Gone with the Muhasasa: Iraq’s static budget process, and the loss of financial control In-Depth Research & Reports by Ahmed Tabaqchali The Iraqi government plans to respond to the financial crises in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic by addressing the root causes of Iraq’s vulnerability to external shocks. The government has laid out a plan, known as the White Paper, which aims to fix the fault lines of the economy and by extension, the political system that fostered them. A key aspect is to enable the Ministry of Finance to deal with the complexities of managing the budget in the current crises.