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Lebanese leaders 'disappointing' on reform, amid second wave of infections

US and French officials visiting Beirut after the August 4 blast have said they had made clear they would not extend a financial lifeline to the country if its leaders did not tackle corruption and mismanagement.

Reuters

A big Lebanese flag is seen on a damaged building in the aftermath of a massive explosion in Beirut, Lebanon, August 15, 2020.

A senior UN official has criticised Lebanese leadership's response to local and international calls for reform, which for some countries is a condition for aid.

Warnings by Western officials over the need for reforms in Lebanon had often been met with disappointing responses by the country's political leaders, a senior United Nations official said on Monday following this month's Beirut port explosion.

US and French officials visiting the city after the August 4 blast that killed 178 people said they had made clear they would not extend a financial lifeline to the country if its leaders did not tackle corruption and mismanagement.

Second wave

This comes amid a sharp rise in Covid-19 cases in Lebanon after the deadly port blast.

Lebanon is facing a surge in coronavirus cases after a devastating blast at the Beirut port earlier this month killed scores and wounded thousands, prompting medical officials on Monday to call for a two-week lockdown to try to contain the pandemic.

Virus numbers were expected to rise following the August 4 explosion of nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate stored at the port. Around 180 people were killed, more than 6,000 wounded and a quarter of a million left with homes unfit to live in. The blast overwhelmed the city's hospitals and also badly damaged two that had a key role in handling virus cases.

On Monday, the Health Ministry registered 456 new cases and two deaths, a new daily record after Sunday's 439 virus cases and six fatalities. The new infections bring to 9,337 the total number of cases in the small country of just over 5 million. Lebanon has reported a total of 105 fatalities.

Strings attached

"With grave concerns ISG Ambassadors today discussed the deepening overall crisis in Lebanon," tweeted Jan Kubis, UN special coordinator for Lebanon.

He said tough warnings had been delivered to the authorities and political leaders and their responses had often been rather disappointing.

"Expectations of the international community are well known - without urgent reforms that require broad political support Lebanon cannot count on any bailout," he tweeted.

The call echoes others from Western powers, including French President Emmanuel Macron and US Undersecretary for Political Affairs David Hale, who both visited Beirut. Hale said Lebanon needed "economic and fiscal reforms, an end to dysfunctional governance and to empty promises."

The detonation of highly explosive material stored unsafely for years at the port injured 6,000, left 300,000 homeless and destroyed whole neighbourhoods.

The now-caretaker cabinet on Monday extended a state of emergency in the capital until September 18.

The government resigned amid renewed protests against ruling politicians blamed for a financial crisis that developed even before the blast, that ravaged the currency, saw banks freeze depositors out of their savings and sent unemployment soaring.

Analysts estimate that after the explosion that wrecked the port, a main trade artery, Lebanon's external financing needs swelled to more than $30 billion from $24 billion.

The outgoing government, which took office in January with the backing of the Iran-backed Hezbollah group and its allies, had not made progress in talks with the International Monetary Fund launched after Lebanon defaulted on foreign currency debt.

Forming a new government is likely to be complicated due to factional rifts in the country's sectarian power-sharing system.

SOURCE: TRTWorld and agencies