MP Farid Boustani considered on Friday that the bankruptcy of banks means the bankruptcy of the economy, adding that if the country agrees with the International Monetary Fund, confidence will increase among banks and institutions to enter the market, which will help the country to revitalize better the economy.
Boustani's comments were made during an interview on LBCI's Nharkom Said TV show, whereby he pointed out that "a law was proposed to protect deposits in banks, which should be studied, developed, and approved, as this will give confidence to new banks that want to open in Lebanon."
Regarding the stability of the exchange rate at 97,000 LBP, he said that "it is due to an effort made by the Central Bank and the calm in global markets, in addition to the food index, which has had positive results as the inflation rate has decreased by 3.7%."
Boustani voiced hopes to unify the exchange rate with a new governor of the Central Bank to help us break out of this spiral.
On another note, he called for reducing taxes and increasing state revenues, such as maritime properties, but in all areas along the Lebanese coast, as he is concerned about exceptions.
He also suggested that revenues could be increased through the Middle East Airlines (MEA) and the Vehicle Registration Center, and a certain percentage of state revenues should be allocated annually to compensate depositors, as he stated.
He pointed out that "smart monetary policy is absent, and the Central Bank's operating method is arbitrary."
"One recent example is the lack of providing any information about the size of its intervention to stabilize the dollar's exchange rate in the past four weeks," he added.
As for the presidency, he said that the candidate should be an economist at this stage to rebuild the economic structure, primarily since the country has not worked on building a productive economy since the end of the civil war due to wrong decisions that led us to the current situation.
Regarding the army commander, he stated in response to a query about potential candidates that running a state and economy differs from running a military institution.
As for MP Michel Moawad, he said that if he were still in the bloc, his chances would have been greater today in the Baabda Presidential Palace."
As for the leader of the Marada Movement, Sleiman Frangieh, he said that he wishes that Frangieh "would explain his theory on the presidency as he outlined his economic plan."
"If he is a candidate, it should be noted that the law needs to be changed to allow presidential candidates to come forward. Until then, someone else should nominate him. As for him, no one has nominated him yet," he added.
He also said, "A candidate should run with a program, and discussions should be based on that, rather than his party nominating him."
Regarding the possibility of submitting a candidate from within the Free Patriotic Movement, he said, "If MP Gebran Bassil wants to run, he should run."
"At the same time, he says that anyone within the FPM who will run will face the same difficulties. Therefore, we should look for someone ideologically close to him," he added.
As for the international community's role in the upcoming elections, he pointed out that Lebanon needs the support of the West and Arab countries more than ever, and it's okay for them to express their opinions.
However, he is against "summoning," saying, "What bothers me is foreign intervention in the form of summoning of the proposed names."