• January 11, 2021
• By Daily Star

Saeb El Zein|Lebanon is not the first country to face an economic crisis and will not be the last. It is however among the first countries in modern
history where its policymakers have failed to apply the very basic textbook requirements to deal with the crisis despite all our human economic capital and opportunities presented on a silver platter. Our policymakers’ incompetence has blocked implementation of basic reforms and actions required to stabilize the economy, trigger a recovery and save Lebanon’s economy and citizensAfter 14 months of Lebanon’s economic collapse, we are still at ground zero of dealing with our multi-dimensional crises. By the endof October 2019, the multitude of crises was finally clear to most citizens. The banking sector decided to close its doors as offshore dollar liquidity dried up, dollar-rationing became official, banking sector inflows stopped, continued Lebanese pound depreciation(since the summer) while the government’s dollar financing stopped months before and Eurobond prices continued to collapse reaching distressed, default levels.
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