Abdullah Abu Deif (Beirut, Cairo)
The formation of a new government in Lebanon does not depend on creating a consensus, to the extent that Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati aspires to from Parliament, in the hope of obtaining a loan from the International Monetary Fund worth three billion dollars, with an austerity plan of about 5 years.
Mikati considers the IMF loan a hope that unites the Lebanese of different orientations and sects in light of the great economic decline that has brought the country to the brink of bankruptcy, causing clear panic among the Lebanese and investors at the same time. Lebanon is facing an unprecedented financial and economic crisis that has led to a significant increase in poverty rates, as the national currency collapsed against the dollar, and the prices of goods, foodstuffs and services rose dramatically.
Mikati proposed a complete plan, which was briefed by members of Parliament and Lebanese President Michel Aoun, to establish a “recovery” fund, which is scheduled to vote for its approval soon, especially with Lebanon bearing expected material losses from the failure to achieve consensus from all parties and sects amounting to 25 million. dollars per day, which means the need to approve and proceed to obtain the international loan as soon as possible.
Ghiath Yazbek, a member of the Lebanese Parliament for the “Strong Republic Bloc”, said that the IMF loan is of great importance to Lebanon’s future, especially with the clear state of economic decline during the recent period, which cannot continue without the support of international economic institutions.
Yazbek added, in statements to Al-Ittihad, that “Lebanon needs a plan for economic revival, and it must manage its national affairs appropriately with the International Monetary Fund program, which the country needs greatly during the coming period, and economic reform comes first, especially with the ongoing political and sectarian controversy.” permanent”.
In turn, Lebanese politician and legal Ragheb Haddad said that the international loan represents a breakthrough, especially with the trend towards full consensus among everyone to obtain the loan, as this suggests great confidence from the international community after a period of political and economic fluctuations that Lebanon must end with steps of stability.
He added, “There must be an acceleration in agreement with the International Monetary Fund, as there are cases that do not take into account those affected during the last period, while these measures represent a step on the road to reaching a greater goal, which is to rebuild confidence among all in the Lebanese banking system.” Since 2019, the Lebanese have been paying the price of the crises that hit their country, poverty, unemployment and loss of the most basic necessities of life, without any glimmer of hope in the short term. On the contrary, the situation is getting worse every day, from fuel queues to queues in front of bakeries, and from the black market for dollars to The black market for medicine and even for a loaf of bread.
The unemployment rate in Lebanon has risen, and has become close to about 35% of the workforce estimated at 1.340 million workers, meaning that the number of the unemployed ranges between 470,000 and 500,000, after the economic and financial crisis led to the closure of dozens of small, medium and large enterprises and the reduction of The work of tens of thousands of other institutions, and consequently the dismissal of tens of thousands of workers and wage earners.
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