At a Glance

• Iraqi PM Al-Zaidi empowers deputy ministers to run vacant portfolios.
• Cabinet enacts major administrative overhauls, establishing a 10-day high-value contract audit deadline. 

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Faleh al-Zaidi directed deputy ministers of unappointed ministries to attend Cabinet sessions and temporarily manage daily affairs to ensure government continuity, while also enacting significant administrative, financial, and energy reforms.

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Key Statements and Focus Areas 

• The Prime Minister affirmed that the measure regarding the appointment process “is intended to ensure the smooth functioning of the ministries.”
• The Cabinet meeting enacted major administrative, financial, and energy reforms, including centralized contract audits and fuel subsidies.

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Al-Zaidi chaired the 13th regular Cabinet session, directing deputy ministers of unappointed ministries to attend sessions until permanent appointments are finalized.

The Prime Minister also granted authority to the deputy ministers of the Ministries of Defense, Interior, Planning, Construction, Housing, Municipalities and Public Works, Higher Education and Scientific Research, Culture, Labor and Social Affairs, Migration and Displacement, and Youth and Sports to run the operations of their respective institutions, excluding the specific powers that remain restricted solely to the minister appointed to manage the ministry in an acting capacity.

Al-Zaidi said that the decision aims “to ensure the smooth functioning of the ministries, accelerate the completion of their responsibilities, and prevent delays in matters affecting the interests of the state and its citizens.”

He stressed “the importance of the deputy ministers making every effort to increase the pace of work and improve institutional performance.”

During the session, the Cabinet transferred responsibility for prior government contract audits to the Federal Board of Supreme Audit, set a 10-day deadline for high-value contract audits, and approved open tenders for the Rumaila and Shatt al-Arab power stations.

The Council also introduced measures to subsidize fuel from the Karbala Refinery until August 31, 2026, and exempted certain petroleum contracts from audit reviews due to security issues in the Strait of Hormuz.

Additionally, he instructed that internally displaced Yazidi community members in the Sinjar District of Nineveh Governorate be incorporated into the One Million Residential Land Plots Project.

FYI

Prime Minister Ali Faleh Al-Zaidi's administration remains partially formed because parliament has only approved 14 out of 23 proposed cabinet nominees due to intense political disputes.

To prevent government delays, deputy ministers have been authorized to temporarily run daily operations across the nine unappointed portfolios, including key sectors like Defense and Interior.

Meanwhile, al-Zaidi chaired a meeting on Saturday dedicated to reviewing and approving the final version of the Government Program, which included “a comprehensive review” of the program’s pillars and priorities, along with a discussion of the final observations to ensure the integration of its vision and objectives, in preparation for approving its final version and submitting it to the Council of Representatives.

The session included a comprehensive review of its pillars and priorities, incorporating final observations to ensure a unified vision before its official submission to the Council of Representatives.

Political analyst Haidar Barzanji stated earlier that parliament is scheduled to vote on completing Ali Faleh al-Zaidi's cabinet between August 15 and 20.

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