The Parliamentary Finance and Budget Committee has given the government one final extra week to clarify the actual figures for revenues and expenditures, as well as the impact of the customs and tax dollar on citizens. This decision is based on the need for a "substantive balance" according to the committee's head, Deputy Ibrahim Kan'an, to ensure the continuity of the state and to take into account the people's capabilities and needs, especially since we are "the mother of the boy" and responsible for the people's needs.
Despite information indicating that Presidents Nabih Berri and Najib Mikati agree on the urgency of completing the budget as soon as possible, allowing the Parliament to continue legislating before setting dates for the presidential election sessions, several questions arise. These include: Has the budget and customs dollar entered the existing political conflict in the country? How can the budget be brought to fruition, given that it is one of the reform demands from the International Monetary Fund? What about "capital control" and restructuring banks? And where does the banking secrecy law stand?
Sources from the Finance Committee informed "Nidaa al-Watan" that discussions are now in the final quarter of completing the budget after the government and the Minister of Finance were asked for a final schedule of amendments regarding the customs dollar and expenditures as a reality after eight months, as well as the achieved revenues and possible scenarios, such as if salaries were adjusted to three times their current amount. The Minister of Finance was given a deadline until next Wednesday, as there appears to be an understanding between Presidents Berri and Mikati to approve the budget, whether at the end of this August or in the first week of September, before entering the presidential election dates and the Parliament turning into an electoral body.
Accordingly, Prime Minister Najib Mikati sent a letter yesterday to Minister of Finance Youssef Khalil, requesting him to take the necessary steps to determine the value of the U.S. dollar for calculating the value of goods to be declared to customs, i.e., the customs dollar, following consultations with the Governor of the Banque du Liban and coordinating with him on this matter.
