The financial advisor to the Prime Minister, Muthar Mohammed Saleh, confirmed today, Friday, that the rise in oil prices and the increase in exported quantities could enhance Iraq's financial revenues, noting that salaries, services, contractors' and farmers' entitlements are the top priorities for spending.
Saleh stated in a statement seen by the News Video Agency that "public finance sciences include what is known as the financial break-even point, which depends on spending ceilings and the level of available revenues to cover expenses," pointing out that "the current circumstances, amid the ongoing geopolitical crisis, impose significant challenges, even on oil exports which occur amid high risks."
He added that "the increase in prices can contribute to supporting and enhancing resources, in addition to the fact that increasing exported quantities concurrently with rising prices will certainly lead to an increase in financial returns."
He explained that "estimating the financial break-even point at present is linked to basic and governing requirements, foremost among them are salaries, wages, pensions, and social welfare, as well as the entitlements of farmers and contractors, and basic expenditures, including electricity maintenance and municipal services."
He pointed out that "oil revenues that cover these expenditures put Iraq at an exceptional financial break-even point at present," emphasizing the importance of employing revenues according to basic priorities without resorting to borrowing."
He continued that "oil revenues are estimates and recorded on a monthly basis, so an average of annual revenues should be relied upon and compared to annual expenses, as revenues may rise in some months and decline in others," indicating that the coverage of revenues for expenses, especially operational and governing ones, will place the country in a comfortable financial position."
He confirmed that "public financial management is taking place under exceptional circumstances, amid a crisis that affects about 90 percent of the public budget revenues, represented by oil revenues," stressing that success in managing this file is a test of the country's ability to emerge with the least losses and achieve the highest returns, guiding the country to safety."