Lebanon needs 6-7 years to resolve its economic crisis, President Aoun says

Lebanon needs at least “six to seven years” to come out of the economic crisis it is currently facing, its president said in a televised interview on Friday.

Lebanon’s president, Michel Aoun, said that the country had reached this juncture due to “misdeeds, theft, corruption, and a failure of the system” and that a much-needed “intellectual and practical” change would be brought about to correct this.

“What the Lebanese people are suffering and living today is a result of deeds by those in power in the past who were entrusted with citizen’s lives,” the President said in a Tweet.

Lebanon is currently facing its third economic meltdown which began in 2019 when the country’s financial system collapsed due to a lack of foreign currency and colossal state debt caused by decades of corruption and economic mismanagement.

The Lebanese President’s comments came in response to a leaked video published on social media in which UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres lashed out at the reasons for Lebanon’s financial collapse.

“As far as I understand what has happened in Lebanon is that Lebanon was using something similar to a Ponzi scheme… which means that together with corruption and other, probably, forms of stealing, the financial system has collapsed,” Guterres said in the video.

Another common criticism by critics of Lebanon’s authorities is that the financial system is a Ponzi scheme that relies on fresh borrowing to repay existing debt. Lebanon’s central bank disputes this claim.

Lebanon’s pound has lost more than 90% of its value during the crash, and its banking system is paralyzed, preventing depositors from withdrawing their savings.

Guterres said in the press conference that Lebanon’s leaders need to convince the international community that Lebanon needs to implement reforms “in relation to the economic, the social and the political life of the country,” and by establishing a “credible economic recovery plan” for discussions with the IMF.