BAGHDAD: Iraq’ 2017 budget achieves a revenue rate of 7.5% from non-petroleum resources, a government adviser has said, labeling the rate as unprecedented.
Mazhar Mohamed Saleh, an adviser to Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, told Almaalomah.info on Tuesday that the budget witnesses a growth of non-petroleum revenues which account for 7.5% (nearly 10 trillion Iraqi dinars), something he described as “an unprecedented achievement”.
“The government will seek to increase that percentage gradually, especially after collecting electricity bills since electricity production costs nearly 12 trillion dinars, compared to only 1.25 trillion collected in bills,” Saleh stated.
On Monday, the Iraqi parliament postponed once again discussions on the 2017 budget amid growing disagreements among parliamentary blocs over financial allocations, most notably in relation to allocations for Kurdish armed forces, Peshmerga.
MPs have, so far, voted on 50 articles of the controversial budget, out of a total of 63.
