Syria’s finance minister said on Sunday that the government will raise the salaries of public sector employees by 400 percent next month after completing an administrative restructuring of ministries to boost efficiency and accountability.

The increase, estimated to cost 1.65 trillion Syrian pounds, or about $127 million at today’s rates, will be financed by existing government resources combined with regional aid, new investment and efforts to divest Syrian assets. who are abroad.

“(This is) the first step towards an emergency solution to the economic reality in the country,” Mohamed Abaazid, finance minister in Syria’s interim government, told Reuters, adding that this month’s salaries for public sector staff would be paid this week.

These measures are part of a broader strategy by Syria’s new interim government to stabilize the country’s economy after 13 years of conflict and sanctions.

The salaries of Syrian civil servants under Bashar al-Assad’s regime were about $25 a month, putting them below the poverty line, along with the majority of the country’s population, Abazid said.

The increase will follow a comprehensive assessment of up to 1.3 million registered public sector employees to remove virtual employees from the payroll and will affect those with sufficient expertise, academic qualifications and the skills necessary to regroup.

Syria’s state treasury faces liquidity challenges emerging from the war. The majority of money available in the central bank is Syrian currency, which has lost much of its value. However, the new government will receive help from regional and Arab countries, the minister said.

“The start of investment in the country in the near future will also benefit the treasury and allow us to finance this wage increase,” he said, adding that the central bank currently has sufficient funds to finance the coming months.

The government expects to recover up to $400 million in frozen Syrian assets abroad, which could co-finance initial government spending.

Syria’s caretaker government is also discussing exempting taxpayers, as much as possible, from penalties and interest, and is working on reforming the tax system within the next three months to achieve tax fairness for all taxpayers, with the first draft expected within four months.

“By the end of this year, we expect to have a well-designed tax system that takes into account the interests of all taxpayers,” he added.