Cabinet Forms Ministerial Committee to Discuss Budget Reforms

The Cabinet formed on Monday a ministerial committee led by Prime Minister Saad Hariri to discuss the budget reforms, in one of successive sessions devoted to discussing the country’s 2020 budget finances.

Following the cabinet meeting chaired by Hariri at the Grand Serail, Minister of Information Jamal Jarrah made a statement about the decisions taken.

“We discussed budget articles and there was significant progress. Practically all articles were completed except for some, which were postponed for further discussion. There are, of course, measures and reforms that will accompany the budget,” said Jarrah.

“A seven-member ministerial committee, that includes the Deputy Prime Minister and is headed by Hariri, was formed to discuss all procedures and reforms that should go alongside the budget, but are not necessarily within the budget. They can be through decrees that would be referred to the Parliament. With the end of the budget discussion, the procedures and reforms would have been discussed and approved and after that would be sent to the Parliament,” he added.

Whether they will submit the work of the ministerial committee to the Council of Ministers and then to Parliament, Jarrah said: “The normal course is for the committee to present the outcome of its work to the Council of Ministers for approval. It would either be included in the budget if it includes reforms or through a draft law referred to Parliament.”

Jarrah said the committee is not necessarily opt for new taxes or fees, “we have important topics for reform that we all know and this committee will work on drafting them and putting them into effect.”