World Bank Warns Lebanon of Unredeemable Damage

Today, the World Bank warned that if the political leaders fail to make real reforms, Lebanon's economic and financial crisis will lead to unredeemable damage.

Saroj Kumar Jha, the Levant regional director at the World Bank, said that the consequences of the ongoing crisis will be irreversible by any means.

Jha talked about the plan developed by the EU, UN and the World Bank to support Lebanon after the deadly explosion hit Beirut port four months ago, killing more than 200 people.

Jha added that the distribution of funds and the implementation of the projects will be overseen by the World Bank and an independent monitoring body.

The director continued that Lebanon seeks to get an emergency loan of $246 million to aid provide poor families with cash assistance.

It is noteworthy that the Lebanon leadership are accused of corruption and mismanagement which led the country to an economic collapse.

A current report by the World Bank estimates Lebanon's real GDP has decelerated by nearly 20 per cent and that half of the population has fallen into deprivation in 2020.

The director of the bank commented that since there are no substantial reforms happen, we are looking at a 14 per cent contraction in 2021.

The launching of the plan was announced on Wednesday during a French-led humanitarian conference for Lebanon, in which Lebanon estimated its need for $2.5 billion in the next 18 months to recover and rebuild from the explosion at the port.

Macron said that more than $340m in aid has been spent since August to help Lebanese recover from the explosion.

Macron set out a road map for reform in September to help Lebanon to recover from the triple effect of the devastating explosion, a crippling financial crisis that began last year and the economic depression caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Prime Minister Hassan Diab, who resigned in August after the blast, showed his gratitude to the French initiative and promised the French President, who visited Beirut twice since the August 4 explosion, to form a new government quickly and apply the reforms needed to pay billions in debt relief and international funds.