Lebanese President Michel Aoun intervened on Monday to pay the dues of humanitarian institutions that were close to announcing their imminent closure due to severe economic conditions.
Aoun contacted by phone Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil, with whom he discussed the ailing financial situation of humanitarian associations that were on the verge of shutting down.
The president asked Khalil to disburse the concerned organizations within the next few days.
A decision was taken to pay part of the contributions by the state to these institutions during the next few days, provided that the payment process is completed at a later date based on the available resources.
Sources close to Aoun told Asharq Al-Awsat that his move came as a result of many calls by several organizations, asking him to intervene to save them from bankruptcy and closure.
“There is no doubt that the lack of state resources and the current policy of austerity greatly impact the situation of associations and other institutions,” the sources said.
Many political parties blamed the Finance Ministry for the humanitarian crisis, but Khalil denied any responsibility.
He said the main problem with the implementation of joint contracts with associations in the Ministry of Social Affairs lied in the fact that it was signed by the end of 2018, when it was supposed to take place in the first month of the year, in order to be settled periodically.
“I have followed up on this file to secure the necessary amounts based on the availability of liquidity,” he said, adding: “The funds will be transferred during the next two days to the concerned associations.”
Khalil emphasized that priority should be given to associations that care for people with special needs, in the absence of specialized government centers, and to abide by the cabinet’s decision to identify and ban associations that do not perform their duties according to the approved scientific standards.
In remarks on Monday, Minister of Social Affairs Richard Kouyoumjian said that the state should grant utmost priority to humans, stressing that he would not accept the closure of any humanitarian association.
Despite the austerity policy that the government decided to adopt in the 2019 budget, the budget of the Ministry of Social Affairs has been raised from $152 million in 2018 to $223 million in 2019, of which $66.5 million is dedicated to housing, which means that the ministry’s budget increased by about $4.5 million.
