Reading of the 2001 budget
December 2001
The 2001 budget is interesting because it is the first one prepared by Rafik Hariri’s team after his group won the 2000 elections against the faction led by President Lahoud and after the fierce critics against the “Financial Correction Program”. It was presented few weeks before James Wolfenson’s visit to Lebanon and his critics of the economic policies and the beginning of a creeping financial crisis that lasted until the Paris 2 Conference, in November 2002.
The budget includes, in line with the previous political announcements, fiscal cuts (tariffs and Social Security contributions) but its detailed analysis shows the strong continuity with the previous budgets and illustrates the considerable efforts devoted to accounting arrangements and financial acrobatics aiming at hiding the deficit.
- 8 p. (in arabic)
