Jun 21 2010 |
more articles from
|
Hassan says Lebanon can't afford to pay for new dams
21 June 2010
BEIRUT: Finance Minister Raya al-Hassan said in an interview with Radio Orient on Saturday that the treasury cannot afford to spend on building new dams and that this project must be financed by soft loans.
“The increase in the amount allocated to investment expenditures is not too high compared to our needs but it is high when compared to the budget’s capacity,” she said. “We would like to build new dams and we want to invest in important sectors but we are trying to involve the private sector in these projects for us to avoid placing more pressure on the public debt.”
Regarding the $500 million collected in the account of Telecommunications Ministry at the Central Bank, Hassan said that this amount should be transferred to the treasury right away even if the law does not force the ministry to do so. “President Michel Sleiman and Prime Minister Saad Hariri were very clear on that issue,” she said.
She added that the government is keen on attracting investments to Lebanon by improving the investment atmosphere in the country. “The government gave a special attention to the agriculture sector as well because of its positive impact on low-income citizens,” she said.
“We are also working in cooperation with the prime minister and the Social Affairs Ministry on a new program aimed at minimizing poverty in Lebanon and we will be soon adopting a new strategy that targets needy people,” she said. “The amounts that used to be spent for social purposes did not use to target the neediest people.”
Hassan also emphasized the need to find new sources of funding in order to find solutions to environmental problems. She praised the Lebanese economy for its capacity to overcome the challenges it has faced in the past. “We are able to reach high growth rates if we take advantage of the opportunities available today,” she added.
However, Hassan admitted that reforms are necessary and should take place in the coming few years in order to be able to face future challenges. – The Daily Star
© Copyright The Daily Star 2010.
Zawya Comment Policy
-
Zawya encourages you to add a comment to this discussion. You agree that when you add content to this discussion your comments will not:
1.1 Contain any material which is libelous or defamatory of any person, is obscene, offensive, hateful or inflammatory or causes damage to the reputation of any person or organisation.
1.2 Promote sexually explicit material, violence, discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age or any illegal activity.
1.3 Be made in breach of any legal duty owed to a third party, such as a contractual duty or a duty of confidence.
1.4 Be threatening, abuse or invade another's privacy, or cause annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety.
1.5 Be used to impersonate any person, to misrepresent your identity or affiliation with any person, or be likely to deceive any person.
1.6 Give the impression that they represent Zawya.
1.7 Advocate, promote or assist any unlawful act such as (by way of example only) copyright infringement or computer misuse. - The content posted on www.zawya.com is created by members of the public. The views expressed are theirs and unless specifically stated are not those of Zawya. Zawya reserves the right to review all comments prior to posting and edit or delete any contribution, but Zawya is not responsible for and can not be held liable for any content posted by members of the public on www.zawya.com.
- Zawya is not responsible for the availability or content of any third party sites that are accessible through www.zawya.com. Any links to third party websites from www.zawya.com do not amount to any endorsement of that site by Zawya and any use of that site by you is at your own risk.
- By submitting your comment, you hereby give Zawya the right, but not the obligation, to post, air, edit, exhibit, telecast, webcast, re-use, publish, reproduce, use, license, print, distribute or otherwise use your comments worldwide, in perpetuity.
Copyright © 2012 Zawya Ltd. All rights reserved. |
provided by www.zawya.com |
Post Your Comment