed to authorize the Minister of Justice to negotiate and sign a draft cooperation agreement, between the Government of the Republic of Iraq and the Government of the Republic of Bangladesh, in the field of transferring those sentenced to deprivation of liberty, based on the Constitution, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to prepare the necessary document of authorization on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Iraq to the Minister of Justice, in accordance with the adopted contexts and submit it to the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers; to obtain the signature of the Prime Minister.

In the field of following up Iraq’s contribution to international efforts to combat climate change, the Council of Ministers approved the retention of the members of the permanent negotiating delegation for climate change, and the possibility of replacing them except as stipulated in the Diwan Order (24115 of 2024), and securing financial allocations for the participation of the members of the permanent negotiating delegation for climate change in the various climate meetings, as well as the annual climate conference, in accordance with the laws, regulations and instructions in force. The Ministry of Finance finances the amount established by the Ministry of Environment.

https://www.mawazin.net/Details.aspx?jimare=248426

Baghdad and Erbil resolve a complex issue regarding the region’s salaries

  • Time: 05/21/2024 20:15:11
  • Read: 1,430 times
Baghdad and Erbil resolve a complex issue regarding the region’s salaries

{Politics: Al-Furat News} The leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, Wafa Muhammad Karim, revealed today, Tuesday, that Baghdad and Erbil have settled a complex file regarding the salaries of the Kurdistan region.

Karim told {Al-Furat News} that: “The financial committees that visited the Kurdistan region stressed the necessity of handing over half of the region’s imports to Baghdad and half of the outlets to the central government.”
He added, “Indeed, the president of the region confirmed its delivery to Baghdad, but the pending matter is the central government’s request for lists of all ministries’ employees, and this region was reserved about it.”
Karim stated, “He had reservations about sending the lists of the security ministries and the Peshmerga, but this file was completed, resolved, and agreed upon.”
He stressed that “all the lists were sent, and with regard to the security lists, they were subject to the Kurds and the symbols.”
Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani announced, during a press conference after the Council of Ministers voted on the 2024 budget schedules, the federal government’s commitment to the Federal Court’s decision to localize the salaries of the region’s employees.
The Federal Court decided to oblige Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani and the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Masrour Barzani, to localize the salaries of the region’s employees. With government banks and deducted from the region’s budget for this year and the coming years.
The Federal Court also obligated Sudan to release funding for the region’s salaries after they are settled and not to release them through monthly financial funding.

From: Raghad Dahham

https://alforatnews.iq/news/%D8%A8%D8%BA%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%AF-%D9%88%D8%A3%D8%B1%D8%A8%D9%8A%D9%84-%D9%8A%D8%AD%D8%B3%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%85%D9%84%D9%81%D8%A7%D9%8B-%D9%85%D8%B9%D9%82%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%8B-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%AA%D8%A8-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%82%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%85

The Central Bank begins the second phase of its banking reform strategy

Articles
Samir Al-Nusairi

   


Economy News = Baghdad

Samir Al-Nusairi

The Central Bank announced that it will launch the National Lending Strategy on 2024/5/25, which is a clear announcement of the beginning of the second phase of its banking reform strategy, and this means that it has completed the first phase of it by achieving tangible and important results in the field of regulating foreign trade financing and regularizing the global financial system through strict adherence to international compliance standards, building sober international banking relations with international banks and correspondent banks, and introducing local currencies for countries with trade exchange, which it is important to deal with cash in their local currencies, in addition to dealing in US dollars.

As well as activating and strengthening its procedures in the transition from the monetary economy to the digital economy and cooperating with the government in expanding the use of electronic payment tools and spreading the culture of transition to the cash society. Certainly, the above tasks have occupied a large space of efforts at the local and international level.

In the second phase, the focus will be on restructuring banks, especially government banks, and starting to implement new policies to support and develop small, small and medium enterprises, and directly with the establishment and approval of the Riyada Bank and the approval of the Green Bank, which will specialize in sustainable financing for renewable energy projects, as well as the orientation of digital banks to keep pace with progress in the field of modern digital banking products. The online platform will also be phased out this year.

One of the tasks that will begin to be worked on is to rehabilitate the restricted banks from dealing in US dollars to comply with international standards in light of the work of the joint committee between the Central Bank and the US Treasury, through which the work of these banks in the activity of foreign transfers for previous years will also be analyzed and audited in the hope that restrictions will be lifted.

What he expected from the procedures and policies adopted by the Central Bank in the first phase and what it has achieved and what will be achieved from the second phase of the banking reform strategy will be reflected in the stability of the exchange rate and the recovery of the Iraqi dinar inevitably.


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Added 2024/05/20 – 11:35 AM

https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=43572

Iraqi Oil Minister: Boosting refining capacities will shift Iraq from importing to exporting

EconomyBreakingOilIraqi

Iraqi Oil Minister: Boosting refining capacities will shift Iraq from importing to exporting

2024-05-21 09:18Font

Shafaq News / Iraq’s Deputy Prime Minister and Oil Minister Hayyan Abdul Ghani stated, on Tuesday, that increasing refining capacities will gradually transition the country from importing to exporting, with improvements in gasoline production to meet local demand and eventually export.

During a visit to the Midland Refineries Company, Minister Abdul Ghani highlighted the achievements in the refining sector. He noted that “the ministry and relevant companies have successfully executed and inaugurated several important projects, significantly enhancing national production.”

Abdul Ghani mentioned that dedicated efforts have added 360,000 bpd of refining capacity within a year and a half of the current government’s tenure. He praised the completion and operation of isomerization units at the Southern Refineries Company with a capacity of 1.3 million liters, the Midland Refineries Company with 750,000 liters, and the Northern Refineries Company with 20,000 liters. These projects contribute to increased and improved gasoline production, meeting local demand, and paving the way for gradual exports.

shafaq.news

Parliament receives budget schedules from the government

  • Time: 2024/05/21 12:28:22
  • Read: 1,378 times
Parliament receives budget schedules from the government

  

{Political: Al-Furat News} The Secretary of the House of Representatives, Safwan Bashir Al-Jarjri, announced on Tuesday that the financial budget schedules for 2024 have been received from the government and referred to the presidency of the House of Representatives.

In an extraordinary session last Sunday, the Council of Ministers voted on the budget schedules and referred them to the House of Representatives.
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani revealed in a press conference after the session the details of the budget schedules and the highlights of what it included, and said:
– Table (a) included revenues totalling (144.336) trillion dinars, and Table (b) related to total planned expenses with a total of (210.936) trillion dinars.
– The planned budget deficit was (63.599) trillion dinars, and Schedule (c) is the centrally funded workforce schedule, and amounted to (4.079906) employees, and the governing expenses amounted to (10.042) trillion dinars.
– The investment budget for 2024, (54.298) trillion dinars, and may reach 55 trillion dinars.
– Governorate allocations for local government programs with an investment allocation amounting to (10.633) trillion dinars in 2023, and we funded (3.333) trillion, based on fundamentalic requests from the governorates.
– The remaining of the allocation (7.333) trillion dinars in the account of Amanat, at the disposal of the provincial governments.

– Allocation of approximately (8) trillion dinars for ongoing projects, including allocations in 2024.
– For the first time in the balance dates, we exceed the exchange by 50%.

– The increase in debt repayment was 3.9 trillion dinars, in 2023, the payment of the debt was 12.751, and in 2024, we paid 16.725 trillion.

https://alforatnews.iq/news/البرلمان-يستلم-جداول-الموازنة-من-الحكومة