A session to discuss the draft law for the 2022 budget is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, following much back-and-forth regarding its content, which has been marked by many questions since its approval by the government until it reached the parliament and the discussions that accompanied it in the Parliamentary Finance and Budget Committee. Since its inception, some ministers have indicated that the government did not approve it according to the required protocols, which stipulate the need to secure a two-thirds majority. It was then delayed before being referred to Parliament, where it took its time in the Finance Committee but ultimately arrived before the full assembly of Parliament amid discussions about disagreements over some of its clauses, particularly regarding the customs dollar rate and the goods to be included under this pricing, in addition to public sector salaries.
These issues, which could find makeshift solutions in a Lebanese manner at the last minute, will not prevent or hinder the approval of the budget. Although a significant number of MPs and blocs—potentially exceeding 40—oppose it, they will not be able to reject or invalidate it. "Nada Al-Watan" learned that the blocs and deputies who will vote against the budget include the "Strong Republic" bloc, the "Kataeb" bloc, the "Change MPs," and some independent deputies like Osama Saad, among others, primarily due to the lack of a rescue plan and a general vision on how to exit the crisis.
Moreover, the session, which will have more than twenty deputies requesting to speak as of yesterday, will be limited to a session before noon today, continuing again on Thursday morning and evening, and possibly in the afternoon on Friday if the number of speakers keeps increasing. It has become clear that deputies from the "Strong Republic" and "Kataeb" will boycott today's session and join from the session tomorrow. This coincides with the anniversary of the assassination of President Bashir Gemayel on September 14, as the Kataeb Party has invited everyone to participate in the commemoration at 6 p.m. today in Sassine Square in Ashrafiyeh.
Notably, the "National Moderation" bloc, after its regular meeting yesterday, stood to express its intent to reserve approval of the budget unless the bloc's recommendations were taken into account, prioritizing the salaries of public sector employees, including military personnel, civilians, and teachers, especially retirees. The bloc also expressed reservations about the absence of any clause in the budget concerning the Akkar and Minieh-Dennieh regions and asserted that the budget "comes outside constitutional deadlines with fictitious numbers that are unbalanced between its revenues and expenditures and does not include any forms of social protection."
Aside from the political positions that will be expressed regarding the budget discussion, and given the live media coverage of the session, it has been noted that the subcommittee emerging from the National Defense, Interior, and Municipalities Committee, chaired by MP Jihad Al-Samad, yesterday reached an agreement on amendments to Articles 46 and 101 to facilitate the application of the public procurement law. "Nada Al-Watan" learned that Article 46 pertains to providing exceptions for hospitals and laboratories contracting with security and military agencies to allow them to conduct tenders by consensus due to time constraints. Furthermore, Article 101, which was the basis for further discussions related to municipalities and municipal unions, will be amended so that the provision regarding acceptance committees will require a Third-Class employee or any available class. If no employee is available, a municipal council member may step in after undergoing training. This proposal will be presented as provisions to be included in the budget law to expedite addressing the issues that arose after the initiation of the implementation of the public procurement law, as long as the council is convened in its full assembly.
As for the political aspects, they will await the commencement of the sessions to elect the President of the Republic after the budget is completed.
