Ibrahim Kanaan, head of the Finance and Budget Committee, confirmed that caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati informed the committee that adjustments have been made to the recovery plan that will either compensate depositors or fully or partially repay their deposits. Kanaan, in an interview with Reuters, noted that the government continues to send amendments and changes to several projects and laws, stating that it is time to close this chapter and move towards a complete final proposal for all presented projects and complete the work. Kanaan pointed out that the Prime Minister told us that part of the funding will come from budget surpluses in addition to other sources, knowing that there has been no surplus in budgets set for decades.
Regarding the prerequisites for an agreement with the IMF, Kanaan indicated that the committee has completed 90% of the 2022 budget study, but the budget needs to be reviewed by the government in light of the multiple exchange rates used, which could lead to a fictitious deficit and fictitious revenues, while actual revenues could be half or a third of the currently specified figures.
Kanaan reminded that the capital control project referred by the government to the Parliament was rejected by unions, civil society organizations, and representatives of depositors, and that the government must either amend it or adopt the version approved by the Finance and Budget Committee previously. Kanaan announced that the Finance and Budget Committee will start discussing amendments to banking secrecy this week and stated, "I do not have a timeline for the projects noted by the IMF before receiving the final details from the government. However, I would like to point out that if the details are received in a reasonable timeframe, the required reforms can be completed within weeks."
