The Prime Minister, Engineer Hussein Arnous, has affirmed that the goal of restructuring the subsidy scheme is purely economic, social and national and will reflect positively on society despite the difficulties it brings.
In an interview with al-Watan News Agency published on Thursday, PM Arnous added that restructuring the subsidy system also aims to “reduce the budget deficit and allocate a financial mass to subsidise the poorest families and support production, in addition to working on bettering the purchasing power of citizens and supporting the stability of the Syrian Pound exchange rate.”
“The mass of subsidies in the 2022 budget amounts to about 6 trillion Syrian pounds, without calculating the electricity subsidy out of the total budget, which amounts to approximately 13.5 trillion Syrian pounds, and this amount increases the budget deficit and its results will be very negative on the country’s economy,” Arnous said.
He added “Through a mathematical process that has not yet been completed, but it is an estimate, the process of restructuring the subsidy system can lead to a reduction in the amount of one trillion out of the six trillion, to reduce the budget deficit by a portion of this amount, and to redistribute the remaining part of it and pump it into production and towards the neediest families and to subsidise some categories and professions that need this subsidy more than others”
“Bread is still a red line, but not with the concept of the price of a bundle of bread, but rather with the concept of continuing to support agriculture and securing wheat and flour to the bakeries so that this material remains available at an acceptable price for the citizen who deserves to get it at this price,” Arnous affirmed.
This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
