Poverty rate in Lebanon has risen to more than 80%

Lebanon faces a set of interconnected crises that cast their shadows on all aspects of citizens' lives. These crises include the pending political crisis of the presidential vacuum and the absence of a President of the Republic for the second year in a row, due to the lack of consensus between the political parties on a single candidate who has the qualities required for Lebanon, which is mired in its crises, and the lack of a governor for the Bank of Lebanon, which affects the economic and living situation, in addition to the security situation is the priority in the war scene in southern Lebanon, and Hezbollah’s involvement on October 8, 2023, in military operations against Israel in support of Gaza.

Security incidents and daily crimes, from murder to kidnapping, theft, and other events that threaten Lebanon's security and stability, open the door to security chaos.

The economic and living crisis in Lebanon is at the top of the crises, and the poverty rate has reached 80%:

Lebanon is suffering a severe economic collapse, with GDP falling by 40% since 2019, the poverty rate rising to more than 80%, and half the population suffering from food insecurity.

As for the Lebanese pound, it lost more than 90% of its value against the US dollar, which led to massive inflation and a lack of purchasing power among citizens. Meanwhile, the Lebanese banking sector suffers from almost complete paralysis, as restrictions are imposed on withdrawing and transferring funds abroad.

Economic expert Patrick Mardini spoke to ANHA's agency in this context and explained that Lebanon is suffering from multiple crises, the first of which is the public spending crisis in Lebanon. The Lebanese government spends more than its income and therefore resorted to debt, and this created a public debt crisis, and it has become unable to pay its debts to local banks and the Central Bank of Lebanon, and this exacerbated the banking crisis in the country, and affected depositors’ funds that had been seized since 2019.

On the other hand, the Lebanese government resorted to financing public spending through the Central Bank by printing the lira, which increased the size of the monetary supply in the Lebanese pound, and led to hyperinflation in the country. It also led to a major collapse in prices and the rise of the US dollar against the lira, so the citizen became unable to Providing his basic needs from food to medicine and health services.

Patrick Mardini also spoke about the general monopolies carried out by the Lebanese state, most notably the monopoly of the electricity sector, which led to the unavailability of electricity except for a maximum of four hours per day, and this affected the productive sectors, especially the industrial and agricultural ones.

Also, the monopoly on the Internet, which led to high prices and slow Internet compared to the quality provided to citizens, and this prevented Lebanon from the opportunity to have an advanced technological sector.

Mardini drew attention to the monopoly of aviation in the Middle East, which also led to the high prices of travel tickets to and from Lebanon, and thus the rate of tourist arrivals to Lebanon declined and competition weakened.

Mardini stressed that the security situation greatly affected the movement of expatriates and tourists to Lebanon and undermined their confidence in the country, so they began heading to other more stable and secure countries.

Patrick Mardini stressed that all these crises affect Lebanon's economy and stability.

The solutions remain for the state to rationalize public spending in proportion to its revenues by reducing its expenditures, through restructuring the public sector, and this helps in solving the problem of public debt and the state’s default on its debts.

Monetary policy must also be separated from fiscal policy by preventing the central bank from lending to the government or preventing the government from borrowing from the central bank and preventing banks from investing their money in the central bank.

He adds that the Central Bank must be prevented from printing the lira in order to avoid increasing inflation.

Dismantling monopolies can enhance productivity in all vital sectors. This is one of the most prominent reforms that can change the Lebanese reality and advance its economy.

Crises in Lebanon therefore greatly affect aspects of citizens' daily lives. There is an urgent need for urgent solutions and radical reforms to address these crises and restore stability and prosperity to Lebanon.

T/ Satt.

ANHA