Cabinet Approves Social Aid to Public Sector, Pensioners

Cabinet approved Monday an increase of social contributions for the public sector and for social welfare institutions, while no agreement was reached regarding the electricity treasury loan and the customs dollar.

A social contribution of 75% of the salary basis will be given for the public sector, as well as the pensioners.

As for the state's contribution to social welfare institutions, Cabinet decided to increase it to LBP 400 billion, acting Information Minister Abbas Halabi said.

Halabi explained that, during the session, Cabinet asked Energy Minister Walid Fayyad for further clarifications regarding an electricity treasury loan that his ministry had requested as a funding for Électricité du Liban.

The talks, including the electricity loan topic, will resume in two sessions on Wednesday, before Cabinet moves to studying all ministries' budgets, Halabi said.

For his part, Social Affairs Minister Hector Hajjar announced that today, Monday, is the last day for registration on Daem platform -- a program that aims to financially support struggling families in Lebanon.

He said he will hold a press conference to give detailed information about the topic.