Kracker found this off the Scottrade website...kinda cool that Scottrade is watching what iraq does now:
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["Dialogue" feature: Interview with Iraqi Finance Minister Baqir Jabr al-Zubaydi, conducted face-to-face by Ibrahim Amir, on the 2010 budget and the 2009 supplementary budget; place not given - live or recorded.]
Dubai Al-Sharqiyah Television in Arabic at 1414 gmt on 16 October 2009 carries in its "Dialogue" feature a 40-minute interview with Iraqi Finance Minister Baqir Jabr al-Zubaydi, conducted face-to-face by Ibrahim Amir. The interview's venue is not given, but Al-Zubaydi says he will be attending a meeting at the finance ministry in Baghdad at 1300 on the same day.
Told we are now in the 10th month of the year and asked about the 2009 supplementary budget which has not yet been approved, Al-Zubaydi says the 2009 General Budget was discussed at length by the cabinet in July and was then referred to parliament which received it "two or three days before its recess." He says there are now different views among MPs on the supplementary budget, whereby some MPs favour merging the important issues in the supplementary budget with the General Budget, while others want to approve it separately.
Told that some people fear if the supplementary budget is approved that will increase the deficit by 8 trillion to 10 trillion Iraqi Dinars, Al-Zubaydi says he will be frank. He says there is no state in the world that has not been affected by the financial crisis, and in most states the effect was felt in 2009 and they were compelled to borrow from the IMF. He says as a result of Iraq having a financial surplus of 15 billion dollars at end of 2008 which was in the Development Fund for Iraq (DFI) account and. He says the 15 billion dollars surplus contributed to saving Iraq from the financial crisis in 2009, and none of the rumours that salaries will not be paid materialized.
Al-Zubaydi says even the United States is not out of the crisis and "there is new talk that banks will collapse soon," a development that will affect other sectors, especially the industry sector. He says Iraq is taking big precautions so that it will not suffer a financial crisis in 2010 and not even in 2011. He says therefore they take additional precautions when it comes to the disbursement of large sums, especially with the operational budget, because the disbursement will have a negative effect on the economic situation.
Referring to the 2010 budget, Al-Zubaydi says if the supplementary budget, which is around 5 billion dollars, is fully approved and if the budget submitted by the finance ministry is approved -and there is another "budget" to which the Cabinet added 6 billion dollars, apart from the supplementary budget.. Al-Zubaydi is interrupted by Ibrahim who asks him if the supplementary budget will be submitted to parliament, and Al-Zubaydi says it will. He says he found that ministers have a desire to add big sums to the budget, while the finance ministry believes that the addition of such large sums will embroil Iraq in a crisis at end of 2010. He says the ministry will express its reservations openly and will announce that any "uncalculated additions will embroil Iraq in a crisis." Al-Zubaydi says the IMF president has told him that the IMF accepts the budget submitted by the finance ministry but totally objects to the Cabinet's additional budget for that will create problems for Iraq.
Al-Zubaydi says they have now returned from the IMF "carrying IMF ideas." He says if the financial crisis continues the ministry will not be able to ensure that the 2011 budget will pass through. Al-Zubaydi says they obtained 1 billion dollars from the World Bank and 4.5 billion dollars from the IMF, and as an IMF member Iraq is entitled to 1.2 SDR (Special Drawing Rights), or approximately 1.8 billion dollars at a soft interest rate. He says the Iraqi Government decides how to spend those sums and it is up to parliament to approve them or not, but Iraq will not get that 7 billion dollars if it rejects the IMF proposal to retain the budget.
Asked about the purpose of the 6 billion dollars added by the ministers, Al-Zubaydi says most of it is in investment spheres that are "useful and important," but what is more important is to have a stable budget in 2011 and not to have a deficit.
Asked about the strategy for Iraq's financial policy and about the lack of a unified view which is illustrated by the presence of both a finance ministry draft budget and a Cabinet draft budget, Al-Zubaydi says the draft budget had already been sent to the IMF and initially the IMF rejected it but Iraq later persuaded the IMF to accept it. Al-Zubaydi says that in the 2009 budget they had a 17 billion dollars deficit, but it was a planning deficit as Iraq already had 15 billion dollars. Al-Zubaydi says the oil minister informed the cabinet of the IMF view and the Iraqi view, and the Cabinet formed a committee which includes the finance, oil, planning, and other ministers who will meet at the finance ministry later on in the day, and they will study both the IMF's and Iraqi wishes, and whether they will sign an agreement with the IMF. Al-Zubaydi says the committee will submit its conclusion to the cabinet which will make its decision. He adds that he will not approve the additional (ministers') budget.
