Search
Search

CABINET

Council of Ministers continues budget debate in Monday's session

Council of Ministers continues budget debate in Monday's session

Todays session of cabinet, pictured here on Sept. 16, 2021, mainly centered around debating provisions of the draft 2022 budget that deal with social care, said acting Information Minister Abbas Halabi. (Credit: Dalati & Nohra)

BEIRUT – Prime Minister Najib Mikati chaired a cabinet session on Monday in which the main agenda was the continuation of debate over the draft budget law for 2022, among other issues. Acting Information Minister Abbas Halabi said at the end of the session that “there was an in-depth discussion of Article 135 related to giving social assistance to workers in the public sector.”

Here’s what we know:

    • Social Affairs Minister Hector Hajjar said that as it was drafted, Article 15 of the proposed budget, which deals with social care, caused confusion, “so we reformulated it today,” adding that the cabinet decided Monday “to support social institutions that care for people with special needs, including children, addicts and abused women, by increasing the state's contributions to social care institutions from LL165 billion to LL400 billion.”

    • “This issue has nothing to do with the program for the poorest families,” Hajjar said. The minister indicated that the registration for the social assistance card “ends today, and in the coming days we will explain all aspects of this issue in detail in a press conference.”

    • Among other topics discussed in the session was continued Israeli violation of Lebanese airspace, whereby the council asked the foreign affairs and defense ministers to prepare a report on the air aggression in preparation for taking the necessary measures.

    • The public works minister also presented the issue facing the land transport unions, and since the financial capabilities were not available to meet all their demands, the council asked the finance minister to study the possibility of providing other financial resources.

    • The interior minister briefed the cabinet on the disruption of 17 spy networks working for Israel, and it was found that these networks were operating both locally and regionally. Prime Minister Mikati saluted the Internal Security Forces for uncovering the spy networks and arresting participants.

    • The energy minister presented Article 13 of the draft budget law related to the required financial advance to Electricité du Liban. The council requested more inquiries from the energy minister who promised to submit them in the next session.

    • The council decided to meet in a new session on Wednesday at 9 a.m.

BEIRUT – Prime Minister Najib Mikati chaired a cabinet session on Monday in which the main agenda was the continuation of debate over the draft budget law for 2022, among other issues. Acting Information Minister Abbas Halabi said at the end of the session that “there was an in-depth discussion of Article 135 related to giving social assistance to workers in the public sector.”Here’s what...