The Council of ministers convened this afternoon, under the chairmanship of the President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun in Baabda Palace. It was decided to consider the staff of doctors, nurses, paramedics, volunteers and all workers in the health sector, hospitals and all health centers, who are infected during their work with the Coronavirus, and die as a result, as martyrs of duty. They shall be granted the appropriate medal according to the applicable laws and regulations.
He agreed to the Finance Minister’s suggestion to assign Alvarez & Marsal firm, to carry out the forensic  investigation mission, provided that the Minister submits the draft contract to the Council of Ministers for final approval within a maximum period one week from the date.
At the beginning of the session, President Aoun stressed on the need to intensify the procedures to prevent the spread of coronavirus and adhere to the measures adopted. He also decided to consider Dr. Loay Ismail, who died during his duties in treating coronavirus patients, to be a martyr of duty, and apply this accreditation to all medical and emergency teams working in the medical field .

Prime Minister, Dr. Hassan Diab, stressed that the primary concern of the government is to contain the repercussions of the current social, living and economic crisis in preparation for addressing the structural imbalance that caused the problem.  He said, “We are focusing on how the purchasing power of salaries is compatible with the food basket prices in the first degree and the consumer basket in the second degree.”  He appealed to all the Lebanese to abide by the measures to prevent coronavirus spread considering that “no one is protected from the danger.
PM Diab described the accreditation of a forensic audit firm as the cornerstone on which reform is based.  He said that “this will be a historic decision in Lebanon, and it will constitute a fundamental shift in the course of exposing what happened on the financial level of waste and thefts.”  He pointed out that it would be one of the government’s most important achievements and must be preserved and expedite the procedures to put it into rapid implementation.
The cabinet session was preceded by a meeting between President Aoun and Prime minister Diab, during which they discussed the items on the agenda.

Statement

The Council of Ministers held its weekly session headed by the President of the Republic and the presence of the Prime Minister and the ministers.
At the beginning of the session, His Excellency the President talked about the increasing number of people infected with Coronavirus and the need to step up prevention measures, in addition to the commitment of citizens to the measures taken to limit the spread of the epidemic.  His Excellency the President requested that Dr. Loay Ismail, who died during his service in fighting coronavirus in Tyre, be considered a martyr of duty, provided that the same measure be adopted for the medical and emergency teams treating the pandemic

The Prime Ministe said:

This government has always worked silently because its goal is to serve the people and alleviate the impact of the acute crisis that is ravaging the country as a result of massive accumulations.  Today our primary concern is to contain the repercussions of the social, living and economic crisis, in preparation for addressing the structural imbalance that caused the problem.
What matters to people is the livelihood concerns and how to secure their life and social requirements with their salaries that have severely lost the purchasing power.  Therefore, our focus is on how the purchasing power of salaries is compatible with food basket prices in the first degree and the consumer basket in the second degree.  This stage is necessary, because what is required is to improve the purchasing power and reduce the actual cost of consumption, and this matter needs some time pending negotiations with the IMF, as well as the contacts that the government is making with a number of brotherly and friendly countries to support Lebanon in various ways.  God willing, we will soon see the results of these contacts.
As for the Corona pandemic, I had expected about two months ago that the second wave would be in July, and I warned the Lebanese at the time that if they did not adhere to the necessary precautions, the second wave would be greater than the first, and there would be a danger to our society. Today we are going through the second wave. It is clear that the cases increased more than the first stage, and we have not yet reached the peak of this wave.  The fear that the lack of commitment by the Lebanese people will significantly increase the number of casualties, and will lead to the loss of our loved ones, as we lost yesterday, Dr. Loay Ismail, who we consider to be a martyr of duty.  The pandemic  is spreading rapidly, and appears to be stronger than the first wave.
Therefore, I want to appeal to all Lebanese to abide by the prevention measures, to protect themselves, their families, and their love ones. No one is protected from the threat of this pandemic. Let us cross the second wave with minimal losses.
On the reform file, we have before us today the approval of a forensic  audit company of the Bank of Lebanon.  This is the cornerstone on which reform is built on. This will be a historic decision in Lebanon, and it will constitute a fundamental shift in the path of revealing what happened in Lebanon on the financial level, such as waste and thefts.  Therefore, this decision will be one of the most important achievements of the government, and we must maintain it and expedite the procedures to put it into practice quickly.

