There are a number of questions that I have been asking myself with regard to the conference with President Sleiman that was held in Paris. Here are some of them, at a random. 1. Why did we have to go all the way to Paris to meet with President Sleiman, when, during most of the 365 days of the year, he was and still remains with us in Lebanon? 2. What can President Sleiman do for Lebanon, now, that he was not able to do during the 2,190 days that he was in office in Baabda? However let me say it outright that I am convinced that there are a lot of things that he can do, provided he adopts the right approach, from the start. 3. Why, during the six years of his presidency, was the “Table of Dialogue” held in secrecy and exclusively among the “warlords”, when it should have been a “public and open Dialogue” all along? Is it not one of the causes of its failure? 4. Now, that there are talks of holding a face to face meeting between Hezbollah and the Future movement, will the same errors be repeated or will it be different this time? 5. What will be discussed during that reunion? It appears, from the start, that some subjects will remain “taboo” and will not be broached. Among them, we understand, are the matter of Hezbollah’s arms, their Syrian policy, and their general relationship with the State. So, what else, will be subject to discussion? 6. Here, may I venture to suggest that the two main parties are bound to secretly agree that the path they have followed so far, has brought disaster upon them both, and upon the entire country. Some drastic corrective actions need to be undertaken fast and all signs point out to the fact that the warning has been heard by both the 8th and the 14th of March. I was not the least surprised at learning of yesterday’s initiative of Finance Minister Aly Hassan El Khalil with regard to the persons involved in Real Estate registrations. My comments there can be limited to four words: “It was about time”. If successful, and provided it goes all the way, this intervention is likely to save the Treasury some $30 billion dollars over the next two decades. I have already submitted some suggestions in that respect to the Minister. But that is not enough, as I mentioned on several occasions. The hardest parts are yet to come. The two generating stations must be built, the gas lines installed and connected, and, above all, corruption must be eradicated and uprooted from EDL’s Administration. All these reforms will lead to some $36 billion dollars in savings during the same period of time. Last but not least, the most painful decision that the Authorities will be bound to take concerns our Public Debt. The 20 years old failed policy regarding the Debt must be entirely reversed. The national goal, from today onward, must be “Debt redemption” and not “Debt nurturing” as was the case until today. I firmly believe that the proposals that I have put forward in the report that was published on several occasions on the web stands true. I firmly believe that, unless we succeed in getting the bondholders to commit to a 2% reduction in the cost of the service of the Debt, all other attempts are bound to fail. However I see no reasons why a meeting of financial experts and economists is not called up to discuss this all important subject. Let us not forget, for one moment, that, should we succeed in obtaining this 2% reduction in bond interest, we stand to save $114 billion in two decades. That sum represents twice the amount of the two other reform savings combined. Without this approach, the entire project risks to fail, and Lebanon will never be able to shake away the shackles of the Debt and get out of the vicious circle it has put itself in. Conclusion What matters most, at this time, is to free ourselves financially, economically, and socially. Once we realize that objective, we can sit down together, all of us, to discuss the path that we ought to follow in the future. Electoral reforms, constitutional reforms, even Hezbollah’s arms can all be postponed, until we succeed both of us, 14th and 8th, to get this country that we equally love, on the right path toward well being and prosperity, and above all, common sense.
Posted on: Tue, 02 Dec 2014 10:02:12 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015