State Budget Won”t Make it to Cabinet before “Total” Understanding is Reached
No progress has been made with the talks and contacts carried out by Finance Minister Mohammed Shatah to resolve a budget crisis, the daily An Nahar reported Monday.
It said that unless "total understanding" is reached, President Michel Suleiman will not submit the 2009 state budget to Cabinet.
Meanwhile, pan-Arab daily Al Hayat quoted ministerial sources as saying that efforts undertaken by Suleiman through contacts with Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Fouad Saniora have cratered an "understanding" on the budget that is likely to see light at Cabinet”s next meeting on Thursday.
The sources said Thursday”s Cabinet session is expected to see a "breakthrough" in the budget crisis.
Al Akhbar newspaper, for its part, quoted opposition sources as saying that the much-talked about "compromise" is the same one reached during a meeting at Baabda nearly two weeks ago – allocating LL 60 billion for the Council for the South.
On March 10, Suleiman was finally able to bring together Berri and Saniora in a bid to mend the relationship that has deteriorated over the Council for the South budget – still the key obstacle in the path of approving the 2009 state budget.