Devaluing the national currency may provide temporary fiscal relief, but it is neither a development strategy nor a comprehensive economic reform.

What Economic Solutions Does Iraq Need?

1️⃣ Reform the Budget Before Making Citizens Pay the Price

Review unnecessary government spending, excessive privileges, and financial waste.

Publish government accounts and major public contracts transparently, while protecting essential salaries and public services.

2️⃣ Protect Citizens’ Purchasing Power

Introduce temporary, targeted cash assistance for low-income households.

Reduce tariffs and fees on essential goods where necessary, rather than relying on blanket subsidies that often benefit wealthier households more than the poor.

3️⃣ Close the Gap Between Official and Parallel Exchange Rates

Expand legitimate importers’ access to dollars through regulated banks.

Simplify international transfers while maintaining anti-money-laundering safeguards and preventing illegal currency speculation.

4️⃣ Diversify Government Revenue

Develop Iraq’s food-processing, pharmaceutical, manufacturing, agricultural, and service sectors.

Reform tax and customs collection fairly and efficiently to reduce the country’s chronic dependence on oil revenues.

5️⃣ Strengthen Financial Independence

Diversify correspondent banking relationships and legitimate international trade-settlement channels.

Expand electronic payments without risking financial isolation or violating international obligations.

6️⃣ Establish a Clear Monetary Policy Framework

Announce a measurable plan to control inflation, stabilize the foreign-exchange market, preserve foreign-currency reserves, and safeguard the Central Bank’s independence.

Iraq needs predictable economic policies, not sudden decisions that unsettle financial markets.

Conclusion

The problem is not that the government is facing a financial crisis. The problem is that it chose to devalue the national currency before demonstrating to citizens that it had exhausted its options for reforming public expenditure and eliminating financial waste.

Although devaluing the dinar may temporarily help the treasury manage the budget deficit, it carries an economic and social cost that cannot be ignored.

Economic success is not measured by how many additional dinars the government collects from every dollar of oil revenue. It is measured by what an Iraqi citizen can afford with their salary and whether they can provide a dignified life for their family.

If Al-Zaidi wants to restore public confidence, he must present a genuine economic reform program with measurable targets, clear deadlines, and meaningful accountability, rather than leaving ordinary citizens to shoulder the burden of the crisis alone.

Iraq needs financial reform that protects both the dinar and its people — not a budget that looks healthier on paper while living standards continue to deteriorate.