Asked if the 15 billion dollars surplus was a result of oil price increases, Al-Zubaydi says most of it was, while part of it was because the budget did not need those sums at the time.
Asked about the sources of the 5 billion dollars supplementary budget, Al-Zubaydi says in the DFI. He agrees that a part of the supplementary budget is refunded by the governorates and ministries. Asked what percentage is refunded, Al-Zubaydi says in 2008 the percentage of implementation exceeded 80 per cent, but the governorates' implementation percentage in the first eight months of 2009 did not exceed 36 per cent. Told some people fear that the approval of the supplementary budget will deprive the governorates of their allocations for 2010, Al-Zubaydi says he believes parliament will approve the governorates' allocations on condition they are recycled. He notes that the Ninawa and Diyala governorates did not get their fair share of the budget in the past, and what remained of the funds allocated to the Al-Anbar and Basra governorates in the past four years is about 60 million dollars, while Mosul lost 400 million dollars.
Asked if he expects parliament will approve the 2009 supplementary budget, Al-Zubaydi says he feels parliament is tarrying in approving it, for truly there is no time to implement it. However, he adds, the supplementary provides for essential issues such as the elections, water, the Baghdad municipality, and the salaries of the Awakening Councils, and he hopes parliament will vote on it as soon as possible.
[The interview is interrupted for five minutes during which Al-Sharqiyah carries a live broadcast via satellite from Baghdad of a press conference held by the Al-Sadr Trend on the results of preliminary elections to choose Trend candidates for the parliamentary elections.]
Asked to compare between the 2009 and 2010 budgets, Al-Zubaydi notes that the 2010 budget is not finished. He says the 2009 budget provided for 12 billion dollars in investments, while the 2010 budget will provide for around 16 billion dollars. He says there is a clear view in the cabinet that self-financing companies should be encouraged to depend on themselves and helped until they stand on their feet, and therefore cement and textile factories and fertilizer and power plants should be supported until they become self-reliant.
Asked about accusations levelled at him for allocating funds for "unconstitutional, or controversial departments," Al-Zubaydi says once parliament decided in 2008 to introduce a clause in the budget bill proscribing the allocation of funds to any establishment whose statute has not been ratified, they stopped helping all establishments that do not have a statute. He says there are no allocations for the national security ministry in the 2010 budget, except that the salaries of the ministry's employees are paid, as stipulated by the budget law.
Asked about the deficit in the 2009 budget, Al-Zubaydi says it was around 17 trillion Iraqi Dinars as far as h e remembers, and the deficit in the 2010 budget is 15 billion dollars.
Told that regarding the provinces' share, the 2009 budget referred to the population census so that in the light of the census the provinces' shares will be decided, but he census has been postponed, and asked how will the governorates' shares will be decided, Al-Zubaydi says the same measures as those taken in 2009 will be adopted, namely that the share will be calculated at 17 per cent , from which the share of the sovereign ministries is deducted, and thus it will be about 12 per cent, and the same clause on calculating it on the basis of the census -retroactively from 1 January 2009 - once the census is held will be added.
Asked if the 2010 budget includes changes in the ration share, social insurance, and spheres that directly affect citizens, Al-Zubaydi says no, adding that the Cabinet is asking for an increase in the allocations for social insurance and ration cards, and those requests are being studied. Regarding a halt in new appointments and the abolition of pensioners' grades, Al-Zubaydi says the Cabinet has decided to stop appointments. He says the salaries of the staff of the presidency, the prime minister's office, and the office of parliament will be cut in 2010 by 20 per cent, while the salaries of ministers, MPs, advisers, and those in special grades will be cut in 2010 as in 2009.
Asked about the big gap in the salaries of those in special grades and other employees and told there is "resentment" at the excessive inflation of the special grades salaries, Al-Zubaydi says it is not up to him but his personal view is that the special grades salaries should be cut. He says it should not be said he's saying that because of electoral considerations, as he had said it two years ago.
Told the 2010 budget recommends the creation of new revenues and asked what revenues he expects, Al-Zubaydi says Iraq is a rich state like Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. He says additional revenues can be obtained from customs, and Iraq's old customs law provides for taking 5 per cent of revenues. Al-Zubaydi says a new law, the customs tariff bill that conforms to WTO requirements, will double customs revenues. He adds that the ministry is working on developing a new tax law, has changed the tax directorate's director general, and a big progress in the collection of taxes has been achieved. He says: "We have launched an important policy to increase State revenues."
