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The foreign exchange reserves in Lebanon are sufficient to cover the support for only 6 months, before the famine occurs, due to the refusal of the international community to provide assistance for the presence of Hezbollah.
Acting Prime Minister Hassan Diab said Lebanon could use $ 2 billion in remaining support reserves for another six months, while a financial meltdown in the country increases fears of rising hunger.
Lebanon’s worst crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war led to a collapse of the currency and a sharp rise in inflation.
Social disaster
Signs of the end of subsidies have prompted warnings from the United Nations of a “social catastrophe.”
In an interview with Reuters on Tuesday, Diab also said that Western officials told him there was an “international decision” not to help Lebanon because of Hezbollah’s Iranian-backed role in the country.
Diab said he only learned about the $ 2 billion in foreign reserves remaining in support of comments made by Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh last week and broadcast on television.
He added: “I have asked him several times … I have not received anything officially.”
Card system
Diab explained that the amount is higher than expected and will continue “for 6 months if the card system is implemented.”
He expressed the hope that an agreement would be reached last February on a plan to stop spending on subsidies and provide assistance to the poor at the same time.
A BDL spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Diab took over as prime minister a year ago with the support of Hezbollah and resigned last August, due to public anger over the Beirut port bombing that killed 200 people that month.
His cabinet functions as an interim government.
Explosion investigations
In addition to three former ministers, Diab was accused of negligence in connection with the attack last August, but has since refrained from appearing for questioning, accusing the investigating judge of exceeding his powers.
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation said last October that it had not reached a conclusive conclusion about the cause of the attack.
Diab’s office previously quoted him as saying that the FBI investigation revealed that only 500 tons of ammonium nitrate exploded out of the 2,750 tons stored insecurely at the port.
“Where has the remaining (amount) gone?”
The FBI declined to comment.
An adviser to Diab’s office said Wednesday that the prime minister does not speak based on direct information and has not seen any reports from the FBI himself.
Reuters was unable to independently verify the content of the report.
The disaster, one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history, has caused severe hardship for the Lebanese, who are already sinking into poverty.
“It’s not about you,” it’s about Hezbollah
As dollar flows to Lebanon dry up, the central bank withdraws its foreign exchange reserves to support three main commodities: wheat, fuel, medicine, and some other commodities.
Diab said the cabinet sent a report to Parliament a week ago outlining 4 scenarios to replace the subsidy with food cards for 600,000 families, or more than 2.5 million people.
The country’s population dependent on imports is approximately 6 million, including at least 1 million Syrian refugees.
One of the options presented in the report is to cancel subsidies for fuel and wheat, excluding flour (flour), and give families $ 165 a month.
The report also indicated “the need to seek help from donor countries … because 2021 will be a difficult year.”
The central bank and the government traded blame for the economic collapse.
In response to criticism that nearly a year has passed without a plan, Diab said his government has faced multiple crises.
Foreign donors have made it clear that they will not bail out the government unless it initiates reforms to end decades of corruption, one of the root causes of the crisis.
The wealthy Gulf states that have previously supported the Lebanese bailout are concerned about Hezbollah’s growing influence.
“They, the Americans and the Europeans, told me … it is not about you … but there is an international decision to stop helping Lebanon … because they have a problem with Hezbollah,” Diab said.
