The Syrian government is striving to implement large -scale economic reforms aimed at reviving the exhausted economy, and these reforms include plans to reduce the number of public sector employees by about a third, in addition to the privatization of government companies that dominated the economy during the decades in which the Assad family ruled.
The rapid pace of these reforms, which focus on reducing corruption and financial waste, sparked protests between government employees. The first layoffs began just weeks after the overthrow of President Bashar Al -Assad on December 8.
In interviews with five ministers in the interim government, conducted by Reuters news agency, all of them confirmed that reform plans include getting rid of “ghost employees”, who are employees who were receiving salaries without actual work during the Assad era.
A shift towards free market economy
The new Syrian Minister of Economy, Basil Abdel -Hanan, said that the government is adopting a new approach based on “competitive free market economy.”
He added that the government of President Ahmed Al -Shara will privatize 107 state -owned industrial companies, most of which are unanimous. But he stressed that the energy and transportation assets that are considered a “strategy” will remain under the control of the state, without specifying the names of companies that will be subject to privatization. The major industries in Syria include oil, cement, and steel.
For his part, Finance Minister Mohamed Abazid said that some state -owned companies were only facades to waste public money, adding that the government intends to close those that do not provide real economic value.
Abazid pointed out that a preliminary review revealed that only 900 thousand out of 1.3 million government employees actually persist in their jobs, which means that there are about 400,000 “ghost employees”. He stressed that getting rid of this category will provide significant resources that can be directed towards rebuilding the economy.
As for the Minister of Administrative Development, Mohamed Al -Skaf, he explained that the state only needs between 550 and 600 thousand employees, that is, less than half of the current number.
Tax reforms and investment encouragement
The government is also seeking to simplify the tax system and grant an amnesty for previous financial sanctions, with the aim of encouraging investors to return to Syria.
Abazid, who previously held the position of economics professor at the North Private University, said that the goal is to turn factories inside the country into platforms to export Syrian products to global markets, which contributes to stimulating the economy and creating new job opportunities.
Idlib model as a plan for development
Before the fall of Assad, the Headquarters for the Liberation of Al -Sham was running Idlib as an independent area since 2017, as it succeeded in attracting special investments and reducing bureaucracy.
Three ministers in the interim government emphasized that the goal now is to expand the Idlib model to include all parts of the country, with a focus on strengthening foreign and local investment to contribute to the reconstruction of Syria after 14 years of war.
But this trend faces major challenges, the most prominent of which is international sanctions that still hinder foreign trade.
Maha, the expert in the International Labor Organization, said that the current Syrian economy is not in a situation that allows it to provide a sufficient number of jobs in the private sector, noting that the restructuring of the public sector may be a necessary step, but it is not necessarily a top priority at this stage.
“I am not sure if this decision is the wise option now,” she added.
Questions about the speed and legitimacy of reforms
While some observers believe that temporary administration needs to take rapid measures to tighten its grip on power, there are concerns about the speed and expansion of reforms.
“They are talking about a transition, but they make decisions as if they were an elected government that has complete legitimacy,” said Aaron Lund, a researcher at the Century International Center for Middle Eastern Studies.
Although the project pledged to hold elections, it indicated that its organization may take four years.
Economic “absorption”
The Minister of Economy said that the government is setting policies to alleviate the repercussions of reforms on the market, to prevent stagnation or sharp increase in unemployment rates, as happened in the countries that have undergone economic “shock” programs in the nineties.
Abdel Hanan added that the goal is to achieve a balance between supporting the growth of private sector and providing assistance to the most needy groups.
The government began taking measures to compensate the affected workers, including raising the salaries of state employees, which are currently about $ 25 a month, by 400% as of February. It also works to provide the end of the service and layoffs of some employees through paid vacations until the needs of different departments are evaluated.
Demobilization
Despite these measures, feelings of concern increased among some employees, especially with the emergence of lists in the ministries of labor and trade aimed at canceling the former military employment programs who served in the Assad army.
In cities such as Daraa and Lattakia, government officials went out in rare protests, raising banners saying “No to the arbitrary semester” and “cutting the necks and cutting livelihoods.”
“I am with the elimination of imaginary employment, but I work in my job hard, and my salary hardly covers my family’s basic needs,” said Adham Abu Al -Alaya, an employee of the Health Directorate in Daraa.
Disclosure of widespread corruption
The Minister of Finance confirmed that the government’s investigations revealed great corruption, especially in the Syrian Trade Corporation, which is a public company for the distribution of consumer goods that were receiving government funds for a full contract without providing accurate financial data.
Abazid said that it was decided to close the company, but he did not specify the size of the wasted money.
Administrative system reform
The interim government does not have a precise database for government employees, but it is working to create a new digital record, as employees are required to register their data via an electronic form.
The Minister of Administrative Development said that building this base will take about six months, with the help of a team of 50 people.
The government is also working on digitizing old employees’ records, currently stored in 60 dilapidated rooms containing more than a million files, some of which dates back to the Ottoman era.
Heba Al -Baalbaki, a digital specialist in the Ministry of Labor, said that this step represents a positive shift, especially after her previous attempts to update records conservation systems were rejected by the previous administration.
While the interim government is proceeding with its plans to restructure the economy, questions remain about its ability to achieve a balance between economic reforms and social stability, in a country that still suffers from the effects of a long -term war.
