Bassil Urges Fast Govt. Formation, Says Using BDL Reserve Inevitable
Free Patriotic Movement leader Jebran Bassil on Wednesday said the Strong Lebanon bloc supports “the quick formation of a government led by PM-designate Saad Hariri.”
“We are bound by this choice according to the constitution,” Bassil said in parliament.
He added that the upcoming government’s “ultimate priority” should be the “implementation of reforms.”
As for parliament, Bassil said the legislature can “offer a partial solution” to the subsidization crisis, firstly through “rationalizing subsidization and gradually lifting it” and secondly through “approving a ration card from which all Lebanese would benefit.”
“The funding of the card can be provided by the central bank, which has the ability to lend the state according to Article 91 of the Money and Credit Law,” Bassil said.
“Everyone knows, even those launching populist stances, that using the (central bank’s) foreign currency reserve is inevitable. The difference is that the rationalization of subsidization allows slashing this sum from $6 billion a year to $3 billion, which would put an end to the waste of people’s deposits,” the FPM chief added.
Source: Naharnet
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/282100 |