BEIRUT: The Cabinet failed Thursday to resolve the pressing issue of extra-budgetary spending as Finance Minister Ali Hasan Khalil remained adamant on only allocating funds through a legal framework in Parliament.
A ministerial source told The Daily Star that the dispute among the minister would most likely be resolved via contacts between heads of rival groups.
Before stepping into the Cabinet meeting at the Grand Serail, Khalil had stood firm against any spending without legal approval.
“If there had been irregularities [in past governments] ... I’m not willing to commit violations,” he said prior to the Cabinet meeting at the Grand Serail in Downtown Beirut.
Khalil has vowed not to authorize the July paychecks for civil servants unless the Cabinet issues a law that would legalize the payment of salaries.
The minister insists that paying the salaries of state employees without an official budget or a legal decision taken by the Cabinet is a violation of the Finance Ministry’s rules and regulations.
Due to the fact that no state budget has been approved since 2005, Cabinets are obligated under the law to adhere to the financial ceiling of the last approved budget. Former Prime Minister Najib Mikati's government had faced a similar problem but resolved the issue by approving extra-budgetary spending of LL8.9 trillion (nearly $6 billion) for 2011.
Minister of State Mohammad Fneish said Hezbollah insisted on Parliament passing a law to authorize extra-budgetary expenditure of funds.
Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi echoed the Future Movement and the March 14 coalition positions on spending, both of which insist that the issue of paying salaries for civil servants was resolved by a 2006 law under the mandate of former President Emile Lahoud.
“But we are with making new laws in matters deemed urgent like the eurobonds and state budget,” Rifi told reporters before joining the Cabinet meeting which began around 11 a.m.
The Cabinet had 80 items on its agenda, including 13 new items; the rest are left over from last week’s session. Among the important items are a request for new Internet lines for the E-government, ensuring the Army’s needs and requirements, and accepting grants from the European Union to finance a project to shore up security in Lebanon and boost the country’s stability and national unity.
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