Committees' recent meetings - 13 September 2022
A summary of Kurdistan Parliament's committees' recent meetings and activities:
Natural Resources, Energy, Commerce and Industry Committee
13 September 2022 – The committee met with the acting KRG Minister of Natural Resources Dr. Kamal Mohammad to stress the importance of distributing kerosene and gas to households ahead of and during the winter.
Also at the meeting were the Minister for the Region for Parliament Affairs, Dr. Vala Farid; Deputy Minister of Natural Resources Ahmad Mufti; Director General of the Ministry’s Diwan, Rebin Zangana; and Director General of Contracts and Economics, Dr. Ghazal Abdullah. They discussed appropriate mechanisms for distributing kerosene and household gas.
After presenting the public’s problems and needs once winter starts, acting Minister Kamal Muhammad said, "The kersone distribution will be in three phases, first to the mountainous areas, then outside cities and later the city centres."
He added, "We will attempt to start in October and we hope to complete all three phases [of distribution] by the end of the year.”
The Ministry officials said that last year 111 million (111m) litres of kerosene were distributed to households, but based on population statistics and the data that the ministry prepared, for the 1,284,276 (1.28m) families in Kurdistan Region, 257,489,200 litres (257.5m litres) of kerosene should be distributed to fulfill needs.
The committee and the Minister also discussed how to provide and monitor the sale of gas in Kurdistan Region's market and insisted on the need to increase gas production in order to avert a crisis for the public.
The Ministry of Natural Resources delegation assured the committee that they will make every effort to arrange kerosene distribution so that every family receives 200 litres.
Social Affairs and Protection of Human Rights Committee
6 September 2022 – The committee discussed the Labour Bill, and the Bill on Retirement, Pensions and Social Security, and decided to take part in a consultative workshop on these bills by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Duhok soon.
The committee decided to meet with labour unions to get their views on the bills.
The committee decided to prepare a MOU on collaborative work with the Kurdistan Independent Human Rights Commission to strengthen adherence to human rights laws and principles in Kurdistan Region.
The committee replied to correspondence.