ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iraq’s deputy finance minister stated on Monday that he cast his resignation in protest of Baghdad’s failure to pay the salaries of civil servants in the Kurdistan Region on time.
Rebaz Hamlan, a member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), posted a statement on Facebook explaining that his resignation was driven by the “politicized actions” that have “continued under the guise of technical and administrative matters.”
Commenting on Baghdad’s continued delay in paying the salaries of the Kurdistan Region’s public sector employees, Hamlan said, “I have worked diligently to protect the financial rights of the Kurdistan Region,” emphasizing that Erbil has “fully fulfilled” its commitments to Baghdad.
For over a decade, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has faced challenges in paying civil servants on time and in full. In recent months, civil servants in the Kurdistan Region have held on and off protests, demanding reimbursement for unpaid wages for many months over the past decade.
The unpaid salaries crisis in the Kurdistan Region was additionally aggravated in the past two years by the suspension of Kurdish oil exports in March 2023, following a court ruling on a dispute between Iraq and Turkey regarding the Region’s independent oil sales.
Hamlan also highlighted disagreements he had with Iraqi Finance Minister Taif Sami, with whom he had defended the rights of the Kurdistan Region “proudly and steadfastly.”
“I decided it is not fit for me to be a deputy minister in Baghdad, receiving salaries on time” while “the ministry I work for was a source of discomfort for my people in the Kurdistan Region,” Hamlan said, adding, “I cleared my conscience.”
Iraq’s parliament in early February passed an amendment to the federal budget law that set the Kurdistan Region’s shares at 12.6 percent, based on earlier population estimates and despite ongoing disagreements.
Following the amendment’s passage, KRG Deputy Prime Minister, Qubad Talabani, hoped that “an understanding had been reached” between Erbil and Baghdad, and that the Iraqi federal government would adopt the January salary list – presented by the KRG and “approved” by Baghdad – as “a basis” to ensure the timely payment of salaries each month.
However, as of March 10, Rudaw has learned that the KRG’s civil servants have yet to receive their February salaries.
