Anbar says federal budget has not transferred border crossing revenue share

BAGHDAD, Iraq — The Anbar provincial government said over the weekend that it has not received its share of revenue from three main border crossings, even as May collections reached about 91 billion Iraqi dinars and June collections were expected to exceed 100 billion dinars. Anbar government spokesman Muwai'id al-Dulaimi said around 3,000 trucks entered or exited the province's three main crossings in May, with commercial activity rising sharply. He said no funds from the federal budget had reached Anbar since the start of the year, deepening a cash shortage that has halted a number of service projects. Under a rule that allocates 50% of border crossing revenue to the relevant provinces, Dulaimi said Anbar is owed about 45 billion dinars for May and around 50 billion dinars for June, and called on the central government to release the money without delay. Economist Ahmed al-Karbouli said Anbar's geographic position makes it a commercial gateway linking Iraq to several neighboring countries. He said the border revenue, if properly directed, could fund road, bridge, water, electricity, health and education services, and could also support modern storage facilities, industrial plants and logistics centers if provincial authorities chose to invest in them. No immediate response from the federal government was reported.