Aoun Says March 14 ‘Escaped’ from Parliament Over Spending Row
Change and Reform bloc leader MP Michel Aoun accused March 14 lawmakers on Monday of “escaping” from the parliament despite a draft-law proposed by them to legalize extra-budgetary spending made since 2006.
In remarks from parliament, Aoun said: “Minority MPs have proposed an urgent draft-law but escaped” from the session which was adjourned due to lack of quorum.
Speaker Nabih Berri adjourned the session to March 15 after the opposition MPs boycotted the meeting that had a $5.9 billion spending bill on its agenda.
The March 14 lawmakers had conditioned their participation in the session to the approval of their draft-law that seeks to find a comprehensive solution to $11 billion spent by the cabinets of ex-PMs Fouad Saniora and Saad Hariri between 2006 and 2009, $5 billion spent by Hariri’s national unity government and the current cabinet’s $5.9 billion bill.
“There are legal and constitutional violations and lack of accounting” records on the $11 billion spending, Aoun reiterated. “Why are they afraid of providing the records? he wondered.
“Because they would reveal misappropriated funds,” he stressed.
“The documents should be provided to the Audit Bureau, the premiership, the parliamentary committee and parliament to study the accounting records,” Aoun stressed.
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