Finance Committee to question minister on 2027 budget before it reaches parliament

BAGHDAD — Parliament’s Finance Committee will question Finance Minister Falih al-Sari and senior ministry officials on Tuesday about the draft 2027 budget, saying it should have been kept informed of the drafting and that others have been speaking for the minister.

The committee asked for the meeting, member Riyadh al-Tamimi told the Iraqi News Agency, citing Article 61 of parliament’s rules, under which it is supposed to be told about the budget’s preparation. “There are people speaking on behalf of the minister regarding the budget, so the committee will host the minister to learn all the details related to it,” he said. Members will ask how the budget was prepared and whether it covers contracts, wages and government posts, and have drawn up an agenda and a list of questions.

The Ministerial Council for Economy approved the draft and sent it to the cabinet on Sept. 27, hours after the Finance Ministry finished it. No spending total, revenue estimate, deficit or oil price assumption has been published. Sari said last month it would move contract employees and daily wage workers onto the permanent payroll, without saying how many or at what cost. The bill is due in parliament by Oct. 15.

Iraq has had no budget this year, with parliament skipping 2026 and spending running under the one-twelfth rule since the 2023-2025 law expired. The government acknowledged a fiscal crisis in late July, when salaries went out in stages, and economist Nabil al-Marsoumi said on Sunday that revenues covered only 76% of salaries and welfare in the first seven months, leaving a deficit of 29 trillion dinars. Oil provides more than 90% of federal revenue. Exports collapsed after shipping through the Strait of Hormuz was disrupted in March, recovered to about 2.35 million barrels a day in August according to SOMO, and averaged about 2.6 million in September as of Sept. 21, against 3.3 to 3.5 million before.