Successive meetings the members of Alshaeb parliament linked to regime have held in order to vote on the draft budget of 2017 and to discuss its articles preluding for issuing it in the final form. They were so creative in making suggestions that were basically for the Syrian people’s advantage, according to what they claimed.
Council of Ministers has put initial general draft budget of 2017 for the government with a total amount estimated to be 2660 billion Syrian pound distributed to 1982 billion pounds for current spending and 678 billion Syrian pounds for investing one where the social support in the budget has reached to 423 billion Syrian pounds; this number is three times doubled less than the one set in 2011.
What is so ironical and can not be taken by any citizen living in the Syrian cities, is that the deputes in Alshaeb parliament have had their full time in expressing the suffering of the Syrian people considering the financial aspect focusing their efforts on the necessity to fight corruption and chaos widespread in all the facilities and institutions of the government. They also emphasized on the issue of departmental reforming in it, besides other demands of subjoining Financial Administrative Control Authority to Alshaeb parliament so that it work would become more expanded, make temporary employees, Finding real jobs opportunities for unemployed, rationalizing the consumptive expenses and finally applying the principle of strict penalizing and punishing all the corruption in the government.
We are not here about attacking them through media or even penancing and sanctioning, for reforming and changing for the best is called by every Syrian who is still withstanding in his country despite war circumstances, however, the proverb “much ado about nothing” can for real express the situation here. The people has heard countless words and promises since the outbreak of the Syrian revolution where till now these promises have not been carried out the thing regime officials have admitted. All what they do is announcing misappropriation and stealing operations of big amounts of money almost monthly without any real efforts considering punishing the perpetrators or even mention the details of the strict retribution that deputies had talked about in the discussion session.
Probably their suggestions of finding real job opportunities reveal there is no trust between the deputes and the council of ministers. This indicates previous promises considering eradicating unemployment that had not been applied but remained words. As it is well known to everyone living in regime held areas, work opportunities are available only to those who volunteer in regime forces “public committees” or as the Syrians call them “Shabeha”, in addition to pro regime people.
Bitter reality is that one the Syrians are living particularly those employees in the governmental facilities where they count in earning living on the pained salary that is not more 90 dollars. Despite the promises and suggestions by disputes of raising salaries of employees, they have not reached issuing implement for missing the condition for applying it which is potentials for raising; citizens lose hope for the budget is less this year with big shortage due to the Syrian pound low exchange and the retreat of the economy.
By Samah Alkhaled
Translated by Sabah Najem
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