Yassine Jaber denounces inequitable aid to municipalities

Finance Minister Yassine Jaber on Tuesday denounced "a lack of fairness concerning the distribution of funds" from the independent municipal fund, during a meeting with the president of the road transporters' union Bassam Tleiss, who also heads the Irchad association supported by the Amal Movement, the director of the Association for Municipal Work supported by Hezbollah, Mohammad Bashir, as well as several municipal officials from all regions.

"The fund is facing a deficit of more than $450 million because it was used to manage household waste," Jaber said. He added that he has sent a note to the Interior Ministry requesting that it pay the amounts owed to municipalities. The minister also discussed the municipal empowerment bill approved by Parliament, considering it a necessary step.

Tleiss denounced an "incapable state" and called "for transparent dialogue with the municipalities."

"Development starts within the municipalities. We will continue to defend them in the name of the Amal Movement and Nabih Berri by all constitutional and popular means," he said. Bashir called for the organization of workshops to train and strengthen the role of municipalities.