UPDATE 1-Retired Lebanese soldiers picket central bank over cuts
As about 100 protesters gathered outside the Central Bank, Lebanon's coalition government began holding its latest meeting to try to agree a budget that would reduce the fiscal deficit in the heavily indebted state. The retired soldiers have blocked the Central Bank's three entrances, including the one for vehicles, said a Reuters video journalist who was there.
General Sami Ramah, a spokesman for the retired soldiers, said they would stay at the bank, stopping employees from entering, until their demand of no cuts to the military budget was met. There was no immediate Central Bank statement on whether the protest would affect its work on Monday.
Retired soldiers have been among the most vocal opponents of reported cuts in the draft budget, blocking roads with burning tyres to protest any cuts to their pensions and benefits. The government said on Friday it had agreed to tighten the allocation of financial incentives that are intended for soldiers on frontline duty but applied more widely in practice.
Central Bank workers went on strike early last week over proposed cuts in the wage bill, causing the Beirut Stock Exchange to suspend trading for two days because the transaction clearance and settlement process could not be completed on time. Workers at other state institutions including the national power producer, telecom firm Ogero and the port of Beirut held strikes for several days last week.
With Lebanon suffering from years of low economic growth, long-stalled reforms are seen as more pressing than ever. But the strikes and protests point to the political difficulties facing Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri's unity government as it seeks to agree a budget to narrow a gaping deficit.
The public-sector wage bill is the government's biggest expense followed by debt servicing costs and the big subsidies paid annually to the state-owned power producer. Lebanon has public debt equivalent to 150% of gross domestic product (GDP). The draft budget aims to reduce the deficit to below 9% of GDP from 11.2% in 2018.
(Reporting by Laila Bassam, Angus McDowall and Issam Abdallah; Editing by Will Dunham and Peter Cooney)
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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