The trimming that affected several items in the budget draft, along with the existence of contentious provisions within it, will make its approval in the legislative session fraught with difficulties. Conversely, the time left before the parliamentary council limits its work to electing a president for the republic puts pressure on the timeline for returning the draft to the Finance and Budget Committee. Additionally, the council is expected to start studying the budget for the upcoming year before the end of the current year, considering the constitutional, institutional, and fiscal necessity of approving the budget, which is also one of the key conditions for negotiations with the International Monetary Fund.
Deputy Ahmed al-Khair directed a series of criticisms towards the budget draft, considering that "in terms of time, it was expected that we as deputies would be discussing the 2023 budget today instead of the 2022 budget after nine months and as the year is nearing its end." In terms of content, al-Khair mentioned in his conversation with the electronic newspaper "Al-Anbaa" the "notable reduction in the number of budget articles. After reaching a total of 139 articles, it has been reduced to 121 articles, along with a decrease in their figures. If there is any discrepancy and the figures are not objective, how can we vote on such a budget?" He also pointed out "the lack of clarity regarding expenditures and revenues, as well as the mechanism for financing the deficit." He asked, "On what basis, in a country experiencing a severe recession and negative growth due to the lack of recourse for external assistance because Lebanon has defaulted on its debts and banks are refusing to release depositors' funds? Also, on what basis will the customs dollar price be set at 10, 12, or 20 thousand?" Moreover, there was no discussion about funding the budget and controlling both legal and illegal customs entry points that should yield hundreds of millions of dollars. He expressed astonishment at the absence of any reference to the issue of investment spending as a fundamental aspect of growth.
Additionally, the budget did not reflect any of the reform steps, especially concerning the electricity sector, which drains half of the public debt, nor did it address the collection of fees and taxes. It also failed to outline how to return deposits to their owners, while it opted to set high interest rates to encourage citizens to deposit their money in banks without establishing trust with them. It is unacceptable to offer incentives without agreeing on a clear plan for reforming this sector.
In light of this situation, the lifting of subsidies on fuel and linking its price to the black-market dollar has raised living anxieties, as the increase in fuel prices will consequently lead to a new rise in the prices of most goods, at a time when citizens' purchasing power has diminished to its lowest levels. Fadi Abu Shakra, a representative of the fuel distributors' syndicate, indicated that companies have begun to pay for gasoline at the black market dollar price. He revealed via "Al-Anbaa" that the problem has shifted from the Central Bank to gas stations, some of which are heading towards closure due to their inability to secure dollars amidst the fluctuations in the exchange rate. He added: "For us as a syndicate, we tried to negotiate with Energy Minister Walid Fayyad in cooperation with transport unions and the Director General of Transport to resolve the issue of these stations to ensure continuity of operations and prevent their closure. However, if a margin for the dollar's movement is not defined, there are stations that will not be able to continue in this difficult situation. The problem is that gasoline prices are influenced by both rises and falls in the dollar and global oil barrel prices."
Amid this worsening reality of crises, the concerns of the people turn into a never-ending story; they neither receive anything that reassures them about a genuine remedial path, nor do the crises cease to accumulate. The danger continues to escalate, and an explosion is not far off.
