Aoun to ‘personally oversee’ Lebanon’s economic reforms

Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun said he would personally oversee long-awaited economic and financial reforms expected to be carried out from October.

Leaders agreed on a series of measures to revive Lebanon’s ailing economy at a high-level meeting this month.

These include finishing the 2020 budget on time, drawing up a plan to start projects approved by parliament worth $3.3 billion (Dh12bn), carrying out a power-sector reform plan and laws to fight tax evasion and regulate public tenders, Mr Aoun said.

Lebanon has been struggling with poor economic growth and one of the world’s heaviest public debt burdens for years.

Measures to reduce the budget deficit and reform the inefficient power sector, which bleeds public funds, are seen as two vital tests of the government’s ability to reform.

The country needs to address these issues to unlock $ 11bn worth of assistance pledged by international donors last year, but efforts to move ahead have often been deadlocked by the country’s sectarian politics.

“I will personally tend to the implementation path of the decisions of the financial and economic meeting” in co-operation with Prime Minister Saad Hariri, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and other parties in government, Mr Aoun told Reuters.

The president said this was “to guarantee political stability in Cabinet and outside it and to secure the greatest amount of productivity”, including in the implementation of the 2019 budget and its reforms.

Mr Aoun said he expected “the implementation path” to begin “with the start of October after the conclusion of the current preparations”.

Work is also under way to approve the 2020 budget.