Damascus residents mixed on one-time financial stimulus amid economic crisis
DAMASCUS, Syria (North Press) – Damascus residents have a difference of opinion regarding the issuance of a presidential decree granting a financial stimulus to Syrian government employees on Wednesday morning, the day after the government doubled fuel prices.
Some believe that the grant is better than nothing amid the acute need for families with limited income, while others believe that the sum of 50,000 Syrian pounds (about $22) will be useless.
Syrian president Bashar Assad issued legislative decree No. 25 on Wednesday, providing a one-time financial stimulus of 50,000 Syrian pounds (SYP) that is exempt from payroll income tax, wage tax, and any other deductions.
The stimulus will be disbursed to all civil and military employees in the ministries, departments, general institutions, companies, and facilities of the public sector.
The decree also provided that a grant of SYP 40,000 (about $17) will be disbursed to pensioners – civil and military – and also exempt from payroll income tax, wage tax and any other deductions.
Better than nothing
Damascus University student Roula Ali said that “the stimulus is fairly good in light of the price hikes.”
“I am a university student doesn’t have any family responsibility, but for a family, it is better than nothing,” Ali said.
During the war years most areas in Syria have witnessed successive economic crises, most of which were exacerbated by the sharp collapse of the value of the Syrian pound and the Caesar Act’s implementation in June.
Despite the currency collapse, the average government salary remained at 50,000 SYP, which forced a number of employees take on other work or leave government jobs, according to previous North Press reports.
Worthless
An engineer who preferred not to be named was afraid of the negative repercussions in the markets. “I am sure that prices, primarily of food items, will rise.”
A Syrian journalist working for a government institution said that “the stimulus, in this deteriorating economic situation and coinciding with the rise in fuel and gasoline prices, is worthless.”
He added, “the stimulus is not commensurate with the cost of living, because the price increases have exceeded people’s capacity over the past two months.
Exclusion of non-government employees
Heads of families who are not employed by the Syrian government criticized the decree because it did not include them.
Damascus resident Rami Ammar said, “It is better if the grant is allocated to all families according to a family registry. Then it will be more comprehensive in these difficult circumstances.”
Other still mock the stimulus due to its low value and one-time allocation.
Commentators made sarcastic remarks, such as, “We can now buy half a can of oil,” and another replied, “We can eat chicken.”