Report: 'Dismissal' of Central Bank Governor ‘Not on the Table’
Reports claiming that the Cabinet plans to “dismiss” Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh from his post are “inaccurate,” Nidaa al-Watan newspaper reported on Friday.
The daily quoted Baabda Palace sources as saying that “laying off Salameh is not put for discussion because Article 19 of the Monetary and Credit Law prevents the possibility of dismissal,” they said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press.
“Moreover, President Michel Aoun does not have such plans at present, particularly that his last meeting with him was good,” they added, referring to the two men’s meeting in Baabda on Thursday.
“Someone is trying to mess the situation up, but their schemes won’t work,” assured the source.
On the other hand, al-Joumhouria daily said a “crackdown campaign” launched against Salameh in line with Lebanon's monetary and financial crisis coincided with rumors “the Cabinet plans to dismiss him from his post during its convention Friday.”
But a government source noted that drastic “measures like this can only be taken based on accusations of exploitation of power as per the Monetary and Credit Law.”
Lebanon's currency continued its downward spiral against the dollar on Thursday, reaching a new low amid financial turmoil in the crisis-hit country compounded by the coronavirus outbreak.
New Central Bank rules allowing only cash withdrawals in the local currency deepened the panic among Lebanese, pushing hundreds of protesters to the streets in Beirut and other cities to denounce the policies of the Central Bank, ignoring regulations for social distancing because of the coronavirus.
The Cabinet is expected to meet on Friday to discuss an economic and financial rescue plan that has sparked a political debate.
Source: Naharnet
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