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Power to make change

Politicians and economists are ready to move

by Joe Dyke

“There is no way to be loyal to Lebanon and protect it other than through dialogue that opens the way to the formation of a salvation government that represents all Lebanese political powers and takes responsibility for saving the nation”

Prime Minister Najib Mikati on his resignation in March. No new government has been formed

“Our fighters are present on Syrian soil… to confront all the dangers it faces from the international, regional and takfiri attack on this country and region. As long as the reasons [to fight in Syria] remain, our presence there will remain”

Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Lebanese political movement Hezbollah in November

“Islam looks to the economy from a number of perspectives and not in isolation. It treats it through morals and piety — that is to say, a real faith in Islam. The source of social and economic solidarity in Islam is based on zakaat [a system of giving a fixed proportion of one’s wealth for redistribution]”

Sheikh Ahmed al-Assir to this magazine in March. He disappeared in June after intense clashes with the army

“This new package is similar to the one we launched this year, which proved to be quite successful. We should also focus on strengthening the economy of knowledge, which will secure job opportunities for our youth”

Governor of Banque du Liban Riad Salameh in November as he launched a second economic stimulus package

“We have not been able to pass on much of the wage increases as we simply don’t have any pricing power. In fact we are seeing the opposite, with retailers offering discounts at the height of the season just to clear inventory so as to be able to pay their bills and suppliers”

Nicholas Chammas, chairman of the Beirut Traders’ Association, on the compulsory wage increase introduced by the government

“You don’t need a resolution to the Arab- Israeli conflict to improve electricity in the country, or to reduce the cost of telecoms, or improve the roads, infrastructure or reduce bureaucracy. But politicians consider reforms a zero-sum game — if one side implements them the other side considers it a loss”

Nassib Ghobril, head of research at Byblos Bank

“It can happen in two minutes by convening the council of ministers  — the decrees are there. It is a two-minute meeting, we say ‘ok’ and we move on”

Caretaker energy minister Gebran Bassil on the failure to sign two decrees that would allow Lebanon to move forward in the bid to extract offshore oil and gas
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Joe Dyke

Joe Dyke worked at Executive from 2012 until 2014, mostly as economics and politics editor. He later worked for The New Humanitarian, Agence France Presse (AFP) and is now head of investigations at the civilian harm monitoring organisation Airwars.
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