Parliament Approves World Bank Loan as Protesters Hold Sit-ins

Parliament on Friday approved a $246 million World Bank loan agreement aimed at supporting families impacted by Lebanon's near two-year-long crippling economic crisis that has been aggravated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

As the session got underway at the UNESCO Palace in Beirut, parliament's temporary venue, large crowds of protesters spread in different areas of Beirut and outside the UNESCO Palace, raising different demands.

“We were late to hold a session to approve the loan in order to take the necessary clarifications from the government and monitor the implementation” of the loan plan, said Berri at the beginning of the session.

The head of the finance parliamentary committee, MP brahim Kanaan, meanwhile stressed that parliament should "tighten supervision over the implementation of the loan agreement related to addressing the (economic) repercussions of coronavirus," noting that "the problem always lies in the implementation of laws, not in approving them."

According to a World Bank statement in January, the significant portion of the loan -- nearly $200 million -- will go toward providing cash assistance to around 786,000 individuals through a pre-paid electronic card.

The loan also includes school fees for some 87,000 children between the ages of 13 and 18. It will also help Lebanon develop a social registry to determine who would need assistance in the future.

Since Lebanon's economic and financial crisis began in late 2019, there have been different exchange rates for the dollar in the highly-indebted country, including the official rate with about 1,500 pounds to the dollar, the black market rate, and a cash withdrawal rate from U.S. dollar accounts in local banks, with at 3,900 pounds for $1.

Using the rate of 6,240 pounds to the dollar in helping poor families means they are being short-changed, getting about 62% of what they would be getting on the black market rate.

Lawyer and anti-corruption activist Nizar Saghieh slammed it as another tax on the poor. "It is being imposed not on the richest but the poorest," he wrote.

Parliament also passed another law, granting $5.5 million from a different World Bank loan to small and medium businesses.

The parliament meeting comes following a week-long wave of road-blocking protests that engulfed most of the country.

Protesters outside UNESCO Palace carried slogans criticizing political inaction in the face of deepening poverty, and a dollar shortage crisis.

Later on Friday, hundreds of people marched through Beirut demanding a transitional government that would work on getting Lebanon out of its crisis.

Lebanon's government resigned in August following a massive blast at Beirut's port that killed 211 people, wounded more than 6,000 and damaged entire neighborhoods in the capital.

Disagreements between President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri have so far delayed the formation of a Cabinet. Hariri was chosen for the post in October.