The parliamentary Finance and Budget Committee, chaired by MP Ibrahim Kanaan, met on Wednesday to continue its examination of the draft budget for fiscal year 2024. The draft, which was approved by the Council of Ministers on September 12, is currently before Parliament for final approval.
After completing the study of the articles of the draft budget law for fiscal 2024 on Monday, Wednesday's session was devoted to examining the respective budgets of the various administrations, including the Presidency of the Republic, the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, the Ministry of State for Administrative Development, the Constitutional Council, the Court of Auditors, the Central Inspectorate, the Civil Service Council, the Supreme Disciplinary Authority, and the Public Procurement Authority.
At the end of the session, Kanaan recalled that salaries in the public sector remain "insignificant" and are still calculated at the exchange rate of 1,500 pounds to the dollar. In addition, he noted that increases linked to social benefits are not considered in end-of-service allowances. He described this situation as unacceptable, stressing that it is "inadmissible to ask civil servants to work without benefiting from their rights."
Kanaan returned to the 78,000-billion-pound budget reserve, questioning why it contains such a large amount, representing more than a third of the budget. He pointed out that the Public Accounting Law stipulates that the reserve should represent between 3 and 5% of the budget at most. Consequently, the Finance and Budget Committee asked the Ministry of Finance to provide a table detailing how this reserve is to be used. Kanaan warned that the government and the Ministry of Finance would be breaking the law if they were to use the reserve to pay civil servant salaries, as it is forbidden to increase it later to pay civil service salaries.
Concerning the electricity sector, Kanaan added that "750 billion pounds have been allocated to the Presidency of the Council, whereas the General Secretariat claims that the need does not exceed 18.5 billion." Asked about this, the Ministry of Finance replied that Électricité du Liban (EDL) was responsible for allocating these funds. The same applies to the Presidency of the Republic, where a sum of 270 billion pounds was allocated.
In this context, the MP stated that he had called for the use of alternative energies. Considering these enormous sums, 10% of their value could be conceded to alternative energy projects, which would suffice for administrations and save billions.
He announced that this issue would be discussed with the Ministry of Energy and EDL. "The idea is to tackle the question of electricity in public administrations in a way that is adapted to needs and to propose an alternative energy project financed by the savings made after securing needs. The electricity budget makes up the largest percentage in all ministries and departments, reaching 70% of the total budget," he explained.
The MP pointed out that the Finance Committee has been working on public finance issues since 2010.
He noted that a file involving the expenditure of $27 billion has been forwarded to the Court of Auditors, but so far, no decision has been taken. "Either there are responsibilities in this country or there are not. Parliament is not the judge, and the Finance Committee does not have the judicial police or the government in charge of disbursing credits. Control is exercised by the Finance and Budget Committee, but there is no respect for the law, the judiciary, the people, or public opinion. Instead, we are confronted with stage games devoid of any substance," he insisted.
Kanaan also raised the question of the continuing legitimacy of the disbursement of billions in advances from the Treasury, which are both illegal and unpaid. He stressed that "administrations have no right to request such advances, being unable to repay them, and recalled that the law on public accounting stipulates that these advances must be repaid each year". He warned that the problem of Treasury advances would not go away.
Finally, he announced that he would be scheduling more than one session next week to continue examining and approving the budget because "this disastrous budget, with its unbalanced fiscal content, should under no circumstances be allowed to pass."
After completing the study of the articles of the draft budget law for fiscal 2024 on Monday, Wednesday's session was devoted to examining the respective budgets of the various administrations, including the Presidency of the Republic, the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, the Ministry of State for Administrative Development, the Constitutional Council, the Court of Auditors, the Central Inspectorate, the Civil Service Council, the Supreme Disciplinary Authority, and the Public Procurement Authority.
At the end of the session, Kanaan recalled that salaries in the public sector remain "insignificant" and are still calculated at the exchange rate of 1,500 pounds to the dollar. In addition, he noted that increases linked to social benefits are not considered in end-of-service allowances. He described this situation as unacceptable, stressing that it is "inadmissible to ask civil servants to work without benefiting from their rights."
Kanaan returned to the 78,000-billion-pound budget reserve, questioning why it contains such a large amount, representing more than a third of the budget. He pointed out that the Public Accounting Law stipulates that the reserve should represent between 3 and 5% of the budget at most. Consequently, the Finance and Budget Committee asked the Ministry of Finance to provide a table detailing how this reserve is to be used. Kanaan warned that the government and the Ministry of Finance would be breaking the law if they were to use the reserve to pay civil servant salaries, as it is forbidden to increase it later to pay civil service salaries.
Concerning the electricity sector, Kanaan added that "750 billion pounds have been allocated to the Presidency of the Council, whereas the General Secretariat claims that the need does not exceed 18.5 billion." Asked about this, the Ministry of Finance replied that Électricité du Liban (EDL) was responsible for allocating these funds. The same applies to the Presidency of the Republic, where a sum of 270 billion pounds was allocated.
In this context, the MP stated that he had called for the use of alternative energies. Considering these enormous sums, 10% of their value could be conceded to alternative energy projects, which would suffice for administrations and save billions.
He announced that this issue would be discussed with the Ministry of Energy and EDL. "The idea is to tackle the question of electricity in public administrations in a way that is adapted to needs and to propose an alternative energy project financed by the savings made after securing needs. The electricity budget makes up the largest percentage in all ministries and departments, reaching 70% of the total budget," he explained.
The MP pointed out that the Finance Committee has been working on public finance issues since 2010.
He noted that a file involving the expenditure of $27 billion has been forwarded to the Court of Auditors, but so far, no decision has been taken. "Either there are responsibilities in this country or there are not. Parliament is not the judge, and the Finance Committee does not have the judicial police or the government in charge of disbursing credits. Control is exercised by the Finance and Budget Committee, but there is no respect for the law, the judiciary, the people, or public opinion. Instead, we are confronted with stage games devoid of any substance," he insisted.
Kanaan also raised the question of the continuing legitimacy of the disbursement of billions in advances from the Treasury, which are both illegal and unpaid. He stressed that "administrations have no right to request such advances, being unable to repay them, and recalled that the law on public accounting stipulates that these advances must be repaid each year". He warned that the problem of Treasury advances would not go away.
Finally, he announced that he would be scheduling more than one session next week to continue examining and approving the budget because "this disastrous budget, with its unbalanced fiscal content, should under no circumstances be allowed to pass."
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