ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Monday reiterated his cabinet’s commitment to its reform agenda as members outlined progress during a meeting of the High Committee for the Implementation of the Reform Law.

In mid-January 2020, the Kurdistan Parliament passed the reform bill, aimed at eliminating “ghost employees” and “to bring fairness” to the public pension system, according to the parliament’s website. The passage came following the KRG’s submission of the reform plan in December 2019.

The law, consisting of 19 articles, focuses on introducing reforms in retirement, salaries, allowances, grants, and benefits within the new government’s work program in the region.

During the Monday meeting, the committee discussed “measures underway to modernise and streamline the Kurdistan Regional Government’s operations and public expenditures,” a KRG statement on the meeting read.

Prime Minister Barzani noted “the Reform Law will increase fairness and transparency for the people of the Kurdistan Region, and that the ongoing process will cover all ministries and government institutions, and that the ongoing process will cover all ministries and government institutions.”

The KRG “is determined to continue implementing administrative and financial reforms to prevent corruption and the misuse of public funds,” he added.

The committee’s secretary, Abdulhakim Khosraw, “outlined current efforts by ministries in implementing reforms. Relevant ministers also tabled progress reports, specifically related to salaries, financial entitlements, pension payments, the reorganisation of the Peshmerga forces, and the elimination of bureaucratic hurdles.”

“The Committee agreed to present to the Council of Ministers a number of recommendations to support the implementation of the Reform Law,” the statement concluded.