Lebanese President Michel Aoun meets with then-Prime Minister Najib Mikati the Presidential Palace in Baabda, Jan. 5, 2022. (Credit: Dalati and Nohra)
President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati to meet Friday morning to discuss the cabinet line-up. On Wednesday, Mikati submitted his cabinet list to Aoun, which was later leaked. The proposed cabinet would renew the terms of most ministers in the current caretaker administration, with the exception of caretaker Energy Minister Walid Fayad, caretaker Finance Minister Youssef Khalil, caretaker Minister for the Displaced Issam Charafeddine and caretaker Economy Minister Amin Salam, who’ve been replaced by mostly familiar names, like Yassine Jaber, who hadn’t ran in the parliamentary elections after 30 years in Parliament. During and after non-binding parliamentary consultations earlier this week, several parties had announced their boycott of the future cabinet, in particular the Lebanese Forces, the Progressive Socialist Party, the Kataeb, opposition MPs and Michel Mouawad’s bloc.
With the new telecom tariffs, which skyrocketed overnight, coming into effect today, one of the country’s last affordable basic services has become a luxury. All subscriptions must henceforth be paid in dollars using Banque du Liban’s Sayrafa rate — which as of Thursday stood at LL25,200 to the dollar. The original dollar rate (at LL1,507.5 to $1) will be divided by three, then multiplied by the Sayrafa rate. For instance, set Thursday via Sayrafa at LL25,200 against the dollar, a LL34,265 prepaid recharge cardwill now set you back LL191,016 — over six times as much. Although the impending increase in telecom prices were announced over a month ago, many had hoped that a potential postponement would save the day. However, caretaker Telecommunications Minister Johnny Corm burst that bubble Thursday. In its final session before entering caretaker mode on May 20, Cabinet had decided to increase the telecom tariffs for Ogero, Alfa and MTC starting 1 July. The new pricing scheme was deemed a necessary step by the sector’s decision makers, due to the lira plummeting against the dollar on the parallel market and substantial increases in the cost of fuel, which is necessary to provide telecom services. "With so far $70 million in revenues for $293 million in expenses, the sector would collapse without a change in tariff policy," Corm told L'Orient-Le Jour last week. Since this controversial measure, which will significantly hurt the average consumer's already empty pockets, was announced, no protests have been organized. This was not the case with the "WhatsApp tax," which is widely regarded as having triggered the Oct. 17 uprisings and was abandoned before it even saw the light.
Each day the 2022 budget is stalled, Lebanon loses $25 million, PM-designate Mikati said yesterday. He made the comment during a meeting of the Finance and Budget Committee where he also announced that the government is planning to set up a financial recovery fund to reimburse depositors. At a press conference held after the meeting, MP Ibrahim Kanaan, chair of the Finance and Budget committee, said the government’s Financial Sector Rehabilitation, which was approved during the government’s last meeting on May 20, includes the government’s intention to guarantee deposits up to $100,000, while balances above the $100,000 limit will either be converted into commercial bank shares, partially written off and partially converted to Lebanese lira at a rate dissimilar to the parallel market. Kanaan said that a new component to the FSRS, the financial recovery fund, is to be used to pay back depositors, and the issue of adopting the Sayrafa rate for tax calculations continues to delay the finalization of the budget. Ghada Ayoub (Lebanese Forces) said that MPs were told during the meeting that each day of delay is costing the country $25 million. Meanwhile, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry announced it will donate $60 million in aid to the ailing Lebanese Army. Qatar’s top diplomat, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani is currently visiting Beirut. Several Arab foreign ministers arrived yesterday ahead of an Arab League meeting scheduled for Saturday at the Hilton Beirut Habtoor Grand hotel at 10 a.m. in Lebanon. The sessions are part of preparations for the Arab League summit that will be held in Algiers next fall.
The Loyalty to the Resistance bloc is the latest political entity to put out a statement dehumanizing the LGBTQ+ community, calling it a “danger” to Lebanese society. The Loyalty to the Resistance bloc said that it rejects “the abnormal phenomena” that homosexuals promote, in accordance with its “religious, humanitarian, legal, constitutional and moral commitment.” The bloc added that it welcomes the position of “those Islamic and Christian authorities that condemn these phenomena and their promoters,” urging all institutional circles, “especially educational, professional, social and charitable organizations, to issue stances condemning these novel perversions.” The statement comes amid Pride Month celebrations by the LGBTQ+ community, which were disrupted when Lebanon's caretaker Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi last Friday called on the General Directorate of General Security and the General Directorate of the Internal Security Forces to prevent gatherings that "promote sexual perversion," referring to homosexuality. The bloc’s statement also targeted another vulnerable group in society, saying that “the continued presence of Syrian refugees in Lebanon without any justification in light of the improvement in the security situation in Syria and [Damascus’] readiness to receive its returning citizens” was an “increasing burden” upon Lebanese.
President Michel Aoun and Information Minister Ziad Makari discussed the matter of securing TV coverage of the FIFA World Cup finals by the state-owned Télé Liban, the Lebanese Presidency tweeted yesterday. This would allow the country’s citizens, three quarters of whom have been plunged into poverty as a result of a spiraling economic crisis and political mismanagement, to at least be able to enjoy the wildly popular, and globally most-watched sporting event, without having to pay special fees, electricity cuts allowing. Earlier this month Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati had asked Qatar to help Lebanese citizens watch this year's World Cup. While Lebanon did not qualify for the 2022 Mondial, the request came a day after the trophy made its stop in Beirut as part of a global tour. Mikati also requested that Qatar assists Lebanese wishing to travel to watch the World Cup in November. The World Cup is set to take place from Nov. 21 to Dec. 18 in Doha, Qatar.
In case you missed it, here’s our must-read story from yesterday: “It takes Lebanon an average of 111 days to form a government.”