October’s essential headlines
Strikes over dollar shortages continue
On October 1, Banque du Liban Governor Riad Salameh issued a new circular to organize the provision of dollars to banks at the official rate to secure imports of petrol, medicine, and wheat. Despite this, on October 8, mill owners announced they would begin selling their products in dollars, not lira. On October 10, the Union of Bakery Owners threatened to begin striking four days later if no solution was found to the dollar shortage that made it difficult for bakers to secure supplies at the official exchange rate. Importers must pay for their products in dollars but sell them in lira. On October 15, then-Prime Minister Hariri met with a delegation from the Syndicate of Bakery Owners, and the strike was called off after Hariri pledged to solve the issue within 48 hours. Similarly, on October 11, in a televised news conference, Sami Brax, head of the Syndicate of Gas Station Owners, said that state officials had failed to honor an agreement that allowed them to purchase fuel with the local currency. Gas station owners also said banks were not supplying them with dollars needed to buy imports following a shortage in dollar reserves. Fuel importers and gas stations went on strike across the country. On October 12, Hariri again assured gas station owners that they would be able to purchase fuel with Lebanese lira, ending the strike.
Wildfires devastate Lebanon
Wildfires broke out in Lebanon beginning Monday, October 13. Over the next two days, 125 fires spread across the country. Above average seasonal temperatures and a long, dry summer made the unfortunate perfect conditions for fires to break out from Nabatieh in the south to Akkar in the north, with the Chouf region hit particularly hard. In 48 hours, between 1,300 and 1,500 hectares were burned,
doubling yearly average losses of 1,200 to 1,300 hectares, which had already been lost this year. Many were forced out of their homes on Monday night. Four houses burned down in the Meshref area according to the National News Agency. Two people died as a result of the wildfires, one from smoke inhalation and another who was struck down by an emergency vehicle. The Lebanese Red Cross reported that 18 were hospitalized and 88 received medical care. Three Sikorsky firefighting helicopters donated to the government in 2009 by a coalition of citizens had not been maintained; Lebanon had to rely on help from Cyprus, Jordan, and Italy to put out the fires alongside Lebanon’s own volunteer firefighters. A thunderstorm in the evening of October 15 played a large role in putting out the bulk of the fires. While some fires remained October 16, they were managed by civil defense. It was estimated the firefighting helicopters would cost $450,000 to maintain; in 2013 and 2014, $800,000 was allocated for their maintenance. Questions of corruption quickly arose over where this money was funneled instead.
Cabinet update, 2020 budget passed
During October, cabinet had numerous deliberations on the 2020 draft budget ahead of the October 22 constitutional deadline. Within those talks came a proposal to include a $0.20 per day tax on Voice over Internet Protocols, like WhatsApp. As it became known, the proposed WhatsApp tax sparked nationwide protests on October 17; the proposal was reversed the next day. Cabinet passed the 2020 state budget October 21, and it was signed by President Michel Aoun before the constitutional deadline as protests continue in the country (see coverage page 12). The new budget will enact no new taxes and aims to reduce the deficit to 0.6 percent with the Banque du Liban, Lebanon’s central bank, and private banks contributing $3.4 billion to reduce the deficit. October 4 talks earlier in the month between then-Prime Minister Saad Hariri and then-Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil took place amid tensions with both parties, but they agreed to expedite passing the 2020 state budget before the constitutional deadline. In its October 17 session, cabinet decided to give a 5 percent subsidy to local factories that increase exports to encourage industrial exports. It was also decided that public institutions would be asked to transfer monthly surpluses to the state’s treasury and refrain from any new investments unless approved by cabinet for one year; affected institutions will be designated by cabinet. Further, cabinet endorsed implementation decrees for the electronic transactions law and restructuring the public sector. They also approved the use of certificates of origin for imports that aim to prevent smuggling and customs evasion.
Economic grievances erupt into nationwide protests
See timeline page 18 for a day-by-day breakdown of the first 13 days.
“Kellon ya’ni kellon.” All of them means all of them. One of the chants of the October uprising.