Syria’s finance minister said on Sunday the government will increase the salaries of several public sector employees by 400% next month after completing an administrative restructuring of ministries to increase efficiency and accountability.
The increase, estimated at 1.65 billion Syrian pounds, or about $127 million at current rates, will be financed from existing state resources plus a combination of regional aid, new investment and efforts to unfreeze Syrian assets held abroad. .
“(This is) the first step towards an emergency solution to the country’s economic reality,” Mohammed Abazeed, finance minister in Syria’s interim government, told Reuters, adding that this month’s salaries for public sector employees will be paid this week.
These measures are part of a broader strategy by Syria’s new interim government to stabilize the country’s economy after 13 years of conflict and sanctions.
Salaries for Syria’s public sector workers under ousted President Bashar al-Assad’s regime were about $25 a month, putting them below the poverty line, along with the majority of the country’s population, Abazeed said.
The increase will follow a comprehensive assessment of up to 1.3 million registered public sector employees to remove fictitious contributors from the payroll and will affect those with sufficient knowledge, academic qualifications and the skills needed to rebuild.
Continues after advertising
Syria’s Treasury faces liquidity challenges arising from war. Most of the money available at the central bank is Syrian currency, which has lost much of its value. However, the new government was promised assistance from regional and Arab countries, the minister said.
