ZCZC
BCN-03
LEBANON-POLITICS-ECONOMY
Main points of Lebanon’s emergency economic reforms
BEIRUT, Oct 22, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Lebanon’s embattled government on Monday approved a series of far-reaching economic reforms aimed at addressing some of the grievances of an unprecedented mass protest movement.
Prime Minister Saad Hariri announced the measures in a televised press conference and the details of the package were published later in a statement.
Here are the key points:
Public finances
– Reduction of state deficit to 0.63 percent of GDP in 2020, down from 7.59 percent in the 2019 budget
– The salaries of active and former presidents, ministers and lawmakers are slashed by half
– Ministry of information and other government bodies abolished to cut costs
– Banking sector to contribute 5.1 trillion Lebanese pounds ($3.4 billion) to deficit reduction
– State electricity company’s deficit to be slashed by one trillion Lebanese pounds ($663 million)
– Launch of a plan to partially or fully privatise several sectors and public firms, including mobile phone operators, the Port of Beirut and national carrier Middle East Airlines
Social measures
– New pension and welfare systems by the end of the year
– A 20-billion-pound ($13.5 million) boost to a fund for Lebanon’s poorest and acceleration of a World Bank loan to support them
– 160-million cash injection to support housing loans
– Amnesty law to be adopted by end of 2019
Anti-corruption measures
– Establishment of a national anti-corruption body
– Halt to state financing of infrastructure projects, which are to be developed by alternative funding including direct foreign investment
– Crackdown on smuggling with scanners and other measures
– Bill on the recovery of embezzled public funds
Infrastructure
– Permits to be granted within four months for the construction of power plants to tackle chronic blackouts
– Launch of the first phase of an infrastructure investment plan agreed in April 2018
– Major roadworks to facilitate access to Beirut
– Creation of regulatory authorities for the energy, telecommunications and civil aviation sectors and the stock exchange
BSS/AFP/MMA/1520HRS