Security Forces' Salaries Stuck between KRG & Iraq

Reports 12:46 PM - 2024-07-09

A Peshmerga, Kurdistan flag and some cash IQDs.

Certain security and military personnel in the Kurdistan Region have experienced a delay in receiving their salaries, with only one payment received in a span of more than 90 days. Additionally, they are two salary payments behind the civilian employees. The Iraqi Finance Ministry has formally asked the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to provide a revised list of pay for the security forces. This is necessary in order to disburse the salaries for the months of May and June. 

A member of the Peshmerga Committee in the fifth term of the Kurdistan Parliament asserts that it is necessary to thoroughly review the salary list of the security forces and transmit all relevant information to Baghdad as we are an integral part of federal Iraq and our rights are safeguarded by the constitution.

The Iraqi Finance Ministry has requested additional information from the KRG about the security forces several times during the last period. The KRG has provided the information to Baghdad. Nevertheless, the salary list submitted by the Kurdistan Region to Baghdad failed to satisfy the requirements of Iraq's Finance Ministry. Consequently, the ministry has demanded another comprehensive list containing all the necessary details, resulting in a deadlock about the payment of salaries for the security forces between the Kurdistan Region and Iraq.

Payroll must be cleared

Balambo Mohammed, a member of the Peshmerga Committee of the fifth term of the Kurdistan Parliament, told PUKMEDIA: "Sending the salaries for civilian ministries and the withholding of salaries for certain security sectors indicate that the salary list for the security forces is inadequate and needs to be cleared, similar to the civilian salary list."

"If the KRG suspects that the Iraqi Ministry of Finance is using this to delay the payment of salaries to the security forces, it can seek recourse through the legal system by approaching the Federal Court to exert pressure on the Iraqi government." Mohammed stated.

"Not taking this step indicates that the salary list of our security forces includes fake forces that exclusively serve one political group," he added.

"The salary list of the security forces must be cleared and all the data regarding the security forces should be given to Baghdad in accordance with the guidelines of the Iraqi Finance Ministry. This is because we are an integral part of a federal Iraq and our rights will be safeguarded by the constitution," he declared.

"Contrary to the belief that disclosing the names of the security forces poses a risk to the Kurdistan Region's structure, this is not the case as the payment of salaries is no longer done randomly as it was in the past," he added. 

Security forces' salaries cannot be held hostage to the stubbornness of vested interest policies

Regarding the delay in the salaries of the security forces, Sarko Azad Galali, a member of the fifth term of the Kurdistan parliament, said on his official Facebook: "The delay in the salaries of some security forces for various reasons is unacceptable and the KRG should solve this problem as soon as possible, so that the security forces do not become victims of irregular salary lists.

"The salaries of the security forces cannot be held hostage to the stubbornness of interest-oriented policies, considering that our security forces are the protectors of our nation and have made numerous sacrifices for this cause," said Galali.

The fate of two salaries remains uncertain

According to a statement issued by the KRG's Ministry of Finance, the security forces including (The Forces 70 & 80, the Security Council, the Security (Asayish) Agency, Zeravani Forces, the Defecse and Emergency Forces, the Oil Institutions Protection Police Directorate, the Interior Ministry guards) have received only one salary in 92 days.

They received their March salary on April 8, 2024 and April's salary on June 12, 2024. They have not yet received their salaries for May and June. Thus, they have received one salary for more than three months and four salaries in over seven months.



PUKMEDIA