SULAIMANI (ESTA) — The administration in Sulaimani is likely to deal with the federal government if Erbil and Baghdad fail to reach an agreement on oil issues, a member of Sulaimani Provincial Council said.
Rekawt Zaki told Iraqi state newspaper Sabah that the Sulaimani governorate could hand over its revenue to the federal government in exchange for employees’ salaries.
“In the event that no agreement is reached between the Region and Baghdad regarding the oil dossier, there is a possibility that the Sulaimani governorate will directly deal with the Iraqi government on the basis of Constitution,” Zaki said.
“The Sulaimani governorate can hand over its revenue to Baghdad, in return, Baghdad will distribute salaries to employees in the province,” he added.
The member of Sulaimani provincial council noted that the Regional government had not paid salaries of seven months in 2020.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has been struggling to pay salaries to its public servants on time due to an economic crisis facing the Region due to a drop in oil prices, coronavirus and Baghdad’s decision to halt sending salaries to the Region’s employees.
KRG Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani and Iraqi Finance Minister Ali Allawi said in December that Erbil and Baghdad had reached an agreement over the 2021 federal budget bill.
A KRG delegation led by Talabani is in Baghdad for talks with members of Iraqi parliament’s committee of finance on the Region’s share of the federal budget.