Asked if customs tariffs in Iraqi Kurdistan are the same as in the rest of the country, Al-Zubaydi says they are not the same on all goods, adding that for instance the customs tariff in the Kurdistan province is 5 per cent according to a report he received recently, whereas in the rest of the country it is 35 per cent or 30 per cent. He says they have told the province that this is "a central federal issue, and taxes must be equal for everyone."
Told this issue harps back to the question on whether Iraq has a financial strategy, Al-Zubaydi says there is a clear and precise financial strategy. He says while there have been problems with the Kurdistan province in the oil sector because the province drilled wells without the oil council's approval, financial relations with the province are good. He says the customs directorate received from the Kurdistan province 400 million dollars in oil revenues in 2008. Al-Zubaydi says that in Kurdistan province, with the exception of the tax on cigarettes all other taxes are the same as federal taxes, adding that he asked the Financial Control Bureau to inspect the province, and the Kurdistan province cooperated with it fully.
Asked about new licenses for cellular phones, Al-Zubaydi says the Cabinet decided to grant a fourth license for mobile telephones, and the telecommunications minister told him that an announcement on the matter will be made soon.
Told there is a lack of transparency in announcing the budget which is announced only after the Cabinet finishes discussing it, Al-Zubaydi says how t he budget can be announced before "it assumes its natural form." He says that the 2010 budget was discussed for three days, 12 hours a day, in meetings attended by 25 experts, seven ministers, and advisers, and they "drew up a magnificent strategy" that was submitted to the Cabinet which approved it, and the budget was based on it.
Asked about revenues, Al-Zubaydi says there is development in revenues from customs, taxes, and the sale or lease of State land.
Asked about the exchange rate of the Iraqi Dinar, Al-Zubaydi says the Central Bank is responsible for monetary policy. He says when he first came to the finance ministry he proposed to the governor of the Central Bank to increase the Iraqi dinar rate against the US dollar, and during a recent visit to Turkey he told the governor who was with him that Turkey has devalued its currency against the dollar from 4 million Turkish pounds (TL) to the dollar, to approximately TL 1.5 pounds to the dollar. He says the Central Bank has in fact made a decision on the matter, but its implementation needs time.
Source: Al-Sharqiyah TV, Dubai, in Arabic 1414 gmt 16 Oct 09
BBC Mon ME1 MEPol oy
News & Commentary
News Overview News Headlines
PR Newswire
-
["Dialogue" feature: Interview with Iraqi Finance Minister Baqir Jabr al-Zubaydi, conducted face-to-face by Ibrahim Amir, on the 2010 budget and the 2009 supplementary budget; place not given - live or recorded.]
Dubai Al-Sharqiyah Television in Arabic at 1414 gmt on 16 October 2009 carries in its "Dialogue" feature a 40-minute interview with Iraqi Finance Minister Baqir Jabr al-Zubaydi, conducted face-to-face by Ibrahim Amir. The interview's venue is not given, but Al-Zubaydi says he will be attending a meeting at the finance ministry in Baghdad at 1300 on the same day.
Told we are now in the 10th month of the year and asked about the 2009 supplementary budget which has not yet been approved, Al-Zubaydi says the 2009 General Budget was discussed at length by the cabinet in July and was then referred to parliament which received it "two or three days before its recess." He says there are now different views among MPs on the supplementary budget, whereby some MPs favour merging the important issues in the supplementary budget with the General Budget, while others want to approve it separately.
Told that some people fear if the supplementary budget is approved that will increase the deficit by 8 trillion to 10 trillion Iraqi Dinars, Al-Zubaydi says he will be frank. He says there is no state in the world that has not been affected by the financial crisis, and in most states the effect was felt in 2009 and they were compelled to borrow from the IMF. He says as a result of Iraq having a financial surplus of 15 billion dollars at end of 2008 which was in the Development Fund for Iraq (DFI) account and. He says the 15 billion dollars surplus contributed to saving Iraq from the financial crisis in 2009, and none of the rumours that salaries will not be paid materialized.
Al-Zubaydi says even the United States is not out of the crisis and "there is new talk that banks will collapse soon," a development that will affect other sectors, especially the industry sector. He says Iraq is taking big precautions so that it will not suffer a financial crisis in 2010 and not even in 2011. He says therefore they take additional precautions when it comes to the disbursement of large sums, especially with the operational budget, because the disbursement will have a negative effect on the economic situation.
