Iraqi parliament to question finance minister on fiscal crisis next week

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraq's parliament will convene next week to hear Finance Minister Faleh Sari on the country's fiscal and economic situation, lawmaker Ibtisam al-Hilali of the State of Law Coalition said. The session, held at the minister's request, will focus on boosting non-oil revenues and securing financial resources. Al-Hilali said more than one million employees across several ministries and government departments have not received their salaries on time because of a liquidity shortage. Sari submitted a formal request to the parliament's leadership the previous day, asking to present the government's fiscal position at the earliest session. Government spokesperson Haydar al-Abadi said the cabinet needs roughly 10.8 trillion dinars per month to cover civil servant salaries and general expenditure, while oil revenues have fallen to about 2.5 trillion dinars. He added that the salary payment schedule has been disrupted as a result of the shortfall and will remain so until the gap is addressed.