Amid the events in Tunisia, the Syrian leadership has announced in recent days a number of decisions which are aimed at reducing the decline of living conditions and helping the middle classes and the poor.
Among the most important actions taken by the Syrian leadership is a decree issued by President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday to increase the heating compensation for state employees and all retirees. The increase is in the amount of 630 Syrian pounds (US$13.5) per month. The Syrian Minister of Finance Mohammad al-Hussein said that the new decision will benefit about 2 million Syrians. The total costs is about US$ 26.5 million per month.
Two days ago, issued a decree ordering the creation of the "National Fund for Social Aid" in order to help the poorest families in the Syrian society. The cost of creating the Fund is about US$ 250 million. At the first stage, the new Fund will cover some 420 thousand families.
