Date: Apr 28, 2020 Source: The Daily Star Lebanese Cabinet set to tackle explosive agenda Hussein Dakroub| The Daily Star BEIRUT: The Cabinet is set to meet Tuesday to address a highly explosive agenda that threatens to further deepen divisions between the government and its opponents and aggravate political tensions in the crisis-hit country. Among sensitive items on the agenda that were discussed at last Friday’s Cabinet session at Baabda Palace are those calling for taking immediate measures to fight corruption and recover the looted public funds: two topics viewed by the Future Movement and the Progressive Socialist Party as a smokescreen to take revenge against opponents of the government and President Michel Aoun’s mandate. In the absence of what they termed “independent judiciary,” officials of the Future Movement and the PSP have scoffed at the government’s attempts to combat corruption in the public administration and recover millions of dollars reportedly in looted public funds, and billions of dollars that were allegedly transferred out of Lebanon before and after Oct. 17, when an unprecedented popular uprising broke out against the country’s entrenched political elite that was blamed by anti-government protesters for the rampant corruption, mismanagement and the worsening economic crisis. “Under the slogan of fighting corruption and recovering looted money, preparations are underway to take revenge against the presidency’s opponents and also to carry out a coup that will change Lebanon’s face,” Future MP Mohammad Hajjar told The Daily Star Monday. He said the alleged coup was being executed by the Free Patriotic Movement, founded by Aoun, and was supported by its ally, Hezbollah. As a proof of the alleged coup, Hajjar cited the government’s controversial draft economic and financial rescue plan, which has sparked nationwide popular and political opposition for planning to target bank deposits, including a potential haircut. “The government’s economic plan aimed to seize properties of individuals and the people’s bank deposits and change the country’s free economic system,” he said. In reply to a question, Hajjar said Future officials were ready for accountability in corruption cases only with the presence of an “independent judiciary.” Hajjar hit back at FPM leader Gebran Bassil, who the day before accused the FPM’s opponents of having looted the country’s resources since the 1990s and drafted economic and financial policies that starved the state and the people. Addressing Bassil, Hajjar said in a tweet: “Stop fooling the world. Corruption has come from you and is inherent in you. Electricity is the biggest proof.” The Future MP was referring to the ailing electricity sector, which costs the cash-strapped state around $2 billion in annual subsidies. The FPM, which has held the Energy Ministry for years, has been accused by its opponents of involvement in dubious deals to lease power generating ships to improve electricity supply. MP Wael Abu Faour from the PSP’s parliamentary Democratic Gathering bloc said the agenda of Tuesday’s Cabinet session signaled willingness to take revenge against the government’s opponents. “The Cabinet agenda is filled with a desire of retaliation under the slogan of fighting corruption. The funniest thing is that criminals are sitting in the judges’ seats which will spoil accountability that must happen,” Abu Faour said in a statement. “Anyway, we are ready for the challenge and we have nothing to fear, neither from the money transferred abroad, nor from the looted money nor the public tenders.” Abu Faour called on the Cabinet to act to curb the waste of public funds in the “electricity sector and ships [leased to boost power supply], the telecommunications sector, the illegal crossings and Customs tax evasion.” In an interview with The Daily Star earlier this month, Finance Minister Ghazi Wazni said the first priority of the government was to restore the stolen and smuggled money estimated between $7 billion and $8 billion. The recovery of the stolen money is a key demand of anti-government protesters. The Cabinet session, to be chaired by Prime Minister Hassan Diab at 11 a.m. at the Grand Serail, comes amid an exchange of accusations between the government on the one hand, and the Future Movement and the PSP on the other, over responsibility for the crippling economic and financial crisis and for the soaring public debt of over $90 billion. While the Future Movement and the PSP have accused the government of staging a coup to change the country’s free enterprise system, Diab has charged his opponents with planning a coup to topple the government by allegedly raising the U.S. dollar’s exchange rate against the Lebanese pound, which has tumbled to its lowest level in the past few days. The Cabinet is set to approve the final texts and formulas of topics that had been previously agreed on in principle during its session held at Baabda Palace last Friday, according to a statement released by the Cabinet’s Secretariat General. These include: Conducting investigations to determine the [bank[ accounts from which financial transfers were made and taking measures against their owner; taking immediate measures to fight corruption and recover the looted money; and an urgent draft law relating to the recovery of money transfers abroad that took place after Oct. 17, 2019, the statement said. It added that the Cabinet was also expected to follow up on discussions of the final version of the government’s reform plan with a view to endorsing it. On the eve of the Cabinet session, Aoun chaired a ministerial and administrative meeting at Baabda Palace that discussed measures that need to be taken in public administrations and institutions to fight corruption. The meeting was attended by Diab, the defense, interior, justice, health, industry, agriculture, social affairs and information ministers, in addition to heads of the Audit Court, the Civil Service Council and the Central Inspection Department. Aoun said that fighting corruption could not be “circumstantial, partial or selective in order to avoid inequality in holding corrupt people accountable.” He stressed the need to target political graft and not to focus only on administrative corruption. “A set of elements must be ensured in order for the anti-corruption process to attain its goals. These include the expansion of the jurisdiction of the Special Investigation Commission in Banque du Liban to carry out the necessary probe to uncover the sources of corruption, and the creation of a special court to fight corruption,” Aoun said in his remarks, which were carried by the state-run National News Agency. During a Parliament legislative session last week, lawmakers approved the anti-corruption law that would pave the way for the creation of the much-talked-about national anti-corruption commission. Speaking at the meeting, Diab said: “Everyone knows that corruption is bloated in Lebanon and enjoys the protection of politics, politicians, sects and their authorities. But although corruption has infiltrated every vein in the state, no corrupt person has been held accountable, except those from whom a cover was lifted.” “This government has pledged to fight corruption and work to streamline the administration because real reform cannot be attained without accountability and an effective and streamlined administration,” he said, adding: “Hence, the bet is on the control institutions which must carry out their duties.” Addressing heads of the audit and inspection bodies, Diab said: “I call on you today for a serious workshop to help in rescuing the Lebanese administration by intensifying efforts in supervision and accountability without an umbrella on anyone and without the interference of political authority. It is no longer possible to continue in the laxity approach. We are facing great challenges and the reform train must take off.”