The Cabinet on Saturday discussed the 2014 general state budget in its weekly session held in Damascus, headed by Prime minister Dr. Wael al-Halqi.
The cabinet discussed the repercussions of the terrorist attacks on the Syrian economy and the challenges resulting from increasing public spending, the huge increase in the prices of merchandise and services, and the drop in revenues.
The attendants also discussed means of alleviating the impacts of the crisis on the citizens. Measures discussed included interfering in the foreign currency market, preserving the strategic reserves of foreign currency, increasing wages for employees, subsidizing basic materials, monitoring markets to control prices, enhancing small and medium projects, and providing all medical and educational equipment and supplies [for free].
They said that the government is exerting all efforts to provide residences for the displaced families that were forced to leave their houses due to the acts of the armed terrorist groups, adding that the government allocated SYP 30 billion in 2013 to compensate the families whose houses were damaged and allocated SYP 50 billion in 2014 for the same purpose.
In a press release after the meeting, Minister of Finance Dr. Ismael Ismael said that the government will continue providing social support, adding that the government has allocated SYP 615 billion to this field, compared with SYP 512 billion in 2013.
Translated and edited by The Syrian Observer
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