Economic and financial expert Antoine Farah noted that "the economic situation is deteriorating from bad to worse, and so far there is no possibility of halting this decline. The dollar continues its upward trend, commodity and fuel prices are rising, and the purchasing power of citizens is dangerously declining." In a conversation with "Anbaa" electronic news outlet, he pointed out that "exiting the crisis is linked to the possibility of successful negotiations with the International Monetary Fund, leading to a recovery plan and financing this plan from the IMF. However, until now, it does not seem that the caretaker government is capable of implementing the required measures to ensure the success of these negotiations, and we have reached a sensitive stage with the IMF."
Farah highlighted two issues that are "the most sensitive and dangerous: the recovery plan where we discuss the distribution of losses and the decision regarding the fate of depositors, and the restructuring of banks, meaning what will happen to the financial and banking sector." He added, "These two matters are intertwined, and we cannot undertake the project of restructuring banks before knowing how the distribution of losses will occur and what responsibility the state, which has committed a crime by being the main contributor to the collapse and has acknowledged this responsibility, will bear. Until now, it does not want to share in the responsibility for this rescue."
He pointed out that “Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati has acknowledged this issue and promised with a new spirit a recovery plan to help the state compensate deposits to safeguard the rights of depositors and the rights of the people. However, Mikati’s inability to fulfill this promise may be the reason why the negotiating delegation with the IMF is not at the required level or is overly lenient or offers promises only to retract them. Therefore, we are currently in a bad situation, and we have to wait for the election of a President of the Republic to reshuffle the Lebanese delegation negotiating with the IMF in order to reach an agreement with it.”
