By Ali Hama Salih
There is an unannounced agreement between the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) for two administrations in the Kurdistan Region.
The continuation of this agreement, which is currently in force, will put the Sulaymaniyah administration under siege on both sides.
Although this agreement has not been announced and is not on paper, it is the only agreement in Kurdistan that will be fully implemented.
As a result of this agreement, Sulaymaniyah is expected to be hit hard in the near future.
The two administrations also cover salaries, projects and services.
In the field of salaries, 43% of the oil money was returned to the salaried employees of the Sulaymaniyah administration and 57% to the administration of Erbil and Dohuk. For example, in February of this year, oil revenues for the public treasury amounted to 488 million dollars. 209 million dollars for the administration of Sulaymaniyah and the other for Erbil and Dohuk.
If the oil money is not enough for salaries, each region will supplement its salaries from its income. For example, in February of this year, the administration of Sulaymaniyah must pay ($ 48 million), Erbil ($ 64 million).
As for the projects, the Prime Minister decides all the projects including the projects of the Sulaymaniyah administration, but the projects in Sulaymaniyah must be implemented with the revenues of Sulaymaniyah itself and the government will not send any money from Erbil. Officials in Sulaymaniyah say there is no revenue and therefore all projects in Sulaymaniyah are now halted.
The Prime Minister and the decisions of the Council of Ministers are now talking about smuggling, corruption, land issues in Sulaymaniyah and the lack of projects, because the damage is only to the people of Sulaymaniyah and not the entire Kurdistan Region.
Sulaymaniyah officials in the government do not talk about oil revenues, Fish Khabur, Ibrahim Khalil, taxes, land and anything else in Erbil and Dohuk. That's about themselves... Even the government has about a million liters of gasoline per day. Sulaymaniyah 's quota is 400,000 liters and all of it is given to Sun Oil, and officials in the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the Change Movement in government say nothing about it.
About medicines, monthly advances, and office expenses
Each boundary must provide for the expenses of the security and military forces, the monthly advances for all offices, food in hospitals and prisons, medicine, health supplies, and garbage collection from their own revenue. If the Sulaymaniyah administration cannot provide these services from its own revenue, these services will be discontinued and disrupted in Sulaymaniyah. Even the purchase of weapons and ammunition for the Peshmerga must be from the revenues of the Sulaymaniyah administration itself.
Officials in Sulaymaniyah say there is not enough revenue for it. Therefore, about 100 cancer patients at Hiwa Hospital are at risk of dying due to lack of medication.
Who is responsible for this situation?
The persons that have direct control over the border point and the administration of the Sulaymaniyah borders are Bafel Talabani and Qubad Talabani. If they say, the income of this boundary region is lower in itself! How do they agree with this form of administration in the Kurdistan Regional Government?
Primarily, the Prime Minister is also legally and administratively responsible. Is it written in the government's agenda and laws that without the public treasury, from weapons and ammunition to garbage collection and medicine, every border region must do so from its income?
It is true that there is smuggling in Bashmakh and Parwizkhan border points, but in fact the revenue of the border points of Erbil and Duhok, which has borders with three countries, is more than Sulaymaniyah. The number of companies in Erbil and Duhok is three times that of Sulaymaniyah. People in Sulaymaniyah are not ready to pay water and electricity bills due to lack of confidence in the government.
Under the current circumstances, the Sulaymaniyah administration is doing its best to provide salaries and part of the monthly advances, so all service projects such as water, roads and medicine will in the near future become a major crisis for the people.
The Sulaymaniyah administration is currently providing a monthly stipend of $48 million for the region's salaries, and if oil prices fall, Sulaymaniyah will have to pay its salaries more than it receives from local revenue.
The two undeclared administrations caused severe damage to the entire Kurdistan Region, opened the door to corruption and smuggling, and lost their true responsibility for the situation. By blaming each other, the PUK and the KDP are offending the people.
In addition to the lack of projects, many government hospitals in Sulaymaniyah are at risk of closure, and hospitals are now running out of medicines.