Syria to Slash Public Spending to Head off Crisis
Syria has decided to slash public sector spending in a bid to head off a crisis for an economy that has taken a beating due to months of unrest and sanctions, media said on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Adel Safar has issued an order for the public sector to reduce spending by 25 percent in a move designed at "limiting waste", Al-Baath newspaper reported.
The cuts would be included in the 2012 budget and concern "fuel, maintenance, bonuses, and transport expenses" that are usually allocated to civil servants, the report said.
Western powers have imposed sweeping economic sanctions on Syria, where the United Nations estimates more than 5,000 people have been killed since March as the regime cracks down on a popular revolt.
Economy Minister Mohammed Nidal al-Shaar told Agence France Presse last month that Syria is facing the "worst" crisis of its history and would turn inwards to fend off the effects of international sanctions.
"This is not an easy crisis. It's the worst in our recent history because it is immediately affecting the Syrian citizen -- it's affecting the street, it's affecting factories, it's affecting the business community," Shaar said
He was speaking on November 24, three days before the Arab League joined the international community and imposed a raft of trade and economic sanctions on the Damascus regime.
Source: Agence France Presse
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