2024-02-25T09:25:49+00:00
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/ The Ministry of Finance revealed, on Sunday, that the size of Iraqi revenues in the federal budget during 12 months exceeded 135 trillion dinars, confirming that the contribution of oil to the budget decreased to 93%.
Agency continued, that the data and tables issued by the Ministry of Finance in February of this year, for the accounts of the 12 months of the past fiscal year, which showed that oil is still the main resource for Iraq’s general budget, reaching 93%, indicating that the rentier economy is the basis for the country’s general budget.
The financial tables also indicated that the total revenues until December of last year amounted to 135 trillion 681 billion 266 million 197 thousand 696 dinars, after excluding the transfer revenues amounting to 2 trillion 259 billion 301 million 196 thousand dinars, explaining that the total expenditures with advances amounted to 122 trillion 772 billion 745 million 546 thousand dinars.
According to the financial tables, oil revenues amounted to 125 trillion, 882 billion, 218 million, and 622 thousand dinars, which constitutes 93% of the general budget, while non-oil revenues amounted to 9 trillion, 799 billion, 47 million, and 964 thousand dinars.
In an interview with Agency, economic expert Hilal Al-Taan considered that “the decrease in the percentage of oil in the budget came as a result of Iraq reducing its oil production in compliance with OPEC decisions, adding that this percentage is still high compared to oil-producing countries.”
He added that Iraq ended the fiscal year with a slight surplus, which means that the expenses were large.
Al-Taan also pointed out that “the government will remain dependent on oil as the main source of the budget for a long time, because it has not developed other economic sectors, stressing that it needs political will and a real will for that.”
The Prime Minister for Energy Affairs and Minister of Oil, Hayan Abdul-Ghani, confirmed yesterday, Saturday, that Iraq has reduced its oil production by 600 thousand barrels per day as part of the OPEC plan to bring the country’s production to 4 million barrels per day.
In March 2021, the Prime Minister’s advisor for financial affairs, Mazhar Muhammad Salih, confirmed in an interview with Agency that the reasons for the economy remaining rentier are due to the wars and the imposition of an economic blockade on Iraq during the past era and the political conflicts we are witnessing today, which led to the dispersion of economic resources.
Abdul Ghani said in a speech during the (Sixth Baghdad Dialogue Conference/Regional Communication): “The Ministry of Oil has developed an ambitious plan to increase production, but Iraq is a major part of OPEC, and is committed to the organization’s production ceilings. Iraq’s share amounted to four million and (600,000) barrels per day, and a reduction occurred two years ago, and production became four million and (400,000) barrels per day.”
He added, “There are two voluntary cuts that Iraq implemented, and production reached (4) million barrels per day,” noting that “the goal of this is to maintain price stability and achieve a balance between supply and demand.”
The continued reliance of the Iraqi state on oil as the sole source of the general budget puts Iraq at risk from global crises that occur from time to time due to the impact of oil on them, which makes the country turn every time to cover the deficit through borrowing from abroad or domestically, which thus indicates the inability to manage the state’s funds effectively, and the inability to find alternative financing solutions.