The collapse of the Lebanese pound turns the lives of officials and soldiers upside down

Paula Asateh wrote in “Nidaa Al Watan” a year ago, the dream of many young Lebanese, especially those from villages and rural areas, was to join one of the military cables. And if the rank of soldiers, although many of them have a baccalaureate (baccalaureate) or have just started their college years. The soldier used to start with a monthly salary of about $ 800, not to mention future ranks and compensation that were calculated on the basis of a 3-year year, and a retirement that spanned decades. It is transferred from the beneficiary to his widow and unmarried or divorced daughter with no male children until God decides a matter that was effective. These temptations were not enjoyed by many government sector employees who take the character of a daily contract with a minimum wage that did not amount to $ 500, and the private sector was no better. However, people knew how to run their affairs with what they were paid, when a dollar was worth 1,500 pounds.

All of these things have been turned upside down since the dollar began to rise in price to 8,000 pounds on the black market, and the minimum was no longer $ 50, and more than half of Lebanese were plunged into the poverty, the rope on the tractor, while everyone groaned at the difficult economic situation and financial collapse. Unprecedented, nothing more tempted, and they all turned; Including the military, going in a circle. The salary that the officer receives is no longer sufficient for his expenses and the payment of his debts with the banks, which casts doubts on the ability of the officers to insure houses for housing and buy furniture for the home, while the life crisis It worsens and the purchasing power of employees who receive their salary in Lebanese pounds declines, and most young Lebanese look for a job that provides them with a salary. In dollars.
The number of the security and military forces is 123 thousand, and according to the researcher of “International Information”, Muhammad Shams al-Din, it is considered very large and represents a surplus, noting that they are distributed as follows: 83 thousand in the army, 27 thousand in the internal security forces and 8 thousand in General Security, 4 thousand in State Security and 450 in Parliament Police. Shams al-Din said in a statement to Asharq Al-Awsat that there are more than 11,000 separate troops accompanying the military or politicians, and there are many of them in the police stations that do not need large numbers and can be reduced to less than half, especially since its cost is very high.
Forty percent of the budget for public sector employees is allocated to the salaries of the military and security forces on active duty or in the ranks of retirees. The cost of salaries for the Internal Security Forces, for example, amounted to about 800 billion pounds (530 million dollars according to the official exchange rate) in 2020, the salaries of the army at 2 billion pounds (1 , $ 3 billion at the official exchange rate) and public safety salaries at 207 billion pounds ($ 138 million). And state security is 75 billion (50 million dollars), according to figures from “International Information”.
Since 2017, the decision has been made to stop hiring in the public sector. According to the Interior Minister, Mohamed Fahmy, the number of members of the Internal Security Forces is reduced by a thousand annually, which will negatively affect the institution, as a result of the interruption of volunteering.

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