Citizens in general have no direct interest in the dollar, its attendant exchange rates, or other specifics. The great majority of the population is made up of employees, pensioners, earners, those covered by social security, the jobless, those with special needs, or those who are unable to work, and the bulk of them make their living using the dinar. They constitute a large percentage of the country’s population through the salaries, wages, subsidies, or other methods they receive, which are often limited and approach or move away from the requirements of subsistence living, but they do not require the dollar except in specific cases such as travel, study, immigration, or treatment.In other words, while the dollar has observed significant events from 2003 to the present, such as smuggling, waste, and money laundering activities, most residents have had little to do with the issue of the dollar. The Central Bank established the currency window to safeguard individuals from dollarization, and business owners exchange dollars via it. AsThe instrument utilized is import, which accounts for a significant portion of consumption. In light of this, it is assumed that the majority of Iraqis will obtain their needs for local and imported goods and services at nearly stable prices because the dollar is insured for those who require it, which means the poor give up the dollar in exchange for market price stability.
Mr. Al-Kadhimi’s government lit the fuse of the people’s livelihood crisis, which created difficulties in obtaining the minimum or acceptable requirements for many categories of people, when his government, in a joint agreement with the Central Bank and some politicians, changed the exchange rates to 1,450 dinars per dollar, and this change was not accompanied by measures to compensate for the decrease in purchasing power that occurred due to the rise in the price of oil. This move indicates that the impoverished and low-income individuals will be forced to survive within the new decrease in the price of the dinar without a change in employee compensation. When the Al-Kadhimi administration fell and the new government took over, many people heaved a sigh of relief, and their first demand was for the exchange rates to be restored. Previously, Sima OneFile prices rose, and the state treasury became overburdened with cash and gold and currency reserves. After Mr. Sudan’s administration took over administrative authority, unveiled its government program, and started a series of changes affecting citizens’ livelihoods, it decided to rethink the exchange rate of 1320 dinars per dollar, a figure that was not previously used. It embodies all wishes because it is higher than the last price change, but many saw it as a favorable indication to lower prices and achieve the break-even point.
Oil prices are rising, and it is expected that their living conditions would improve as prices fall. According to the Information Agency, income from selling oil was $9.494 billion in September of last year. Is it conceivable for the country to have such earnings and the price of the egg layer to move from 6 to 8 thousand dinars in a matter of days? The salaries of employees and pensioners have not changed in dinars, while the earnings of workers in the private sector likely to drop because to the recession in the markets?! .
True, the government and the Central Bank have implemented a package of steps to restrict the black market dollar exchange rates, but the situation has not improved and is worsening. The market exchange rate at the time of writing these lines is 1640, compared to 1320 for the official rate, and this corresponds to Central Bank sales of more than 240 million dollars per day to meet import needs, and logic dictates that if the markets require 50 million dollars to meet demand for the dollar outside the window. Then where is the impact of sales with remittances ten times the demand in black, and where do the billions go when the government meets travel expenses and other cases? Is it fair for millions of dollars to be smuggled in cash when the state has a flag, a constitution, security, judicial, and regulatory institutions, and billions of dollars are spent on it? How much longer will we be in this situation? Some predict that the price will surpass 1,700 dinars within days, and that it will cross the 2,000 dinar barrier days or weeks later. The situation raises dozens, if not hundreds, of questions, yet the citizen makes no accusation.
What thrills the thoughts and emotions of individuals impacted by the rise in the dollar exchange rate are those reassuring expectations, and then the situation deteriorates, as it did from last February until now. The economic counselor predicted, but the predictions did not come true, and yesterday the Prime Minister’s counselor for Investment Affairs predicted that the dollar exchange rates would return to stability. against the Iraqi dinar in the parallel market within a maximum of two months, and he pointed out that what we were supposed to do in six years, we are attempting to accomplish in one year, and this has greatly influenced the dollar exchange rate, adding: “The second thing that happened was the presence of great corruption. “Yes, it is likely that this rise will continue for a while, but we anticipate that the exchange rate will begin to fall within a month or two because 70% of commerce in Iraq has shifted to the electronic platform. In a parallel vein, the State of Law coalition announced a new government project involving commerce between Iraq and three nations. In an interview with the Information Agency, a coalition leader stated: “There is a new government project to adopt currencies other than the dollar to deal with several countries, including China, Iran, and Russia,” emphasizing that this project, if implemented correctly, will work to reduce demand for the dollar in Iraqi markets, emphasizing that the current
If reliance is placed on a statement that expects prices to be controlled in two months, or on a statement that heralds to the people a new plan for dealing in non-dollar markets, the duration of which has yet to be determined, then it is reasonable to ask how the (ordinary) citizen will live with the dinars he receives or obtains. Is he in charge of his affairs on a daily or monthly basis? Who can guarantee that costs for products and services will cease rising at a time when there is little possibility of raising employee and retiree pay in the foreseeable future? Any increase is connected to the budget for the next three years. Given that oil exports account for the majority of our economy, the value, quantity, and prices of oil have no security since they are reliant on foreign factors and events that are growing increasingly difficult. We will discover that we require real solutions to all concerns, and when the question is posed, the objective is not to succumb to despair, but to construct concrete solutions to what is happening rather than to fill pockets with an air of wishful thinking.
