Lawmakers are warning against borrowing and calling for alternatives

Baghdad - INA

At a time when the government is seeking to resort to the House of Representatives in order to pass a borrowing bill to bridge the financial deficit and secure the salaries of employees, members of the House of Representatives warned today, Tuesday, against repeated borrowing to meet the necessary expenses, while they called for finding alternatives to maximize revenues and get out of the financial crisis.

A member of the Parliamentary Energy Committee, Hammam Al-Tamimi, told the Iraqi News Agency (INA): "There are many financial problems that the country suffers from, and that borrowing will carry the country great financial consequences and many risks."

He pointed out that "the committee is in the process of evaluating the performance of the Minister of Finance, and an evaluation is being made in the House of Representatives of the government's performance, as it is a transitional government aimed at preparing for early elections."

While a member of the Parliamentary Legal Committee, Hussein Al-Oqabi, explained that "there is mismanagement and planning in financial and economic issues, and this matter should be put to an end, especially in light of the existence of a crisis of salaries and employee entitlements."

He added that "the legislative authority must bear responsibility, in addition to monitoring and evaluating the performance of the government, and it must take constitutional and legal measures to remedy and correct this defect."

In turn, a member of the Finance Committee in Parliament, Hanin Qaddo, warned against external borrowing, stressing the need to find alternative solutions to deal with the crisis.

"External borrowing means linking Iraq's sovereignty, economic movement and appointments to the policies of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, which leads to restricting the country's economic policy," Qadu told the Iraqi News Agency (INA).