A public dispute emerged yesterday between Speaker of Parliament, Nabih Berri, and Caretaker Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, over the borrowing law project.
While Mikati argued that the project should be proposed as a law by the Parliament, Ali Hassan Khalil, Berri's political aide, responded to Mikati's stance, saying: "Mikati should commit to his promise and send the borrowing law project to the Parliament, considering the government's needs and repayment mechanisms."
Khalil also mentioned that the issue was raised before the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon, Wassim Mansouri, in last Monday's session, and "everyone expressed their readiness to cooperate, and we will not open a dispute between the government and the Parliament."
Mikati stated yesterday that there will be no medicine or salaries at the end of the month if the plan proposed by the deputies of the central bank is not approved." This plan pledges to secure dollars for the government at a minimum and crucial level, provided that a set of reforms is implemented, including legislating "capital control" and approving the 2023 budget before the end of August. Other provisions would be completed within a few months, including preparing the 2024 budget in November, and before or after that, approving the restructuring of banks and addressing the financial gap.
According to "Nidaa al-Watan", the plan includes a clause that leaves the initiative in the hands of the MPs of the central bank. They have the power to suspend the implementation of the loan agreement (if approved) at any time if they do not see progress in fulfilling the conditions, as per the timeline they have set and emphasize its implementation in its entirety.
Concerning the first due date at the end of the current August, 50 million dollars are required for the military and security forces, as well as for providing medicines and ensuring internet network continuity. If the month ends without any progress on the plan and compliance with its conditions, emergency spending may lead to the deputies of the central bank resorting to threats of resignation, including the current deputy governor, Wassim Mansouri, leading to a major crisis at the Central Bank of Lebanon.
The sources noted that Mikati felt that the Shiite duo is not enthusiastic about the borrowing law project. Consequently, he distanced himself from transferring the project from the government to the Parliament, instead urging several MPs to adopt the project and present it to the Parliament.
Mikati also felt that the "duo" deputies were not enthusiastic about it.
The sources questioned the contradiction between the duo's eagerness to protect Wassim Mansouri from accountability while lacking enthusiasm for a law that would ensure his protection if funds were disbursed from mandatory reserves. They also wondered why most of the ruling system parties were lenient with Riad Salameh and now they try to wash their hands of what the deputies of the governor are asking for, leaving them alone to face the worst critical phase in Lebanon's history, with a massive financial and banking crisis, affecting nearly 80 billion dollars.
In conclusion, the sources argued that the deputies of the central bank made a mistake in their maneuver, and they should have implemented the monetary and credit law without seeking guarantees from anyone, in application of the independence of the Central Bank and as an end to the era of Riad Salameh, which led to financial and banking disasters due to the favoritism for the interests of the ruling system and its remaining in power.
As the deputies of the central bank governor enter the political bazaar, according to the same sources, they must choose what they need to do: to spend without a law and confront angry depositors and squander what is left of the hard currency, leading to a major collision, or not to spend and face employees and sensitive and strategic sectors in the state, meaning its collapse, leading Lebanon into deeper abysses that are difficult to escape from except by a miracle.