Caretaker Prime Minister, Hassan Diab, took part in the 3RF second consultative group meeting that took place today at the Grand Serail via videoconference.
The meeting was attended by Ministers Zeina Akar,Raoul Nehme, and Raymond Ghajar, in addition to PM Advisor, Ambassador Gebran Soufan, United Nations Deputy Special Coordinator in Lebanon, Ms. NajatRochdi, European Union’s Ambassador to Lebanon, Ralph Tarraf, World Bank’s Representative in Lebanon, Saruj Kumar, World Bank’s representative in Lebanon, Mouna Couzi, as well as Mr. Jap van Diggelefrom the 3RF Secretariat. The International Aid Coordinator for Lebanon, Ambassador Pierre Dukan, as well as UN and WB representatives attended the meeting via “Zoom”.
During the meeting, Premier Diab delivered the following statement:
“It is my honor to welcome you all for the 3RF second consultative group meeting. As you all know, Lebanon is enduring a collapse at all levels that is of historic proportions. It is imperative to act swiftly to turn the tide and expedite the recovery and healing process. Clearly, it would be very difficult for the country to recover from this unprecedented meltdown without the help and support of the international community. In this context, I wish to take the opportunity to thank all donor countries and international organizations who rushed to help Lebanon immediately after the Port of Beirut explosion.
It has been almost a year now since the horrific port of Beirut explosion, an extremely tough year on the families of the victims. For the sake of these families suffering indelible wounds and all Lebanese people, who seek accountability and have the right to know the truth, we expect justice to prevail following an impartial and thorough investigation.
Amid the current strive to form a government, parliamentary elections are a key option to accomplish a breakthrough by allowing the Lebanese citizens to determine how they want their country to be ruled. Thus, as we approach the 2022 elections date, any Lebanese government, whether a newly empowered one or even the caretaker government is bound by legal deadlines as referenced in the 2017 electoral law to start preparations for the upcoming elections. As discussed with Mrs Elena Valenciano, former Chief Observer of the EU Election Observation Mission in 2018, during a very constructive meeting held recently at the Serail, the process has already started. The feasibility, expenses, technical, and legal requirements were reviewed in complete transparency with a free and fair elections, the hallmark of democracy, as the ultimate goal. These would be conducted in accordance with the 2018 electoral law, unless otherwise decided by the Lebanese Parliament. I take the opportunity to thank Mrs Valenciano and her team for commending the Lebanese on “the introduction of innovations” and on managing the last parliamentary elections in “an orderly, peaceful, … efficient and impartial manner.” Moreover, we welcome their recommendations as they offer insights to further enhance the forthcoming electoral process, and we hope that Lebanon can also benefit from your support in achieving this goal.
Ladies and Gentlemen, while we meet today to assess the progress in implementing the 3RF since its launch in March 2021, I would like to briefly shed some light on a few critical issues.
Given the fast deterioration in the purchasing power of Lebanese families, a top priority for the government of Lebanon at this point is to set the ESSN program in motion. We are currently coordinating closely with the World Bank to make the project effective so that the implementation can start as soon as possible according to the international standards set by our international partners.
Another matter of major importance is that of the subsidies. The foreign exchange subsidy program initiated in September 2019 was unfortunately marred by various problems resulting in a depletion of the central bank’s foreign reserves (with only 14% remaining). The government was keen from the beginning on introducing the cash transfers prior to ending the subsidies, because of the hardship the higher prices will inflict on the poor and vulnerable Lebanese families. This is exactly why the cash transfer amounts are designed in a way to compensate for the loss in purchasing power specific to the removal of the subsidies on the heavily-impacted families. The Parliament has recently ratified a law covering the funding framework for cash transfers, in response to the Government of Lebanon’s plan that is built on a study conducted by the Ministry of Economy and Trade with technical assistance from the World Bank.
Our plan going forward is the following. The agreement to obtain fuel from Iraq for EDL was signed last Saturday, thus we expect that electricity supplied by EDL will increase in the coming days. As for diesel and petrol, the shortages and long queues are a natural result of the variation in the dollar exchange rate to the Lebanese Lira among other things. Naturally, the government will continue to fight illegal market practices, as well as smuggling. We do acknowledge that this step on its own is not sufficient and should be part of a comprehensive macro-economic stabilization program that includes a social safety net plan. This should be very high on the agenda of the next government as a basis for negotiations with the IMF.
Regarding the 3RF project, on which the Deputy Prime Minister will provide a more detailed overview, I will brief you here on some main points. The Public Procurement law was passed on June 30, 2021. A parliamentary commission started discussions last December over a draft of the Competition Law, which builds to a large extent on the draft proposed by the Ministry of Economy and Trade. The Access to Information Law of 2017 has also been amended in June 2021, increasing transparency and the chance of detecting corrupt practices. The Ministry of Economy and Trade has published a reforms-driven export-led economic growth strategy for Lebanon. It has also implemented the single-window concept and is in the process of introducing the digital payment service for all of its transactions, a critical step in enhancing the Doing Business environment. It is our intention that all ministries and other public institutions will follow suit.
Here, I would like to express my gratitude for the donor countries of the Lebanon Financing Facility and to the World Bank for managing this facility. The Building Beirut Businesses Back and Better (B5) project will be the first one to be implemented and will hopefully start disbursing funds to Micro, Small and Medium Businesses (MSMEs) in the next few weeks. This should give a breath of fresh air to these businesses and strengthen the sustainability of the eligible Micro-Finance Institutions (MFIs).
Finally, our reaffirmed commitment on this occasion to implement policy actions and reforms within the legal capacity of the caretaker government, should not in any way overshadow the urgent need to form a new inclusive government. This was very well emphasized in the UN Secretary General’s recent periodic report on resolution 1701 in which he stated: “I continue to urge the political leadership of Lebanon, in view of the gravity of the situation, to rise above parochial interests and expeditiously form a government able to implement measures that put the country on the path to recovery.”– Caretaker PM Press Office
Source: National News Agency