PUK Bloc: 'My Account' is in the Past

Economy 01:22 PM - 2024-10-26

My Account logo.

The PUK bloc in the Iraqi Parliament is making serious efforts to nationalise (Tawtin) the Kurdistan Region's civil servants' salaries via one of the Iraqi state-owned banks. The bloc's spokesperson said, "My Account is the past and there is nothing left under that name; the right course of action is to open office of the federal banks in the Region."

A member of the Iraqi Parliament stated: "We are preparing to include the establishment of federal bank branches into the sessions of the Iraqi Parliament."

The PUK aims to resolve the salary delays by the end of this year

Sozan Mansour, spokesperson for the PUK bloc in the Iraqi parliament, told PUKMEDIA: "With the resumption of the Iraqi Parliament sessions tomorrow, October 27, we will intensify our efforts to nationalise the salaries of civil servants in the Kurdistan Region."

"My Account is the past and there is nothing left under that name; the right course of action is to establish offices of federal banks in the Region to nationalise civil servant salaries by the end of this year," Mansour said.

She added, "My Account is a personal project that directly contradicts the ruling of the Iraqi Federal Court. Our bloc deems it its duty to end the salary delays by intensifying efforts to address the issue in accordance with the Federal Court's ruling. We expect the issue to be solved by the end of the year."

To resolve the salary dispute between Baghdad and Erbil, the Federal Court has decided to nationalise the Kurdistan Region's civil servant salaries and distribute them through Iraqi state-owned banks, thus removing deceased individuals, duplicates, and fake names from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) salary list. However, Kurdistan Region's Prime Minister Masrour Barzani announced a banking system for disbursing the salaries of the Kurdistan Region's civil servants under the name of ‘My Account’.

‘My Account’ is entirely at odds with the Federal Court's order, and the banks within the system are private and lack guarantees; hence, in the event of bankruptcy, civil servants' salaries will be lost.

The PUK is trying to complete the procedures for opening branches of federal banks in the Region

Gharib Ahmed, a member of the Iraqi Parliament from the PUK bloc, told PUKMEDIA: "We are working to establish branches of the Bank of Baghdad in Kurdistan and are preparing to present the matter in the sessions of the Iraqi Parliament."

Ahmed added: "We are working to finalise the procedures for the establishment of branches of Rasheed and Rafidain banks in Erbil and Sulaymaniyah, enabling civil servants to open bank accounts in these institutions."

"We began discussions with the Iraqi Ministry of Finance and other relevant entities to start the nationalisation process and implement the directives of the Federal Court," he said.

The Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani previously confirmed that they rejected the ‘My Account’ project and considered it a financial project for a particular party in the Kurdistan Region. He also urged civil servants to nationalise their salaries in Iraqi state-owned banks. 

The insistence of a party to establish bank accounts for civil servants in the Kurdistan Region within banks affiliated with the 'My Account' has resulted in delays in the disbursement of several months' salary. The PUK bloc in the Iraqi Parliament is working to establish branches of federal banks in the Region, as mandated by the Iraqi Federal Court



PUKMEDIA