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The financial crisis in Lebanon has generated countless tragedies. In the face of a ponderous power displaying criminal indifference, it amounts to a failure to assist people – an entire population – in danger. Among these tragedies, that of retirees is the most intricate, the most poignant. Why? Because those of working age have options and can potentially improve their situation. It’s not always easy, but it is still doable. The unemployed, underpaid employees, civil servants, artisans… they can change jobs, take a different direction, or even emigrate to more lucrative lands – hundreds of thousands have done so already.
However, if no fresh funds are available to rely on, inactive retirees aged 70 or 80 have no alternatives. They have no possibility of recruitment, either here or elsewhere. They have no money to invest, not even the strength to cultivate their own garden.
Even if they managed to accumulate $300,000 in the bank for their old age, they will end up with only $400 per month, soon to be reduced to $300, which indicates a creeping scarcity of resources from the Central Bank and the banks that finance this small allowance. Those who only have Lebanese pounds are even worse off.
They are no longer covered by the National Social Security Fund (CNSS) or the Civil Servants’ Mutual Aid Fund, both of which have ceased to exist. They cannot afford private insurance or medical treatment in the hospital in case of need, which is often the case for the elderly. If they don’t have affluent adult children to take care of them, they will end up in an unenviable situation.
So, what is the Ministry of Social Affairs proudly proposing? First, an inefficient minister whose methods could be a case study in sociology departments. Then, a financial aid program funded by the World Bank for 93,000 households at an average rate of $200 per month, a loan that will be depleted in a few months and will have to be repaid in any case if they have the means.
Then there are associations trying to bridge the gap with food provisions. This is indeed a case of well-intentioned charity, but in the long run, it will trample on human dignity.
What then is the solution? The formula devised by the circulars of the Central Bank has reached its limits. The alternative is to adjust its provisions to consider these cases of retirees. Distributing $400 per month to everyone seemed fair originally, but in reality, it is not.
Hence, the idea of modulating the amount according to the cases and allowing for a more substantial amount to be granted to retirees, in dollars or Lebanese pounds, even if it means reducing the amount given to active individuals, especially those who already have a fresh dollar contribution. Then, prioritizing the implementation of minimum medical insurance.
The Minister of Health, proud as he is of his hundreds of primary care centers and ‘comprehensive plans’ concocted by the WHO, also shines through his incompetence. These centers solve nothing at all. They merely diagnose a disease, an urgent need for surgery – that cannot be performed for lack of money. In other words, they inform the patient how they are going to die.
The $150 million from the World Bank, now distributed to needy households, should be used for this purpose. In the IMF’s plan, there is a section that covers social matters, but who still remembers that plan?
Authorities have other worries to deal with: How to reconcile vice-governors? How to use Sayrafa to enrich cronies? How to further block state institutions? How to keep scraping the system until the pot is empty? How to sink even lower on the scale of idiocy if that is still even possible.
