Editorial Purpose: We are sharing this piece of content in the hopes that you will scrutinize every institution’s projects and spending.
The above headline was published by local newspaper Al Akhbar on Friday, September 30, 2016, but has been making the rounds on social media for the past few days as the ultimate “I told you so”.
These numbers are not based on the alignment of the stars or whatever bullshit approach Laila Abdel Latif and Michel Hayek follow, they are factual figures that come from a comprehensive study conducted by the Lebanese Association of Banks and reported by journalist Mohammad Wehbe.
In the article, Al Akhbar cites a high balance of payments deficit (meaning the amount of “foreign currency” leaving Lebanon is greater than that coming in) as the main concern when evaluating the stability of the Lebanese Lira. This gap was fueled by continuous crises in Lebanon and in the Middle East like the presidential vacancy at the time, the garbage crisis, and the Syrian war.
“If the current situation continues, the ability to stabilize the currency exchange rate will fall apart in two years,” he wrote. In numbers, the dollar exchange rate was predicted to reach 2659 LL in 2018 and 5638 LL in 2020.
While the Central Bank was able to swoop in and save the day back in 2018, 2020 has yet to witness any radical solutions.
According to the Association of Banks, the purpose of the study was to warn officials that the exchange rate will not be able to withstand for long if the current situation continues as is.
I don’t know why but I have a feeling they never listened.
