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The World Bank’s $246 million social safety net program will be disbursed in dollars, Saroj Kumar Jha, the regional director of the bank’s Levant department, said. Previously, it had been agreed, at the government’s insistence, that the funds would be distributed in Lebanese lira at an exchange rate of LL6,240, but pressure to revise this decision grew as the value of the lira plummeted. Jha, who met on Monday with caretaker Finance Minister Ghazi Wazni, stressed the need to hire a third-party oversight body to ensure “transparent implementation” of the cash disbursements, which will target Lebanon’s most vulnerable families. On March 12, Parliament approved the World Bank loan, after cutting $21 million in administrative expenses to increase the number of recipient households from 147,000 to some 161,257, according to caretaker Deputy Premier Zeina Akar. However, a part of those cuts came at the expense of oversight. The World Bank has yet to sign off on the alterations, as it awaits Lebanon’s submission of documentation required for the program to move forward.

Meanwhile, Wazni signed an urgent draft law that would provide ration cards to Lebanon’s most vulnerable families, replacing the current subsidy system. The goal of the law, prepared by caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab, is to cut the spending of Banque du Liban’s dwindling foreign currency reserves, which have reached a critical threshold. Under the proposal, the state would pay each of the 750,000 poorest families an average of $154 monthly — though how they could cash out or spend the money remains unclear. The cash transfers would cost about $1.3 billion per year, saving some $3 billion per year in subsidy payments, Diab said. The proposal must be submitted to Parliament for approval.

The cabinet formation deadlock is “100 percent internal and personal,” Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said. During a speech marking the 21st anniversary of the liberation of southern Lebanon from Israeli military occupation, Berri called for “personal considerations” to be put aside to form a government. Last Tuesday, President Michel Aoun sent an official letter to Berri saying that Premier-designation Saad Hariri was not capable of forming a government. Hariri responded during a Parliament session on Saturday, accusing Aoun of jeopardizing the formation process. More than seven months have passed since Hariri was appointed premier-designate.

Today marks an official holiday: the 21st anniversary of the liberation of southern Lebanon from Israeli occupation. On this occasion, Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah will deliver a televised address at 8:30 p.m. to tackle the latest developments in Lebanon, Palestine and the region, the party’s Al-Manar TV said.