Economic and financial catastrophe… The Lebanese government warns: we will not be able to pay salaries
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati warned that his government will not be able to pay public sector salaries by the end of June, despite the liquidity in the treasury.
In a statement following the cabinet meeting, Mikati said the government will not be able to pay state employees unless parliament approves additional appropriations for employee salaries, the official news agency reported.
“Some 46 MPs oppose holding a parliamentary session to decide on many crucial decisions, amid the absence of a president.”
Last April, the government approved a 4-fold increase in public sector employees’ salaries, in addition to the two previously approved salaries, in addition to an increase in transportation allowance for employees.
The exchange rate of the lira against the dollar has collapsed, from an average of 1,506 at the end of 2019 to around 95,000 pounds per dollar this year, with Lebanon recording the highest inflation rate in food basket prices around the world at 261%, according to the World Bank.
The parliament failed yesterday for the 12th time to elect a president, in the wake of severe political division, which threatens to prolong the presidential vacuum that has lasted for eight months, after the end of the term of former President Michel Aoun last October.
The meeting, which was attended by all 128 members of the Council, did not result in the election of a President among the main candidates; Suleiman Frangieh is backed by Hezbollah and Jihad Azour is backed by other heavyweights.
