Azour says wage increases pending Trad Hamadeh’s signature
“Economic indicators confirm that, according to the figures we see now, the rate of growth expected in 2008 will be better than that of 2007 unless any major incidents arise,” according to Lebanon’s Finance Minister Jihad Azour.
Azour on Tuesday issued a statement outlining the state”s role in ensuring the continuation of the financial reforms and social development brokered by the Paris 3 agreement.
The Finance Minister acknowledged that Lebanon was currently in a “transitional stage,” but noted that it was “not true that we cannot do anything significant.” Azour said there were 20 bills and countless projects pending approval that would kickstart Lebanon’s growth.
Azour said salary increases would be effective as of the month of May, 2008, pointing out that the resolution covering the private sector had not yet been signed by Trad Hamadeh, outgoing Minister of Labor.
The agreement for salary increases ranged between 1.5 million LL and two million LL, Azour said, but unfortunately there had been clear attempts at evading the implementation. The minister emphasized that the agreement was public, and said he hoped to see its implementation soon.
On the poor supply of electricity, Azour said that the first five months of 2008 revealed that the main reason for the rise in the deficit came from the Lebanon Electricity company (EDL), which had increased its spending by 500 billion LL from 2007.
With the exception of electricity, however, Azour said that national spending had stabilized despite rise in salaries and wages.
Azour said the continuous cut-off of electricity was due to low maintenance and low productivity, and was in need of “radical reform.”