Aoun’s Bloc and Hizbullah Accuse al-Mustaqbal of Circumventing the Law
Change and Reform bloc MP Ibrahim Kanaan reiterated on Friday his rejection of attempts made by the opposition March 14 forces and mainly al-Mustaqbal movement to find a comprehensive solution to extra-budgetary spending made by previous governments since 2006.
Al-Mustaqbal bloc lawmakers Jamal al-Jarrah and Ghazi Youssef proposed an urgent draft-law to parliament to legitimize the extra-budgetary spending made by the cabinets of ex-PMs Fouad Saniora and Saad Hariri between 2006 and 2010 and the government of Premier Najib Miqati in 2011 after the current cabinet referred its $5.9 billion bill to the legislature for approval.
Al-Mustaqbal’s proposal “is an unfortunate heresy that violates all democratic and parliamentary rules,” Kanaan told An Nahar daily. “This proposal should come from the government because it is linked to public funds.”
Although Hizbullah, which is the main ally of Michel Aoun’s Change and Reform bloc, has remained officially mum on the dispute over the spending, its mouthpiece al-Manar TV said in its Thursday evening newscast that the March 14 forces led by al-Mustaqbal were seeking to legitimize the $11 billion extra-budgetary spending made by the Saniora and Hariri cabinets between 2006 and 2009 by pressuring the March 8 forces into carrying out a bargain that would settle the $5.9 billion spent by Miqati’s Hizbullah-led cabinet.
The station stressed that the $11 billion funds had vanished and no document proves where the money was spent. It also accused the opposition of seeking to “circumvent the law.”
An additional $5 billion was spent by Hariri’s national unity cabinet in 2010 but the controversy lies on the $11 billion.
Despite claims made by the Change and Reform bloc and Hizbullah that there was no proof on how that amount was spent, Finance Minister Mohammed Safadi has stressed that he has all the data and the documents on the extra-budgetary spending.
MP Youssef also denied the claims in remarks made to Voice of Lebanon radio station 100.5.
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