Economy

The Bread Crisis Has Passed... Will Bread Become Scarce Again?

The Bread Crisis Has Passed... Will Bread Become Scarce Again?

In the past two weeks, many Lebanese families went to bed unable to satisfy their children's hunger with a loaf of bread due to its unavailability. Basic livelihood in a country like Lebanon has begun to threaten security and stability. The crisis, which could have been avoided—especially if governments had adopted regulated support policies or other solutions proposed by experts—has officially ended. We say officially because crises in Lebanon tend to multiply rather than resolve. Can the country fall back into the same turmoil, making bread a rare commodity once again?

The Secretary of the Bakery Syndicate in Beirut and Mount Lebanon, Nasser Sorour, confirms to "Al-Markazia" that "the bread crisis is behind us because wheat is available, flour is available, and allocations are open. The Ministry of Interior and security agencies have been tasked with regulating a programmed distribution mechanism and controlling weights and quantities. However, the Ministry of Economy also bears responsibility for regulating the quantities of wheat delivered to mills by calculating them according to vouchers and starting to import wheat now, rather than waiting 10 days to maintain a two-month stock of wheat in the country while regulating supported imports."

Regarding allocations, he reassures that "there is no problem that could arise because the Parliament has approved a $150 million loan from the World Bank to buy wheat for more than ten months. The available stocks are sufficient for more than a month and a half, and wheat ships are on their way to Lebanon, with discussions about approving a financial card for bread within four months."

However, after the bread crisis has ended and calm has returned to the bakery sector, Sorour poses a question for the judiciary: "Who is responsible for humiliating people, the queues of humiliation, and the dozens of incidents that led to gunfire, baton charges, smashing of bakeries, assaults, and general insults against a sector that works day and night under the harshest of circumstances, even during war? Isn’t the Ministry of Economy responsible for everything that happened because it refrained from issuing flour vouchers or coupons to the mills directly, specifying the name of the mill delivering the flour under a penal clause if they tried to refuse delivery? What the Ministry of Interior did by issuing lists of bakeries directed at the mills mandating them to deliver all quantities led to the end of the bread crisis within days after it nearly brought bakeries and the country down, had it not been for the intervention of the Ministry of Interior with the State Security and Information Branch.

Therefore, we ask the Ministers of Economy Raoul Nehme and Amin Salam, the government of President Hassan Diab, and President Najib Mikati: Why didn’t the Ministry of Interior oversee and manage the support file that wasted billions of dollars? Who is responsible for the waste of public money, the people's crises, and the queues for bread, sugar, oil, gasoline, and diesel, as long as we have powers capable of regulation and distribution to stop waste and prevent the theft of public funds? For whose benefit is support given without oversight from the very first moment support was approved, leading to the people facing the bakery sector with hellish queues? Are these crimes due to unintentional shortcomings and lack of experience, or are they the result of a specific policy unknown to the public, as the waste occurred with the participation of everyone without accountability and responsibility?"

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