Mikati: We've managed to halt collapse, begin recovery
Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati announced Friday that the Lebanese state has managed to “halt” the financial collapse and begin “serious recovery.”
“We’ve managed to halt the collapse and begin serious recovery. We have at Account 36 at the central bank more than LBP 100,000 billion and $1 billion, including $150 million in fresh dollars and 850 million lollars (Lebanese dollars),” Mikati said in his defense of the 2024 state budget in parliament.
Some lawmakers’ “huge attack regarding taxes and fees entails a lot of populism and false accusations, seeing as the tax increase is insignificant,” Mikati added.
“Elect a president and get off our backs!” the premier told some MPs.
Noting that “approving the state budget within its constitutional timeframe is part of the government’s plan to consolidate stability,” Mikati said the central bank is “studying all means to achieve a unification of the multiple (dollar) exchange rates and avoid negativities.”
“There is no intention to peg the exchange rate after we paid hefty prices due to its pegging to the U.S. dollar,” Mikati added.
“The budget is not ideal under normal circumstances, but it is a budget that matches the circumstances that Lebanon is going through,” the premier said.
He also denied “ceding the country’s decision to certain political groups.”
Source: Naharnet
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