Saniora Slams Cabinet, Urges Officials to Finalize 2012 State Budget

Al-Mustaqbal bloc leader MP Fouad Saniora urged the cabinet on Saturday to start preparing the 2012 state budget and to pledge finishing it within two months.

“The problem can’t be resolved in a disorganized and discretionary manner,” Saniora said during a meeting with al-Mustaqbal delegation in his office in Sidon.

He expressed astonishment over the cabinet’s failure to adopt a legal, constitutional and financial plan to avert the extra-budgetary spending dispute.

“The current government should propose before the parliament to raise the ceiling of spending in 2012 as it should start preparing at the same time a method to finalize the accounts of the previous years,” Saniora told his visitors.

Parliament has failed to approve the bill that would legalize the 2011 spending of Premier Najib Miqati’s cabinet over differences between the March 8 majority and the March 14 opposition coalition.

This has prompted Hizbullah, Amal and the Free Patriotic Movement to pressure President Michel Suleiman into resorting to article 58 of the constitution which allows him to issue a bill deemed urgent by the government after the failure of the legislature to approve it.

But the president stressed that “a more comprehensive draft-law should be proposed to the parliament,” shrugging off the March 8 pressure exerted on him.

On the upcoming 2013 elections, Saniora described the cabinet as “unfit” to oversee the ballots amid the developments across the Arab World.

“Although we are keen to maintain stability (in Lebanon), we are also determined not to compromise on freedom, justice and the human rights,” he said during a lunch banquet on the occasion of "Europe Day" at Center House.

He considered the cabinet “illegal” due to the circumstances of its formation, in addition to the blunders and disputes among its members.

“We are concerned that rectifying the damage would take a very long time, which makes the continuation of this government costly,” Saniora stated.