Al-Hasan: Deal with Transport Unions Costs Treasury LL24 Billion Per Month
Caretaker Finance Minister Rayya al-Hasan said that the “temporary solution” reached on Wednesday to solve the crisis of taxi drivers will cost the treasury around LL24 billion monthly.
This solution remains more suitable than “cutting LL4,850 (taxes) that will cost the treasury around LL500 billion yearly,” al-Hasan told An Nahar newspaper Thursday.
The finance minister noted that subsidizing the gasoline for taxi and bus drivers is more suitable and “temporary,” saying that it won’t last for more than 6 months.
“The new cabinet will re-examine our proposed solution,” al-Hasan said.
Parliamentary sources following up the case told As Safir newspaper that the agreement with a coalition of transport unions should include a plan to boost public transportation and avoid a hike in its fees.
“Subsidizing fuel prices to all people is impossible because the treasury cannot afford such a solution,” the sources said.
They added that any new decision needs a cabinet session, “which is not possible in the presence of a caretaking government.”
Late on Wednesday, the caretaker Finance Minister and land transportation unions reached an agreement that every taxi or truck driver be granted around LL 450,000 monthly for a 3-month period.
Meanwhile, this week's fuel prices witnessed a slight decline after the decrease in world oil prices. The gasoline prices decreased by LL100, diesel by LL800, while diesel oil and gas by LL700.
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