Hezbollah hindered on Sunday a roadmap to resolve Lebanon's economic crisis after the party’s deputy Hassan Fadlallah expressed his rejection to fall under the “tutelage of the International Monetary Fund.”
The MP said that new measures should be announced in the coming two weeks, concerning the accounts of depositors in Lebanese banks.
“There is a maturity (for Eurobonds) linked to the debt. We informed the concerned parties that the priority should be given to the money of depositors. This money should not be used in a wrong manner,” he said during a Hezbollah ceremony in southern Lebanon.
The Hezbollah deputy denied that there’s no hope in resolving Lebanon's economic and monetary crisis. He blamed some parties for allegedly wanting to hand over the country to international forces.
“We have welcomed the consultations with the Fund but we reject to put Lebanon under its tutelage,” Fadlallah said.
He explained that Lebanon cannot implement the recommendations of the IMF, which include reducing in half the size of the public sector, or in other words, fire half of the employees, in addition to the privatization of state institutions and raising taxes, a step that affects the poor.
“There are practical local solutions and proposals that we have made to solve the crisis, including asking banks to bear parts of the burden,” he said, adding that the Association of Banks rejected the proposal because it wants to protect the profits it has made in the past years.
“We hope that the Lebanese government implements a rescue reform plan to solve the current economic crisis and that the judiciary acts effectively to recover funds that have been transferred abroad,” he said.
In December, the Lebanese judiciary launched an investigation following reports that Lebanese politicians had transferred billions of dollars abroad in 2019, despite tight restrictions on withdrawals.
