Kanaan: Rationalizing spending and stimulating the private sector are necessary under all circumstances... and declining revenues cannot be addressed through Banque du Liban's reserves

MP Ibrahim Kanaan stressed that “rationalizing spending must take place under all circumstances, not only in times of war,” affirming his support for granting the administration certain powers to facilitate its work, “without undermining or abolishing oversight.”

Speaking during a roundtable organized by the “Nation of Human Beings Project,” he noted that financial oversight “is not actually being exercised,” pointing out that state accounts since 1993 “have not been audited and have not reached Parliament.” He said the reason lies in successive governments’ violation of spending laws and the absence of budgets between 2005 and 2016, adding that “a budget without a final account loses its value.”

Kanaan criticized the existence of “funds outside the framework of oversight,” warning against the continued absence of real accountability. He said: “Without a clear mechanism that binds the executive authority and holds it accountable, we will remain stuck in the same cycle.”