2023-06-15 18:17:25
The former Minister of State for Investment and Technology in Lebanon, Adel Afiouni, said that his country has been witnessing an economic collapse that has not stopped for more than three years, indicating that the biggest affected by the severe economic collapse is the ordinary citizen in Lebanon.
The minister said in statements during an interview with “Sky News Arabia” that the biggest indication of this collapse is the loss of the Lebanese pound to regarding 98 percent of its value, “in a free fall” in the country’s national currency.
He added, “The average citizen in Lebanon is the most affected by the economic crises in the country, as a result of the unprecedented inflation and the loss of the value of deposits in banks, in addition to the high rates of unemployment.”
The former minister pointed to the absence of serious reforms or real attempts to save Lebanon, as he put it.
Afiouni stressed that the exchange rate reflects the economic and financial situation in any country, explaining that the situation of exchange rates in Lebanon is “tragic” and the balance of payments suffers from a large deficit.
Absence of reform plans
The former minister confirmed that the people in Lebanon are still waiting for successive governments to launch a clear and real plan for reform, to no avail. international assistance.
Afiouni said that the government’s priority is “protecting private interests, without looking for the public interest,” stressing that there are economic reforms that officials must undertake.
Depositors lost their deposits
The minister said that depositors in Lebanese banks are “the first to pay the price of losses,” as they are forced to withdraw their money in light of a “disguised and compulsory” deduction of their deposits, indicating that depositors bear losses instead of banks, and that this is considered a “dangerous precedent” in the history of capitalism, as he put it.
The minister explained that the volume of losses as a result of the economic and banking crises in the country exceeds 70 billion dollars, and that they agree with you the more the depletion of the cash reserves in Lebanon increases.
Afiouni added that there are regarding $100 billion held in banks from citizens’ deposits, “and they are deprived of it.”
During the meeting, the former minister said that the country’s political parties would fail to choose a prime minister, even if they were able to choose a president for Lebanon, “because the failure of reforms is in their interest,” he said.
1686860535
#Lebanese #minister #citizen #affected #collapse #economy
