Determination of the draft state budget for the year 2021 and spending trends of 8500 billion pounds

The Supreme Council for Economic and Social Planning, in its meeting on September 27  chaired by Prime MinisterEng. Hussein Arnous, , approved the initial appropriations for the draft state budget and spending trends in all ministries for the year 2021 with 8500 billion Syrian pounds in the investment and current sectors compared to 4000 billion for the 2020 budget.

Social support allocations in the draft budget amounted to 3500 billion pounds, distributed on subsidies for food,  flour and oil derivatives, the National Fund for Social Aid and the Agricultural Production Support Fund.

The draft budget includes securing 70,000 job opportunities in the administrative and economic sectors and focuses on supporting the agricultural, industrial and tourism private sector in order to achieve the development of these sectors, in addition to increasing the funds for health insurance.

The draft budget focuses on re-prioritizing current and investment spending, directing public spending and controlling it to ensure optimal use of available resources, activating production, especially in the agricultural and industrial sectors, and securing basic services for citizens.

Eng. Arnous stated that the state will not give up its priority of social support in addition to supporting agricultural and industrial production and small and medium enterprises.

Eng. Arnous emphasized the role of each ministry in arranging spending priorities in line with development plans based on the national production and service levels.

The Council’s members listened to a presentation by the Chairman of the Planning and International Cooperation Authority  on tracking the implementation of projects in the budget for the year 2019 and the first half of this year.

Finance Minister Dr. KinanYaghi stated  that the budget was prepared according to a set of principles, the most important of which is the search for sustainable revenues and securing the necessary funding for projects of economic feasibility.

Yaghi said  that the public expenditures in the 2021 budget are divided into two items , current expenditures are salaries, wages and compensation of about 7 thousand billion pounds and 1500 billion pounds is investment spending.

He added that the social support is about 3500 billion pounds distributed to support the food and bread by about 700 billion ,2700 billion to support oil products, in addition to allocating 50 billion to the Agricultural Production Support Fund and 50 billion to the Social Aid Fund.

Yaghi explained that the Supreme Planning Council also approved about 500 billion pounds as appropriations through which to finance economically feasible investment projects through treasury bonds, and 50 billion were allocated to the reconstruction committee.

O. al-Mohammad