Then, the Council of Ministers began studying the items on its agenda, and took the appropriate decisions including:
First – based on the proposal of the Prime Minister, to consider the team of doctors, nurses, paramedics, volunteers and all workers in the health sector, hospitals and all health centers, who are infected by their work with the Coronavirus and die as a result, be  martyrs of duty and they will be granted the appropriate medal according to the applicable laws and regulations.
Second – Approving the proposal of the Minister of Finance to use Alvarez & Marsal to carry out the task of forensic investigation to implement Cabinet Resolution No. 3 of 3/26/2020, provided that the minister submits the draft contract to the Council of Ministers for final approval of its clauses within a maximum period of a week from this date.
Third – Postponing the decision on the following, until contacting the Central Bank of Lebanon, regarding:
* First: Issuing a circular that allows hotels and furnished apartments to approve the price of the online platform when collecting the allowance for tourism goods and services from non-Lebanese.
* Second: Finding a mechanism that allows tourism institutions (restaurants, cafes, swimming pools …) to finance their purchases and some of their operating expenses from their accounts held in the Lebanese currency according to the exchange rate of the electronic platform.
Fourth – Approving the request of the Ministry of Public Works and Transport to pay the dues of works to rehabilitate and maintain a road network.
Fifth – Approving the draft of the mandatory system decree for inspecting and controlling containers, goods and vehicles in the Lebanese border facilities.
Sixth: Approved a draft decree specifying the details of the application of the provisions of the law / 50 / 9/7/2017 related to the establishment of the Governorate of Kesrouan Al Ftouh – Jbeil.
Finally – approval of the Supreme Defense Council’s request to facilitate the entry of medical shipments belonging to “Doctors Without Borders” organization in Lebanon to respond promptly to Covid-19 and exempt them from customs duties.

Q&A

Minister Abdel Samad answered  the journalists’s questions.

Q- What did the security services file include regarding the financial auditing companies, and the issue of the link with Israel?

A- The decision of the security services in this regard was essential for the approval of the ministers, in terms of the absence of the offices for these companies in Israel on the one hand, and in Lebanon also to prevent conflicts of interest. Also, the experiences of these companies have been adopted in relation to their conduct of Forensic Audit in a number of Arab countries and  their efficiency.  On these  basis, the most suitable company was chosen among the companies.

Q- When will these companies start operating and when will we see a positive response ?

A- A week was been given to prepare the contract, to be submitted to the Council of Ministers for approval, after which the period of time that the companies work will cover may take between three to six months.

Q-  With regard to accounting control companies, two companies that dealt with the Central  Bank of Lebanon were previously chosen, so what addition was provide today?

A- KPMG and Oliver Wyman will perform the audit, and they have no relationship with the Central Bank of Lebanon, which deals with Deloitte and E&Y. KPMG will receive the financial component, while Wyman will take over the Management activity, and will audit some financial matters and verify the points in the contract.

Q- Forensic scrutiny is essential. what period will it included?

A- This matter requires clarification of the contract, but there was a wish that the period would include financial engineering from 2016 and earlier, and therefore it is assumed that it will include the least years in which the Central Bank of Lebanon maintains its accounts and books.

Q- Would there be a company to deal with  Scanners?

A- Yes, and the consensus in the government is based on the non-approval of agreements by mutual consent, so this will be done through a public tender while respecting the terms of the tenders.

Q- It was said that the white paper on which the Shiite duo voted for financial auditing and companies is related to the background of their possible dealings with Israel.  Were there alternatives on the table or not?

A- With regard to government work, the white paper is abstention or support for voting.  As for the offers, the Minister of Finance has offered about six companies, which are set in the form of a table that includes several data, including the presence of an office in Israel or in Lebanon.  On these basis, all companies that do not meet the criteria were excluded, and those that were important in the field of forensic  audit were selected and had high experience. Prices were also negotiated to be appropriate, and after a second presentation was made in this context, and in light of the previous data, it was chosen by the ministers who voted for these companies.

Q- Will the audit include other institutions such as the EDL?

A- Yes, it is necessary that forensic scrutiny includes not only the Central Bank of Lebanon, but all public and governmental institutions that constitute a large financial waste, but today this issue has been brought up only, but the audit will be presented on other institutions and will be brought to the discussion table.–Presidency Press Office

Source: NNA