Exceptional Salaries for HTS-Linked Employees in al-Sharaa’s Government: How Public Spending Was Captured

A new economic analysis warns that Syria’s wage policies are drifting toward a system of political loyalty rather than institutional reform, channeling vast public resources to employees connected to Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and emerging networks of influence. The trend, researchers argue, risks entrenching a quota-based state structure at the very moment Syria claims to be rebuilding a professional public administration.

The findings, published by the Syrian Center for Policy Research (SCPR) and authored by Zaki Mehchy and Mohammad Alabi, show that Syria’s public wage bill surged in 2025 to 15.6 trillion Syrian pounds—a jump of nearly 115% from the previous year. The increase coincided with sweeping restructuring measures across the public sector.

A 4.3 Trillion Pound Gap

Despite the dramatic rise in spending, the increase does not translate into proportional improvements in workers’ incomes. SCPR estimates that the wage bill implied by official raises and grants should total 11.3 trillion pounds, leaving an unexplained gap of 4.3 trillion pounds.

The report links this gap to exceptional financial allocations outside the formal wage structure. These funds are directed to select groups of employees labeled “extraordinary,” under the government’s stated rationale of attracting expertise and protecting institutions.

Cross-referenced estimates suggest that a significant portion of these allocations flows to employees tied to influential networks, including HTS. Analysts describe the emergence of a dual wage system inside the public sector, with expenditures for this privileged category reaching an estimated $390 million in one year—about 11% of the total budget. This is a striking figure for an economy under severe fiscal strain and declining revenues.

Government Justifications and the Reality of Reform

The report situates these developments within a broader restructuring effort. Citing earlier reporting by Reuters, it notes that the transitional government led by Ahmed al-Sharaa has reduced the number of public employees, dismissing large numbers under the banner of eliminating “ghost workers” and improving administrative efficiency.

The government announced sweeping salary increases—some initially framed as high as 400%—before settling on lower actual adjustments. These included a 200% raise in certain sectors, followed by an additional 50% increase in 2026.

Yet the reforms have not produced a unified wage system. SCPR data shows:

• The salary gap between different areas of control narrowed from 500% to 143% in the second half of 2025.
• Internal disparities within the public sector widened, with most employees receiving modest pay while small groups benefited from far higher compensation.

The analysis stresses that transparent, unified wage rules are essential for rebuilding trust—an assessment echoed in World Bank reports. In Syria’s case, however, restructuring appears to be intersecting with selective resource distribution, complicating the path toward institutional coherence.

Mounting Pressure on Public Spending

These wage dynamics are reshaping the structure of public spending. With a large share of the budget absorbed by salaries—including exceptional allocations—the state’s capacity to invest in infrastructure or support productive sectors continues to shrink.

Public investment spending has fallen to some of its lowest levels since before 2011, despite the country’s urgent need for reconstruction.

The government maintains that its policies aim to re-regulate public finances, improve efficiency, combat corruption, and redirect resources toward priority sectors. It also points to external support, including regional grants, as a source of funding for wage increases.

Warnings of Deepening Institutional Inequality

SCPR analysts caution that maintaining a dual wage system risks deepening inequality within state institutions, undermining incentives, productivity, and employee trust. The pattern suggests a transitional phase marked by competing imperatives: restructuring the state and improving efficiency on one hand, and distributing exceptional resources to new centers of influence on the other.

The data shows that while wage spending has undeniably increased, how it is distributed will determine whether Syria moves toward a balanced economic recovery—or reproduces new forms of inequality within the state’s emerging structure.

This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.

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