The head of the National Liberal Party, MP Camille Chamoun, has proposed what he called a “positive solution project,” an initiative aimed at achieving justice for depositors by activating tax clearing, against the backdrop of what he described as governmental chaos and the absence of equitable solutions to restore financial rights.
In a statement, Chamoun stated that the project comes “in response to the ongoing governmental confusion, and in light of the draft law on the financial gap, which lacks a clear vision for restoring rights, and amid the absence of solutions that protect the savings of citizens,” considering that the “positive solution project” represents an immediate and practical action plan to alleviate the burdens on depositors and restore part of the purchasing value of their frozen balances, away from delaying tactics.
He explained that the basic idea of the project is based on enabling every depositor with frozen accounts in Lebanese banks to pay all his dues and financial obligations to the state and its institutions, through bank checks deducted directly from his personal account.
According to this mechanism, the Banque du Liban undertakes the final clearing, which ensures that commercial banks do not bear additional liquidity burdens, and spares the citizen from depleting his cash savings to pay fees that are originally debts owed by the financial system.
Chamoun pointed out that the areas of application include municipal fees of all kinds, Electricité du Liban bills, water institution bills, Ministry of Finance fees such as mechanics and real estate fees, in addition to income tax, and Middle East Airlines travel tickets.
Regarding the implementation mechanism, he explained that the depositor applies to the bank with which he deals to request the issuance of a bank check for the value of the amount due to any of the official departments concerned, provided that these checks are issued with the guarantee of the Banque du Liban through checkbooks dedicated to this mechanism distributed to banks, so that the amount is deducted from the depositor’s credit account and recorded in the state’s accounts with the central bank.
He stressed that commercial banks will not bear the burden of providing cash liquidity, but their role will be limited to procedural facilitation, which eliminates the pretexts related to lack of liquidity.
Chamoun concluded his statement by saying that this procedure represents the minimum of justice in the face of projects that seek to legitimize the loss of rights under the name of the “financial gap,” considering that it is unacceptable to demand that citizens pay their dues in cash in dollars or in lira according to market prices, while their savings are frozen. He believed that adopting this solution would stimulate the economy, alleviate the living pressure on the Lebanese, and contribute to gradually restoring lost confidence.
