Flour Coupons: Blank Checks... and "Baking with Joy"!

In conjunction with the ongoing flour crisis and the confusion faced by the Ministry of Economy in distributing flour and wheat to bakeries, Ali Ibrahim, head of the Bakeries and Ovens Syndicates, confirmed in a statement to Al-Anbaa electronic newspaper that he resigned from his position as a protest against the improper methods employed by the Ministry of Economy in dealing with bakeries. He stated: "One cannot be asked about flour; the question should be posed to the Minister of Economy, who has the accurate information. Sometimes he says that the flour and wheat available in the ministry is sufficient for a month, two months, or more, and sometimes he claims it will last a year or just ten days. When flour is available, we can bake it, but when we have no flour, what can we do? Is it reasonable for people to stand in line while the minister insists that flour is secured? And what does giving us 'coupons' mean? They are akin to checks without funds, and he wants every coupon holder to register the name of the mill from which they are buying flour, without knowing if the flour is available in that mill. He questioned, "On what basis are the coupons distributed?" adding, "I challenge them to seal every oven that stores flour with red wax," continuing, "With the strike at the Central Bank of Lebanon, they will bake with joy," anticipating that with the Central Bank closed for four days, everything will become dollarized.