Salaries of the Region's Employees.. A Continuing Crisis

Salam MakiThe general budget law represents the only thread that links the federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government, as this law determines the rights and duties of both parties, and what each should provide in order to fully receive their rights from the other party. Since the first budget law after the fall of the regime until today, there has been a clause stating that the region must commit to exporting a certain amount of oil through the federal government or pay the equivalent value of that quantity. In case of non-compliance, the federal government will deduct the value of the oil quantity exported by the region from its share in the general budget.Hardly any election cycle passes without problems and tensions in the relations between the two parties, and this tension often begins with a decision issued by the federal government represented by the Ministry of Finance.Recently, a new but old problem between the two parties has emerged. It is an expected problem to occur at any moment. It began when the Ministry of Finance decided not to send salaries to the region's employees, since the region exhausted its budget share, because it did not commit to sending the agreed oil and non-oil revenues to the federal government.This decision was met with strong rejection by the authorities in Kurdistan, as the government there announced its refusal to touch the employees' salaries and considered the decision purely political! This problem has reoccurred, forming an obstacle in the wheel of relations between Baghdad and the region, which was already moving in a troubled and cautious manner, afraid of any move that might hinder or stop it.The main problem is that Baghdad sees its decision as legally based, while the region views it as political! Kurdish leaders do not admit that they are not sending money to Baghdad, but insist they are committed to fulfilling financial obligations to Baghdad. Meanwhile, officials and politicians in Baghdad state that the region does not send any money and does not comply with a single paragraph of the budget law, while others talk about organized smuggling operations of Iraqi oil, sold in unofficial markets at prices much lower than global prices, counted from Iraq's share! Unfortunately, these serious accusations find no resonance and remain only in the media!