Statement:
The Council of Ministers held its weekly session headed by the President of the Republic and the presence of the Prime Minister and the ministers.
At the beginning of the session, His Excellency the President talked about the increasing number of people infected with Coronavirus and the need to step up prevention measures, in addition to the commitment of citizens to the measures taken to limit the spread of the epidemic. His Excellency the President requested that Dr. Loay Ismail, who died during his service in fighting coronavirus in Tyre, be considered a martyr of duty, provided that the same measure be adopted for the medical and emergency teams treating the pandemic.
The Prime Minister said:
This Government has always worked silently because its goal is to serve the people and alleviate the impact of the acute crisis that is ravaging the country as a result of massive accumulations. Today our primary concern is to contain the repercussions of the social, living and economic crisis, in preparation for addressing the structural imbalance that caused the problem.
What matters to people is the livelihood concerns and how to secure their life and social requirements with their salaries that have severely lost the purchasing power. Therefore, our focus is on how the purchasing power of salaries is compatible with food basket prices in the first degree and the consumer basket in the second degree. This stage is necessary, because what is required is to improve the purchasing power and reduce the actual cost of consumption, and this matter needs some time pending negotiations with the IMF, as well as the contacts that the government is making with a number of brotherly and friendly countries to support Lebanon in various ways. God willing, we will soon see the results of these contacts.
As for the Corona pandemic, I had expected about two months ago that the second wave would be in July, and I warned the Lebanese at the time that if they did not adhere to the necessary precautions, the second wave would be greater than the first, and there would be a danger to our society. Today we are going through the second wave. It is clear that the cases increased more than the first stage, and we have not yet reached the peak of this wave. The fear that the lack of commitment by the Lebanese people will significantly increase the number of casualties, and will lead to the loss of our loved ones, as we lost yesterday, Dr. Loay Ismail, who we consider to be a martyr of duty. The pandemic is spreading rapidly, and appears to be stronger than the first wave.
Therefore, I want to appeal to all Lebanese to abide by the prevention measures, to protect themselves, their families, and their love ones. No one is protected from the threat of this pandemic. Let us cross the second wave with minimal losses.
On the reform file, we have before us today the approval of a forensic audit company of the Bank of Lebanon. This is the cornerstone on which reform is built on. This will be a historic decision in Lebanon, and it will constitute a fundamental shift in the path of revealing what happened in Lebanon on the financial level, such as waste and thefts. Therefore, this decision will be one of the most important achievements of the government, and we must maintain it and expedite the procedures to put it into practice quickly.
Then, the Council of Ministers began studying the items on its agenda, and took the appropriate decisions including:
First: Based on the proposal of the Prime Minister, to consider the team of doctors, nurses, paramedics, volunteers and all workers in the health sector, hospitals and all health centers, who are infected by their work with the Coronavirus and die as a result, be martyrs of duty and they will be granted the appropriate medal according to the applicable laws and regulations.
Second: Approving the proposal of the Minister of Finance to use Alvarez & Marsal to carry out the task of forensic investigation to implement Cabinet Resolution No. 3 of 3/26/2020, provided that the minister submits the draft contract to the Council of Ministers for final approval of its clauses within a maximum period of a week from this date.
Third - Postponing the decision on the following, until contacting the Central Bank of Lebanon, regarding:
First: Issuing a circular that allows hotels and furnished apartments to approve the price of the online platform when collecting the allowance for tourism goods and services from non-Lebanese.
Second: Finding a mechanism that allows tourism institutions (restaurants, cafes, swimming pools ...) to finance their purchases and some of their operating expenses from their accounts held in the Lebanese currency according to the exchange rate of the electronic platform.
Fourth: Approving the request of the Ministry of Public Works and Transport to pay the dues of works to rehabilitate and maintain a road network.
Fifth: Approving the draft of the mandatory system decree for inspecting and controlling containers, goods and vehicles in the Lebanese border facilities.
Sixth: Approved a draft decree specifying the details of the application of the provisions of the law / 50 / 9/7/2017 related to the establishment of the Governorate of Kesrouane Al-Ftouh Jbeil.
Finally: Approval of the Supreme Defense Council’s request to facilitate the entry of medical shipments belonging to “Doctors Without Borders” organization in Lebanon to respond promptly to Covid-19 and exempt them from customs duties.