Environment Minister Excludes the Election of a New President

Environment Minister in the caretaker government, Nasser Yasin, excluded "the election of a new president of the republic at least within the next two months amid the political tug-of-war in the country." He noted that "preparations are underway to hold a Cabinet session that will address urgent social and economic issues, the first of which is the matter of teachers and the public sector." In an interview with "Lebanon Freedom," Yasin stated that the public sector is the most affected by the economic and financial crisis, and he believed that "there is no solution for the public sector except through serious reforms in the overall financial situation, starting with the International Monetary Fund, so that funds will come directly to the treasury, and we will not wait for support from the Central Bank of Lebanon to meet the urgent needs of the country, thus achieving financial balance." He pointed out that "if serious reforms do not take place in the country, the exchange rate of the dollar will remain high, and we will continue to spin in this vicious cycle; therefore, the solution lies in making necessary decisions in this regard, some of which are being discussed today in Parliament regarding reforming the banking sector, which is fundamental. Without cooperation between the Lebanese government, the banks, and the Central Bank, we will not reach a result." Regarding the banks' strike, Yasin said: "It is true they have issues with the judiciary, but banks bear a large part of the crisis. The responsibility is shared between the banks and the Central Bank, and the major responsibility falls on the government, which has been borrowing from the Central Bank for long periods without asking how to repay these debts. The relation between banks was primarily with the depositors, thus they bear significant responsibility and need to address these issues and face the problems." He affirmed that "the solution does not lie in legal pursuits against the banks but in making administrative decisions at the level of Parliament and the government."