On emerging, Al-Asmar said that the GLC’s delegation visit aimed to demand a swift cabinet approval of an increase of public sector wages as per a number of decrees previously signed by the Minister of Labor and in light of the soaring cost of living nation wide.  

“A meeting will be held with the Minister of Finance to re-examine the customs tariffs,” Al-Asmar said.

As for pricing goods in US dollars, he deemed this process “a complete failure”. 

“We have noticed an increase in USD priced items whenever there is a decrease in its black market rate,” he added. 

In response to a question, he said: "The State is looking for revenues, but we do not accept that  90 percent of said revenues be at the people’s expense (…). Taxes and fees must be reduced amid this difficult stage, but we only witness their increase on the ground. Sayrafa’s USD exchange rate has reached LBP 70 thousand, and this leads to the loss of 56 percent the pubic sector employees’ income.”

“All of these decisions are not well-studied, so they must be reassessed, especially by the Minister of Finance and the Central Bank Governor,” Al-Asmar concluded.