Criticism continues to surround this year’s budget tables, despite the Ministry of Planning clarifying that more than 41 trillion dinars are available for provinces. However, the figures show an 80 percent reduction in Diyala province’s allocations, which will negatively impact its infrastructure and service projects.
On Sunday, MP Mohammed Al-Bayati confirmed that Diyala’s budget in the 2024 tables is insufficient to settle company debts, indicating that parliamentary action will be taken to aid Diyala’s budget.
Al-Bayati stated in a report followed by “Al-Aalem Al-Jadeed” that “According to the figures, Diyala’s budget in 2023 was more than 430 billion dinars, but we were surprised to see that the 2024 budget draft tables show it does not exceed 78 billion dinars, representing at least an 80% decrease.”
He added, “This situation is extremely dangerous for Diyala, especially given its exceptional circumstances requiring greater funding to sustain service projects.”
Al-Bayati pointed out that “with the current allocations, it is impossible to meet financial obligations to companies and contractors or to initiate new projects.”
He continued, “There will be parliamentary movement to increase Diyala’s budget to a level that allows for the continuation of service project funding.”
On Saturday, the Ministry of Planning issued a clarification on the variations in the 2024 budget allocations, stating that more than 41 trillion dinars are available for the provinces. It explained that comparisons between regional development allocations for the provinces and overall investment spending for the Kurdistan region were “incorrect.”
Last Friday, MP Intisar Al-Mousawi said that the 2024 budget disregarded the rights of the southern provinces’ residents, while Maysan council member Fatima Al-Aqabi called for an emergency session to discuss the 2024 budget draft.
On May 21, Deputy Speaker of Parliament Mohsen Al-Mandalawi announced the referral of the 2024 federal budget law tables to the parliamentary finance committee.
The 2024 federal budget tables sent by the government to parliament for approval have faced significant criticism. Revenues are estimated at 144 trillion and 336 billion dinars, while expenditures are projected at 210 trillion and 936 billion dinars, resulting in a deficit of 63 trillion and 599 billion dinars.
On May 23, MP Mustafa Al-Karawi, a member of the parliamentary finance committee, warned that service and infrastructure projects might halt due to reduced provincial allocations in the budget tables.
On May 19, the Council of Ministers, during an “extraordinary” session chaired by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, approved the 2024 budget tables and referred them to parliament for approval after five months of anticipation.
In a previous report for “Al-Aalem Al-Jadeed,” economic specialist Jafar Al-Nasiri warned of “the figures announced by the government in the 2024 budget,” noting potential risks that the state might not be able to overcome in the future.
On June 12, 2023, the Iraqi Parliament approved the federal budget law for 2023, 2024, and 2025, a first in the country’s history in terms of budget size and the number of fiscal years, totaling 197 trillion and 828 billion dinars, with a financial deficit of 63 trillion dinars, nearly a third of the budget.
On April 28, BMI Research, a subsidiary of Fitch Solutions, raised its forecast for Iraq’s budget deficit in 2024 from 3.3 percent to 7 percent, primarily due to weaker oil revenue prospects, which account for 93 percent of total government revenues.
