Lebanon Approves $246 Million Safety Net, but Seeks Oversight Cuts

A boy sifts garbage in Beirut during a strict Covid-19 lockdown imposed by the authorities on January 15, 2021. (AFP)
A boy sifts garbage in Beirut during a strict Covid-19 lockdown imposed by the authorities on January 15, 2021. (AFP)
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Lebanon Approves $246 Million Safety Net, but Seeks Oversight Cuts

A boy sifts garbage in Beirut during a strict Covid-19 lockdown imposed by the authorities on January 15, 2021. (AFP)
A boy sifts garbage in Beirut during a strict Covid-19 lockdown imposed by the authorities on January 15, 2021. (AFP)

Nearly 150,000 of Lebanon’s poorest families could soon start receiving monthly cash handouts after lawmakers gave approval on Friday to a $246-million World Bank loan to ease the impact of the country’s financial meltdown.

But in a nation where many people blame the crisis on corruption and mismanagement, some analysts questioned MPs’ decision to cut at least $5 million from allocations for oversight and so-called capacity building to prepare for future shocks.

The World Bank, which agreed the loan in January, could not immediately be reached to comment.

The financing aims to cut extreme poverty by half through household aid payments of up to 800,000 Lebanese pounds, equivalent to less than $100 per month, as well as boost social services and fund the education costs of 87,000 students.

Parliamentarians who backed the changes to the loan’s spending structure said more poor families would be able to benefit as a result.

Ibrahim Kanaan, chair of parliament’s finance and budget committee, said the alterations would reduce running costs and make the program “much better than it was before”.

Kanaan told the Thomson Reuters Foundation he had lobbied to slash spending on capacity-building because “in the past this never did its job. Large portions where mis-spent ... there is a big margin for corruption”.

Other changes voted by parliament included cutting funding for an independent third-party monitor by half and reducing the timespan of an external financial audit to one year from three.

Instead of hiring companies to verify the eligibility of families for the handouts and oversee the payments, parliament voted to hand that task to the social affairs ministry and volunteers.

Some financial analysts questioned the oversight cuts.

“What does Lebanon gain by slashing the budget for oversight and governance by a few million dollars while putting at risk the effective management of the $246 million program?” said Mike Azar, a senior financial adviser based in Beirut.

He said such costs were often high for governments with weak institutions, but “the solution is to fix the institutions, governance and transparency, not slash the oversight costs which may end up costing the country much more in the long run”.

Few people in Lebanon trust government, and - citing the risk of corruption - rights groups and donors have said aid should be disbursed directly to people reeling from the economic crisis, COVID-19 and a massive August 2020 blast in Beirut.

The World Bank, which is partly financing the country’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout, threatened last month to suspend its support after some lawmakers jumped the queue and got their vaccinations early.

They received the jabs during a February session discussing the loan endorsed on Friday.



US Targets Houthis with Fresh Sanctions Action

Houthi members ride a pick-up truck while on patrol amid tensions with Israel, in Sanaa, Yemen, 18 July 2025. (EPA)
Houthi members ride a pick-up truck while on patrol amid tensions with Israel, in Sanaa, Yemen, 18 July 2025. (EPA)
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US Targets Houthis with Fresh Sanctions Action

Houthi members ride a pick-up truck while on patrol amid tensions with Israel, in Sanaa, Yemen, 18 July 2025. (EPA)
Houthi members ride a pick-up truck while on patrol amid tensions with Israel, in Sanaa, Yemen, 18 July 2025. (EPA)

The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions on what it said was a Houthi-linked petroleum smuggling and sanctions evasion network across Yemen and the United Arab Emirates in fresh action targeting the Iran-backed militant group.

The US Treasury Department in a statement said the two individuals and five entities sanctioned on Tuesday were among the most significant importers of petroleum products and money launderers that benefit the Houthis.

"The Houthis collaborate with opportunistic businessmen to reap enormous profits from the importation of petroleum products and to enable the group’s access to the international financial system," said Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Michael Faulkender.

"These networks of shady businesses underpin the Houthis’ terrorist machine, and Treasury will use all tools at its disposal to disrupt these schemes."

Among those targeted on Tuesday was Muhammad Al-Sunaydar, who the Treasury said manages a network of petroleum companies between Yemen and the United Arab Emirates and was one of the most prominent petroleum importers in Yemen.

Three companies in his network were also designated, with the Treasury saying they coordinated the delivery of approximately $12 million dollars’ worth of Iranian petroleum products with a US-designated company to the Houthis.

Since Israel's war in Gaza against the Palestinian group Hamas began in October 2023, the Iran-aligned Houthis have been attacking vessels in the Red Sea in what they say are acts of solidarity with the Palestinians.

In January, Trump re-designated the Houthi movement as a foreign terrorist organization, aiming to impose harsher economic penalties in response to its attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea and against US warships defending the critical maritime area.

In May, the United States announced a surprise deal with the Houthis where it agreed to stop a bombing campaign against them in return for an end to shipping attacks, though the Houthis said the deal did not include sparing Israel.

The Israeli military attacked Houthi targets in Yemen's Hodeidah port on Monday in its latest assault on the militants, who have been striking ships bound for Israel and launching missiles against it.