Within the framework of a policy promoted as "encouraging high performers," the Syrian Petroleum Company (SPC) distributes substantial financial bonuses in US dollars to specific categories of employees, while the public sector suffers from scarce resources and ordinary employees struggle under the weight of inflation.
This practice raises a fundamental question: Where is Syria's already limited oil revenue going?
Details of Concerning Practices:
Bonuses with Ambiguous Criteria: Advisers, who are essentially contractors already on high dollar-denominated salaries, receive additional bonuses starting from $50 and reaching up to $1000, without public criteria or clear professional justifications. This raises the question of favoritism: Why this specific category?
Inflated "Expert" Contracts: Contracts are signed for exorbitant amounts ($700-$3000) under the pretext of "securing expertise" and competencies, even though the person labeled as an "expert" in the contract is often a former employee who would have previously accepted a tenth of this amount. This points to a major flaw in the contracting system, a waste of public funds, and unchecked spending.
Unjustified Luxury at Public Expense: Huge sums are spent on furnishing managers' homes and purchasing the most luxurious offices and personal electronic devices for them, under the pretext of "supporting productivity and management comfort." Meanwhile, work equipment in important offices and training halls—which are supposed to feature the latest technology—remains in a dismal state. Significant expenses are misallocated; for example, floors in the Al-Furat company building are being furnished at a cost exceeding 3 billion Syrian pounds to relocate the ministry's management, including the installation of an external elevator ("asenseel"). This logic contradicts the reality of citizens struggling to secure their daily bread and the requirements of a budget deficit that presupposes focusing spending only on urgent and essential matters.
Paralysis of Oversight: These practices continue despite the existence of the Central Financial Oversight Agency and the General Authority for Control and Inspection, which were established to regulate work in government institutions and ensure optimal spending of public funds in the right place and time.
Ordinary employees wonder: How are dollar-denominated bonuses disbursed when this violates all applicable systems and laws, which seemingly no longer apply? Where is the oversight regarding the legal cap on bonuses, which was previously a specific, justifiable amount per employee requiring official written justification?
This model is not an isolated case within the Syrian Petroleum Company; it is a recurring phenomenon in other vital ministries as well. Administrative authority is necessary for operational freedom, but it turns into a mechanism for systematic corruption in the absence of transparency, oversight, and accountability.
The Syrian citizen, who pays multiples of the actual cost for electricity and fuel, has the right to know:
What are the objective and public criteria for granting dollar bonuses and determining "expert" salaries?
Why are oversight bodies failing to perform their role in an institution that represents the lifeblood of the economy?
When will employment and wage policies be unified efficiently and fairly, to put an end to dual standards and exceptions?
Enough promises of reform!
Accountability begins with absolute transparency in the spending of our sovereign institutions and holding accountable anyone proven to be squandering resources or exploiting their position.
National wealth belongs to the people; it is not a private farm for a category protected by broad authority in the absence of the rule of law.
Zaman Al-Wasl
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