Caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab announced today that Lebanon’s Central Bank (BDL) will open an account for the government to import $225 million in fuel until the end of September.
This will allow the government to subsidize the fuel, as part of a plan to attenuate the fuel crisis that has crippled the country and its most essential institutions: the hospitals.
The emergency meeting, which took place in Baabda Palace, was attended by President Aoun, Riad Salameh, Hassan Diab, and Ministers Ghazi Wazni and Raymond Ghajar.
The meeting was to discuss ways to attenuate the fuel prices, which are skyrocketing now due to the lifting of subsidies 2 weeks ago. Prices of gasoline have even reached 800,000 LBP for a tank.
The plan’s measures reportedly include lowering the exchange rate for fuel to 8,000 LBP per US Dollar, with the government paying the difference.
That’s in addition to increasing the transportation compensation to 24,000 LBP per workday.
Diab also revealed that a decision has been taken to “pay a month’s salary in two installments to all workers of the public sectors, regardless of their job titles.”