Referring to the 2010 budget, Al-Zubaydi says if the supplementary budget, which is around 5 billion dollars, is fully approved and if the budget submitted by the finance ministry is approved -and there is another "budget" to which the Cabinet added 6 billion dollars, apart from the supplementary budget.. Al-Zubaydi is interrupted by Ibrahim who asks him if the supplementary budget will be submitted to parliament, and Al-Zubaydi says it will. He says he found that ministers have a desire to add big sums to the budget, while the finance ministry believes that the addition of such large sums will embroil Iraq in a crisis at end of 2010. He says the ministry will express its reservations openly and will announce that any "uncalculated additions will embroil Iraq in a crisis." Al-Zubaydi says the IMF president has told him that the IMF accepts the budget submitted by the finance ministry but totally objects to the Cabinet's additional budget for that will create problems for Iraq.
Al-Zubaydi says they have now returned from the IMF "carrying IMF ideas." He says if the financial crisis continues the ministry will not be able to ensure that the 2011 budget will pass through. Al-Zubaydi says they obtained 1 billion dollars from the World Bank and 4.5 billion dollars from the IMF, and as an IMF member Iraq is entitled to 1.2 SDR (Special Drawing Rights), or approximately 1.8 billion dollars at a soft interest rate. He says the Iraqi Government decides how to spend those sums and it is up to parliament to approve them or not, but Iraq will not get that 7 billion dollars if it rejects the IMF proposal to retain the budget.
Asked about the purpose of the 6 billion dollars added by the ministers, Al-Zubaydi says most of it is in investment spheres that are "useful and important," but what is more important is to have a stable budget in 2011 and not to have a deficit.
Asked about the strategy for Iraq's financial policy and about the lack of a unified view which is illustrated by the presence of both a finance ministry draft budget and a Cabinet draft budget, Al-Zubaydi says the draft budget had already been sent to the IMF and initially the IMF rejected it but Iraq later persuaded the IMF to accept it. Al-Zubaydi says that in the 2009 budget they had a 17 billion dollars deficit, but it was a planning deficit as Iraq already had 15 billion dollars. Al-Zubaydi says the oil minister informed the cabinet of the IMF view and the Iraqi view, and the Cabinet formed a committee which includes the finance, oil, planning, and other ministers who will meet at the finance ministry later on in the day, and they will study both the IMF's and Iraqi wishes, and whether they will sign an agreement with the IMF. Al-Zubaydi says the committee will submit its conclusion to the cabinet which will make its decision. He adds that he will not approve the additional (ministers') budget.
Asked if the 15 billion dollars surplus was a result of oil price increases, Al-Zubaydi says most of it was, while part of it was because the budget did not need those sums at the time.
Asked about the sources of the 5 billion dollars supplementary budget, Al-Zubaydi says in the DFI. He agrees that a part of the supplementary budget is refunded by the governorates and ministries. Asked what percentage is refunded, Al-Zubaydi says in 2008 the percentage of implementation exceeded 80 per cent, but the governorates' implementation percentage in the first eight months of 2009 did not exceed 36 per cent. Told some people fear that the approval of the supplementary budget will deprive the governorates of their allocations for 2010, Al-Zubaydi says he believes parliament will approve the governorates' allocations on condition they are recycled. He notes that the Ninawa and Diyala governorates did not get their fair share of the budget in the past, and what remained of the funds allocated to the Al-Anbar and Basra governorates in the past four years is about 60 million dollars, while Mosul lost 400 million dollars.
Asked if he expects parliament will approve the 2009 supplementary budget, Al-Zubaydi says he feels parliament is tarrying in approving it, for truly there is no time to implement it. However, he adds, the supplementary provides for essential issues such as the elections, water, the Baghdad municipality, and the salaries of the Awakening Councils, and he hopes parliament will vote on it as soon as possible.
[The interview is interrupted for five minutes during which Al-Sharqiyah carries a live broadcast via satellite from Baghdad of a press conference held by the Al-Sadr Trend on the results of preliminary elections to choose Trend candidates for the parliamentary elections.]
Asked to compare between the 2009 and 2010 budgets, Al-Zubaydi notes that the 2010 budget is not finished. He says the 2009 budget provided for 12 billion dollars in investments, while the 2010 budget will provide for around 16 billion dollars. He says there is a clear view in the cabinet that self-financing companies should be encouraged to depend on themselves and helped until they stand on their feet, and therefore cement and textile factories and fertilizer and power plants should be supported until they become self-reliant.
Asked about accusations levelled at him for allocating funds for "unconstitutional, or controversial departments," Al-Zubaydi says once parliament decided in 2008 to introduce a clause in the budget bill proscribing the allocation of funds to any establishment whose statute has not been ratified, they stopped helping all establishments that do not have a statute. He says there are no allocations for the national security ministry in the 2010 budget, except that the salaries of the ministry's employees are paid, as stipulated by the budget law.
