Anger in Lebanon as insolvent banks donate $6 million for coronavirus
March 24, 2020, 4:14 pm

Anger in Lebanon as insolvent banks donate $6 million for coronavirus

Chairman of Association of Banks in Lebanon Salim Sfeir. (File photo Reuters)

The Association of Banks in Lebanon’s decision to donate $6 million to government hospitals battling coronavirus has drawn criticism from angry depositors.

“ Salim Sfeir is donating to the government – but from where?” one Twitter user demanded in Arabic.

“One minute he is donating our money and the next he has used Corona as an advert for his poisoned sector,” another observed.

https://twitter.com/JoyceJ010/status/1240922341342879745

Another Arabic user likened the ABL’s gesture to “giving an HIV patient a cup of camomile tea.”

The money from the ABL will purchase 120 respirators for use exclusively on corona patients across Lebanon, according to a statement from Sfeir’s office.

“Our initiative is a national obligation. It is only the beginning and will be followed by many more in the upcoming days,” Sfeir said in a press conference announcing the donation. He added that the banking sector will continue to be on the front line of the fight against coronavirus.

Dr. Naji Aoun, an Infectious Control Physician at Clemenceau Medical Centre, believes that the ABL’s donation would only make a difference if cheap treatment and testing become available soon.

“We don’t need money in private hospitals. What we need is the support of our government to open airspace and shipping routes to import medication and rapid testing kits.”

Rapid testing kits, which are cheap and quick to deploy, are not currently approved by Lebanon’s Health Ministry. This has left many importers unable to bring much-needed supplies such as testing kits into the country, Dr. Aoun explained.

A woman cleans up glass from a broken facade of a bank in Beirut, Lebanon, after anti-government protests. (Reuters)

Healthcare struggling but capital controls unpopular

The ABL’s donation is desperately needed. Coronavirus cases in Lebanon have almost doubled in the last four days, bringing the total to just over 300. Human Rights Watch warned Tuesday that the country’s financial and economic crisis has led to a shortage of medical supplies, pointing out that the government owes private hospitals around $1.3 billion in unpaid bills.

But the angry public response was hardly surprising at a time when public trust in the Lebanese banking sector couldn’t be lower. The ABL fell foul of Lebanese citizens last year after banks imposed informal capital controls on depositors in response to Lebanon’s ongoing economic crisis.

Many depositors feel that the capital controls were imposed unfairly, allowing those with influence to send their money abroad when banks were supposedly closed. Estimates of the illegal capital flight range from $800 million to $11 billion.

Many prominent Lebanese politicians have also made donations in recent days including Druze leader Walid Joumblatt. Last weekend, Joumblatt pledged $500,000 to Rafiq Hariri Hospital - the largest public hospital in Lebanon and the only one to offer free testing for coronavirus – and $100,000 to the Lebanese Red Cross.

“With the outbreak of the epidemic, new measures must be taken, including a national fund to look after hundreds of thousands who have lost their jobs,” Joumblatt added during an appearance on a local TV show. levant

source: Jacob Boswall levant

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BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has announced its sponsorship of the “Innovation and Sustainable Technology Solutions Competition (GU - IST Solutions), hosted by Gulf University at its main campus.
This strategic sponsorship reflects BENEFIT’s active role in advancing technological innovation and fostering sustainable solutions to future challenges. It also seeks to empower Bahraini youth by enhancing their skills, capabilities, and competitiveness in innovation and solution development—contributing meaningfully to the broader goals of sustainable development across all sectors.
As part of BENEFIT’s active involvement in the competition, the company has announced that Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager of Public Relations and Communication, will serve on the competition’s supervisory committee. Her upcoming participation reflects BENEFIT’s forward-looking commitment to championing academic and professional excellence.
Commenting on the occasion, Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager of Public Relations and Communication at BENEFIT, said, “We are privileged to support this pioneering initiative, which aligns seamlessly with BENEFIT’s enduring commitment to fostering innovation and nurturing the potential of Bahrain’s youth. Our participation is rooted in a deep sense of social responsibility and a firm belief in the pivotal role of innovation in shaping a sustainable future. Through such platforms, we seek to empower the next generation with the knowledge, skills, and foresight required to develop impactful solutions that address future challenges, in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030.”
Dr. Aseel Al Ayash Dean of the College of Engineering in Gulf University commented, “We extend our sincere gratitude to BENEFIT for their generous sponsorship and support of the Innovation and Sustainable Technology Solutions Competition. This contribution plays an instrumental role in helping us achieve the strategic goals of this initiative, namely, cultivating a culture of innovation and sustainability, encouraging efforts that address the imperatives of sustainable development, and enhancing the practical and professional capabilities of our students and participants.”
The event will bring together a diverse spectrum of participants, including secondary school students, university undergraduates, engineers, industry professionals, entrepreneurs, academic researchers, and subject matter experts representing a wide range of disciplines.
The competition seeks to inspire participants to develop and present innovative, sustainable technologies aimed at addressing pressing environmental, social, and economic challenges. It encourages the formulation of business models that integrate advanced technological solutions with core principles of sustainability. Moreover, it serves as a platform for emerging leaders, entrepreneurs, and innovators to contribute to the advancement of the Sustainable Development Goals, promote the ethos of responsible technology, and demonstrate its transformative potential across various sectors.
Attendees will have the opportunity to view a series of project presentations submitted by participants, covering diverse areas such as eco-friendly product design, smart and sustainable innovations, renewable energy technologies, water conservation and management, waste minimisation and recycling, green architectural solutions, and sustainable transportation systems. Outstanding projects will be formally recognised and awarded at the conclusion of the event.