Lebanon cabinet passes financial recovery plan on last session
The Lebanese government, during its last session as Lebanon's official government, ended its tenure by passing a financial recovery plan for the country ravaged by various crises.
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Lebanon's President Michel Aoun heads a cabinet meeting at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon, January 24, 2022 (Reuters)
The Lebanese cabinet, during its final session held Friday, passed a financial recovery plan needed to secure international aid whose implementation falls on the incoming Parliament.
The session came five days after Lebanon held its first election in light of simultaneous, consecutive crises that hit the country and brought public outrage due to the living conditions rendered intolerable and exacerbated by mounting international pressure on the country.
"Any delay in implementing the financial recovery plan will be very costly to Lebanese," Prime Minister Najib Mikati told a press conference following the cabinet meeting.
Beirut reached a deal with the International Monetary Fund in April, which includes the authorities enacting reforms, including a financial recovery plan, among money other things as the West tries to up the pressure on the country.
The plan passed by the cabinet includes restructuring and recapitalizing the banking system, in addition to providing "as much as possible" protection for small depositors.
The national currency has lost more than 95% of its value, and people are blocked from accessing their savings in banks, this, alongside the minimum wage unable to cover citizens' basic necessities throughout the month, and more than 80% of the population under the poverty line.
The outgoing cabinet will be able to continue functioning with limited caretaker powers until the next cabinet is formed.
"I call on elected lawmakers to expedite the formation of a new government," Mikati said.
The United States urged Friday the authorities in Lebanon to move urgently and form a government at the soonest time possible as the country grapples with an economic crisis ranked among the world's worst in centuries after elections raised fears of a new deadlock in the country.
