Beirut, Sep 10 (UNI/Sputnik) Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati will head the new government, Mahmoud Makiya, the secretary general of the cabinet of ministers, said on Friday.
Earlier in the day, Mikati and President Michel Aoun signed a decree on the formation of the new government.
"The president of the republic, on the basis of the constitution, signed the decree on the appointment of Najib Mikati to the post of prime minister," Makiya told reporters.
Aoun also accepted the resignation of the government of Acting Prime Minister Hassan Diab in another decree.
The newly-formed cabinet will grant Lebanon access to an IMF bailout package that is deemed crucial for the country’s economic recovery, as news of the cabinet formation led to a surge in the value of the national currency by nearly 12% within the scope of a few hours.
"It is not our wish, but we no longer have any reserves or money that we can use to help, and therefore we all have to bear… We are living through difficult times, and our citizens and people should know that our times are not times of entertainment, nor are they times of prosperity, but god willing we will soon be able to change this path," Mikati said in response to a question regarding the lifting of subsidies by the new government as broadcast from the country’s presidential palace.
Aimed at mitigating rising prices in light of a depreciating currency, Lebanon’s subsidy mechanism allowed the importers of a number of goods deemed vital by the state to procure US dollars at favorable exchange rates, on the condition of selling the purchased products at a cost pre-set by authorities.
With the previous government disbanded in August of last year in the aftermath of the Beirut port blast, rivalries amongst the Mediterranean nation’s political elite have blocked two consecutive attempts at forming a new cabinet, further exacerbating the country’s economic crisis, as the national currency collapsed to record lows.
UNI/SPUTNIK GNK 1844