Perhaps the Lebanese economy has no choice but to go to the International Monetary Fund to completely rescue its collapsed economy, in light of the Lebanese economy’s unwillingness to liquidate part of its gold reserves in order to face the severe crisis.
Indeed, Lebanon has initially reached an agreement with the International Monetary Fund on an aid plan worth $3 billion, for a period of four years, but this agreement is still awaiting the final approval of the International Monetary Fund management in order to proceed with it.
From the point of view of the International Monetary Fund, Lebanon needs significant financial and technical assistance to overcome this humanitarian, social and economic crisis.
Most of all, it needs to initiate comprehensive reforms to put public finances back on track, restructure public debt, rehabilitate the banking system, expand the social safety net, reform state-owned enterprises, and improve governance.
Since 2021, the International Monetary Fund has been saying that Lebanon is facing unprecedented challenges that require the implementation of a comprehensive economic reform plan that focuses on:
First: A new government has the will and the required powers to implement the necessary comprehensive reforms.
Second: Directly addressing the core problem of weak governance, as reforms in support of transparency must center around strengthening the fight against corruption and improving the performance of state institutions, especially in the energy sector.
Third: Auditing the accounts of the Banque du Liban and the company concerned with providing electricity supplies.
Fourth: Implementing a public finance strategy that combines deep debt restructuring and reforms that restore credibility, achieve clarity, and ensure public finance transparency, while expanding the social safety net to protect the most vulnerable groups.
Fifth: A comprehensive restructuring of the financial sector that begins with recognizing the losses of private banks and the Banque du Liban, taking into account the protection of small depositors.
Sixth: Establishing a reliable monetary and exchange system based on the unification of multiple exchange rates and accompanied by temporary official capital restrictions.
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