Numbers for the Fund Dedicated to Victims of the Earthquake Do Not Match

The National Fund for Earthquake Victims presented an update on the total value of its support during a board meeting held on October 14, chaired by Prime Minister Mohammed Al-Jalali. The session, however, lacked detailed specifics and was marked by inconsistencies in the figures relating to the amounts spent and the number of beneficiaries.

The fund was established under Legislative Decree No. 7 of 2023 to provide financial assistance to earthquake victims, helping them recover from physical, material, or emotional damages. It is part of the “People First” national recovery plan with a three-year operational period. During this time, the fund’s administration is tasked with disbursing its revenues to eligible beneficiaries.

This update comes a year and a half after the fund’s creation in May 2023, marking approximately half of its three-year lifespan. The briefing was delivered by Fares Kallas, the fund’s director, who also serves as a member of the board of trustees for the Syria Trust for Development, an NGO established and chaired by Asma Al-Assad, the wife of the Syrian president. Additionally, Mr Kallas chairs Al-Wataniya Microfinance Bank, is the deputy chairman of the Ugarit Educational Company, and is a trustee at Al-Manara University in Tartous.

According to the state-run SANA news agency, Mr Kallas’s update provided limited figures about the fund’s support and at times, incurred in apparent discrepancies. Mr Kallas reported that the fund had disbursed SYP 134 billion to 1,386 out of 1,917 applicants, claiming this represented 86 percent of applicants. However, basic calculations show this constitutes 72 percent, raising questions about the accuracy of the stated percentage. Earlier data from the fund listed the total number of affected individuals as approximately 3,374. This means that only 41 percent (1,386 out of 3,374) of affected individuals have received support.

Mr Kallas’s earlier update at a board meeting on August 1 indicated that 1,124  affected people had received SYP 117 billion in support out of 1,617 applicants. Between these two updates, 300 additional applications were submitted, with 262 of them approved, receiving a total of SYP 17 billion.

According to the fund’s executive guidelines, its support programme provides compensation to owners of buildings damaged during the earthquake on February 6, 2023 and the aftershock on February 20. The programme has three tiers:

• Category A: Owners of licensed properties within zoned areas are eligible for SYP 160 million in compensation for rebuilding.
• Category B: Unlicensed properties allow owners to apply for housing within government projects designated for earthquake victims, built by the General Housing Establishment (GHE). These beneficiaries receive SYP 40 million paid directly by the fund to the GHE, with the option to obtain a loan from the Real Estate Bank for the remaining cost of the housing unit.
• Category C: This category applies to properties demolished or slated for demolition due to structural unsafety, based on decisions by the governorates. This category is further divided into:
  • C-A: Licensed buildings, which receive the same compensation as Category A.
  • C-B: Unlicensed buildings, which receive the same compensation as Category B.

At the October meeting, Mr Kallas presented general figures for the affected people across the three tiers as follows: 841 affected people in Category A, requiring SYP 134 billion in total support; 545 affected people in Category B, requiring approximately SYP 22 billion; 1,779 affected people in Category C. The total number of affected people, according to the recent figures provided by Kallas, is 3,165. This is a different number from the other figures mentioned, which adds more mystery to the way the fund works.

Mr Kallas did not disclose the total revenues of the fund or the remaining balance after disbursing the SYP 134 billion. The government has allocated SYP 25 billion from the 2025 budget for the fund. In August, Mr Kallas noted that international organisations had refrained from providing assistance to the fund, with revenues coming exclusively from donations by individuals, companies, and private institutions.