Frustrations mount in Iraq's Kurdistan region as two retirees die while waiting for their delayed salaries
Two Kurdish elder retirees passed away in Kurdistan Region Government in Iraq (KRG) while waiting to receive their January salaries from the regional government, as frustrations mount over delayed payments.
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Retirees wait in a long queue in front of the Tanjaro governmental bank in Sulaimaniyah to receive their salaries, 20 March 2022. [Dana Taib Menmy/TNA]
Two elderly retirees of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) died early Sunday while waiting to be paid their delayed salariesin front of a governmental bank in Sulaimaniyah city.
"Early today two retired men, Azad Esmael, 76, and Aziz Ebrahim, 70, died in front of Tanjaro Bank in Sulaimaniyah as pensioners overcrowded and pushedto enter the bank,"Saman Nadir, head of the emergency centre in Sulaimaniyah told during an interview over the phone.
The KRG administersasemi-autonomous northern region of Iraq since 1992. Since 2014, the KRG exports nearly 45,000 barrels of oil per day independently from the Iraqi federal government in Baghdad.
Presently,the KRG claims it is facinga cash liquiditycrisisand is struggling for yearsto pay more than one million employeesonthe public payroll.
Several retired people, who were waiting in a long queue to receive their salaries, confirmed the incident and said they were waiting since Sunday early morning.
"According to the spokesperson of Sulaimaniyah health directorate, after the corpses of the two men were examined at Sulaimaniyah forensics, the causes of their deaths were determined to beheart attacks,"Sarkawt Ahmed, spokesperson of Sulaimaniyah police told in a phone call.
The spokesperson further added that he cannot confirmwhether the two men died because they fell under as retirees tried to push into the bank, notingan investigation onthe incident has begun.
"I have served the KRG for 37 years, and I have been waiting to receive my January salary,” Sami Hama Salih Ahmed, a retired employee of the KRG's ministry of endowment told in front of Tanjaro Bank. "Nearly five thousand people are waiting here to be paid at this bank, but we are all silent and do not dare to ask for our rights."
Ahmad heldhis fellow retirees responsible for the deaths due to not waiting in a regular queue and pushing each other. He also held responsibleKRG's senior officials for the situation in the region.
"The senior KRG officials in general, the KRG minister of finance, the director of the banks, as well as the governor of Sulaimaniyah are particularly responsible for this situationbecause when you see all these big mansions belong to them,"Ahmed said."I do not think the KRG has a cash liquidity problem.The Iraqi government has sent money, so where is the money?"
Several other retirees spoke to on condition of anonymity, saying that the KRG officials "should have regulated paying the salaries whetherorganised by their names or through advanced bank credit cards."
[Dana Taib Menmy /TNA]
"The two men died because of overcrowding, while bank officials told us that there is no money, but now it seems they have brought some money in," a 70-year-oldretired teacher told , speakingon condition of anonymity due to fears overreprisal from the local authorities.
Another elderly woman with special needs told , also speakingon the condition of anonymity, said that sheis unable to "wait in the queue due to health problems."
"My daughter is waiting in the queue on my behalf," she added."We are here to receive only 200,000 Iraqi dinars (approximately$US 140) which is the salary of my deceased husband. He workedas an ambulance driver for 37 years serving the KRG ministry of health."
Following the incident, Awat Sheikh Janab, the KRG minister of finance and economy from the Change Movement (Gorran), sacked the director of Tanjaro Bank and established an investigation committee thatincludesrepresentatives from the Kurdistan region's public prosecution, Zamenpress, an outlet close to Gorran .
Since 2017 the KRG has a process of biometric registration of its public sector payroll beneficiaries and to establish electronic banking and paymentservices for the public payroll, but the process is as of yet to be operational.
contacted Samir Hawrami, official spokesperson of Qubad Talabani, the KRG deputy prime minister, and Lawk Ghafuri, head of the KRG foreign media relations, but they were not available to comment.
On its part, the KRG blames Baghdad for the delay in paying its employees, saying that the federal Iraqi government did notsendmonthly assistance, amounting to200 billion Iraqi dinars(estimated at nearly $US 137million), in time. But local citizens and Kurdish lawmakers say the KRG can pay at least some of thesalaries owed to its civil servants.
The Iraqi federal government has agreed to the 200 billion Iraqi dinarsin order to assist the KRG to pay itsemployees' salaries, K24, an outlet close to the KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, reported last week.
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