Residents of Syria’s Tel Tamr criticize administration for failing to control prices
TAL TAMR, Syria (North Press) – Abdullah, a resident of Tal Tamr, leaves a food store on Palestine Street carrying a small bag, complaining about the high prices of goods compared to previous days.
The elderly man, a father of five, said that he was surprised by the spike in food prices of more than two thousand pounds for some packages, compared to what they were about two weeks ago.
Residents in Tal Tamr, north of Syria’s Hasakah, blame the Autonomous Administration’s Supply Committee for not tightening control over the markets, despite the price discrepancy among shops affected by the high dollar exchange rate.
Hussein, who works in an Autonomous Administration institution in the town, criticizes the Supply Committee for not tightening supervision over commercial stores. “I didn’t buy anything, and if the price rises continue in this way, it will lead to a disaster,” Hussein added.
Although the salaries of the Autonomous Administration amount to 200,000 Syrian pounds on average, which are better than they are in the areas held by the Syrian government, the heads of families in the region believe that this amount is not enough.
The application of US sanctions (under the Caesar Act) has led to the collapse of the value of the Syrian pound, which affects the Syrian market in general. The Syrian pound recorded a new decline in its value over the past week, as the exchange rate sometimes exceeded 2,500 pounds against one dollar.
Hamdo Ali, a resident of the countryside of Tal Tamr and an agricultural worker for one of the area’s farmers, says that living has become difficult, as all the materials are very expensive. “We do not know what the solution is.”
Bulletins from the Supply Committee set the prices of all commodities on a daily basis, while the town’s markets are witnessing stagnation in purchasing power as a result of the high prices.
Barzan Yunus, a shopkeeper in the center of Tal Tamr, blames the Supply Committee for not following up on price control. However, Yunus pointed out a defect that affects bulletins, as sometimes exchange rates change prices over a matter of days or even on the same day.
“A few days ago, I bought an amount of sugar at a price of 18,000 Syrian pounds (SYP) for a bag of 10 kg, according to the supply price, but today’s bulletin asks me to sell the material for 16,000 SYP, and this will cause me losses,” Yunus added.
In a voice message from one of the administrators of the Supply Committee in Tal Tamr sent to a WhatsApp group that includes town shopkeepers, the administrator stated that everyone is required to adhere to the prices of the bulletins issued, and any violations will incur a fine.
According to officials in the Supply Committee, any violation of the pricing of the materials necessitates a fine twice the amount of the violating material found within the store.
In turn, Mahmoud Ja’alo, an official in the Supply Committee in Tal Tamr, said that the fluctuation of the dollar price makes the issue of daily price control very difficult.
Ja’alo also criticized the people’s lack of cooperation regarding submitting official complaints that help the Supply Committees to identify the violators.
He told North Press that the office of the Supply Committee was opened in the town seven months ago, and “we have not yet registered a single official complaint from the residents about price manipulation.”