Asked about the deficit in the 2009 budget, Al-Zubaydi says it was around 17 trillion Iraqi Dinars as far as h e remembers, and the deficit in the 2010 budget is 15 billion dollars.
Told that regarding the provinces' share, the 2009 budget referred to the population census so that in the light of the census the provinces' shares will be decided, but he census has been postponed, and asked how will the governorates' shares will be decided, Al-Zubaydi says the same measures as those taken in 2009 will be adopted, namely that the share will be calculated at 17 per cent , from which the share of the sovereign ministries is deducted, and thus it will be about 12 per cent, and the same clause on calculating it on the basis of the census -retroactively from 1 January 2009 - once the census is held will be added.
Asked if the 2010 budget includes changes in the ration share, social insurance, and spheres that directly affect citizens, Al-Zubaydi says no, adding that the Cabinet is asking for an increase in the allocations for social insurance and ration cards, and those requests are being studied. Regarding a halt in new appointments and the abolition of pensioners' grades, Al-Zubaydi says the Cabinet has decided to stop appointments. He says the salaries of the staff of the presidency, the prime minister's office, and the office of parliament will be cut in 2010 by 20 per cent, while the salaries of ministers, MPs, advisers, and those in special grades will be cut in 2010 as in 2009.
Asked about the big gap in the salaries of those in special grades and other employees and told there is "resentment" at the excessive inflation of the special grades salaries, Al-Zubaydi says it is not up to him but his personal view is that the special grades salaries should be cut. He says it should not be said he's saying that because of electoral considerations, as he had said it two years ago.
Told the 2010 budget recommends the creation of new revenues and asked what revenues he expects, Al-Zubaydi says Iraq is a rich state like Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. He says additional revenues can be obtained from customs, and Iraq's old customs law provides for taking 5 per cent of revenues. Al-Zubaydi says a new law, the customs tariff bill that conforms to WTO requirements, will double customs revenues. He adds that the ministry is working on developing a new tax law, has changed the tax directorate's director general, and a big progress in the collection of taxes has been achieved. He says: "We have launched an important policy to increase State revenues."
Asked if customs tariffs in Iraqi Kurdistan are the same as in the rest of the country, Al-Zubaydi says they are not the same on all goods, adding that for instance the customs tariff in the Kurdistan province is 5 per cent according to a report he received recently, whereas in the rest of the country it is 35 per cent or 30 per cent. He says they have told the province that this is "a central federal issue, and taxes must be equal for everyone."
Told this issue harps back to the question on whether Iraq has a financial strategy, Al-Zubaydi says there is a clear and precise financial strategy. He says while there have been problems with the Kurdistan province in the oil sector because the province drilled wells without the oil council's approval, financial relations with the province are good. He says the customs directorate received from the Kurdistan province 400 million dollars in oil revenues in 2008. Al-Zubaydi says that in Kurdistan province, with the exception of the tax on cigarettes all other taxes are the same as federal taxes, adding that he asked the Financial Control Bureau to inspect the province, and the Kurdistan province cooperated with it fully.
Asked about new licenses for cellular phones, Al-Zubaydi says the Cabinet decided to grant a fourth license for mobile telephones, and the telecommunications minister told him that an announcement on the matter will be made soon.
Told there is a lack of transparency in announcing the budget which is announced only after the Cabinet finishes discussing it, Al-Zubaydi says how t he budget can be announced before "it assumes its natural form." He says that the 2010 budget was discussed for three days, 12 hours a day, in meetings attended by 25 experts, seven ministers, and advisers, and they "drew up a magnificent strategy" that was submitted to the Cabinet which approved it, and the budget was based on it.
Asked about revenues, Al-Zubaydi says there is development in revenues from customs, taxes, and the sale or lease of State land.
Asked about the exchange rate of the Iraqi Dinar, Al-Zubaydi says the Central Bank is responsible for monetary policy. He says when he first came to the finance ministry he proposed to the governor of the Central Bank to increase the Iraqi dinar rate against the US dollar, and during a recent visit to Turkey he told the governor who was with him that Turkey has devalued its currency against the dollar from 4 million Turkish pounds (TL) to the dollar, to approximately TL 1.5 pounds to the dollar. He says the Central Bank has in fact made a decision on the matter, but its implementation needs time.
Source: Al-Sharqiyah TV, Dubai, in Arabic 1414 gmt 16 Oct 09
BBC Mon ME1 MEPol oy