Head of the Kataeb’s Economic and Social Council Jean Tawile on Monday stressed the party’s objection to  the adoption of the 2022 budget draft, saying that the Kataeb is in the service of Lebanon and the Lebanese.

“The ruling authority has an exclusive control over monetary and other policies, and it is supposed to use these powers to serve the people and not itself. In August 2017, the Kataeb party was in favor of increasing the public sector salaries as it is a right. When the Lebanese officials wanted to finance this “increase” from taxes targeting the pockets of citizens, we confronted them. Back then, the government failed to fund the salary scale from the taxes due to the lack of a plan and clear figures of the expected revenues,” Tawile said in an interview with Voice of Lebanon radio station. 

“Lebanon’s deficit will keep increasing mid the absence of a real budget with existing figures. It is even unable to rely on external borrowing due to the previous default. Today, the State is trying to ignore the deficit by printing more money. This matter has catastrophic repercussions on the Purchasing power, the exchange rate and the high rate of hyperinflation, and what the people are doing are a natural result of this country's failure to protect their “decent  standards of living”,” he added.

Tawile noted that the leaders of the ruling authority want to approve the budget that way in a bid to cover their failure through the irresponsible use of power.

“A few years ago, we heard lawmaker Gebran Bassil on one of the international channels saying, “We will teach the major countries how to run the country without a budget,” and this is what they are doing ,” he pointed out.

“We will not remain silent. We will pressure to stop this crisis as we seek as  Kataeb party to unify the opposition before the upcoming  presidential elections. The authority does not want to bear responsibility and it is lying to the people and it is doing so to the international community. The Lebanese Prime Minister talked about his government's achievements during the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly, , but was the government able to carry out a single reform? Have we seen any change in the public sector? Was the government able to restructure the banks to protect people's deposits and secure their necessary needs? Where is the ration card?” He asked.

He pointed out that the ration card would have been able to relieve the citizen, but officials were unable to secure the necessary funding.

“We are not alone in the parliament, and this is what we reached as a result of years of work to unify the opposition. According to the numbers, the budget will be approved because the democratic meeting will most likely vote “yes”,” he affirmed.

“One of the results of this budget is an increase in public sector salaries, which will create “joy” for only one month because the budget’s funding sources are  invalid. It will also witness a large deficit, which will require the intervention of the Banque du Liban by printing more currency. This will increase inflation, raising the dollar exchange rate due to pressure on the parallel market and the lack of purchasing power,” he emphasized.

Tawile pointed out that the Lebanese would feel the pinch of this failed budget draft through the continuation of the collapse but at a faster pace.

“Procrastination costs us dearly as the collapse accelerates,” he concluded.