Iraq’s president ratifies record $152 billion budget criticized by IMF for too rosy projections

By ABDULRAHMAN ZEYAD and QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA
Associated Press

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq’s president has approved a record $152 billion budget that the parliament voted on earlier this month and which adds about half a million public sector jobs. Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid on Wednesday ratified the budget, which has a projected deficit of $48 billion. Parliament last week voted on the draft, six months into the fiscal year and after months of negotiations. The budget’s rosy revenue projections and the large number of new positions in the public sector have drawn criticism, including from the International Monetary Fund, which in a recent report warned against “fiscal loosening” and a heavy reliance on oil revenues . The IMNF also urged the government to implement a stricter fiscal policy.