The Progressive Socialist Party announced in a statement today, "Week after week passes as if nothing significant is collapsing in the country, as if the number of poor people has not risen to more than half the population, and as if support is not being wasted in the pockets of the influential, including monopolists and smugglers, along with official officials."
The statement continued: "Days go by as if the oppressed people of Tripoli did not come out to ask about a morsel of bread, and as if there are no challenges that should stir the consciences of those in power, or awaken their sense of duty imposed by their responsibilities." The statement added, "In light of this absolute abandonment by the authorities of their roles and duties, and their insistence on presenting more 'achievements' of obstruction, procrastination, and undermining what remains of the state's components and institutions, the Progressive Socialist Party, alongside all citizens, calls for swift and urgent approval of the loan from the World Bank to support poor families on clear principles of transparency, and a commitment to update the database for these families according to merit, far from partisan and sectarian favoritism, starting immediately from Tripoli and other regions suffering from extreme poverty and lack of development, after the shameful absence and the empty promises from all those concerned towards Tripoli."
It continued: "For those who forget, Tripoli has an important port that needs further development after it was solely expanded during the party's tenure of the Ministry of Public Works and Transport. Tripoli has a refinery that is currently serving systems outside the borders instead of fulfilling more than necessary local tasks. There is also the international fair and the economic zone, which some have tried to undermine by creating an adjacent area in Batroun. Other projects and facilities are in need of just a decision and management, yet 'You would hear them if you called to a living.'"
It questioned, "If something reminds one of another, has anyone in this deaf government heard what we presented months ago regarding practical proposals to rationalize support, stop the waste of reserve funds, approve food cards, and implement progressive and fair taxes on wealth? Do these individuals in the government—who have resigned from their nationalism as well as their roles—realize that the fate of the entire country is at stake?"
The statement concluded, disregarding all attempts at exploitation, some of which are ongoing, that what happened in Tripoli should serve as the final warning for the oppressive authority to cease its transgressions, in hopes that the attempts by some locally and externally to mediate with the forces of obstruction will quickly lead to the formation of a new government capable of addressing existential dangers, of which there are many.