The new head of Lebanon’s central bank made a desperate plea for reform on Friday as the country slips further into economic crisis.
Wassim Mansouri became interim governor of Banque du Liban late last month after longtime Governor Riad Salameh’s term ended. Mansouri said the Lebanese state may collapse in the absence of reform.
“Every day we waste without drafting laws, losses increase as well as the possibility of a state collapse,” he was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.
Mansouri also criticized the budget passed by the government last week in his remarks, saying it has a 24% deficit and that the central bank asked for a deficit-free budget.