BEIRUT, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon's cabinet has approved monthly payments of 12 million Lebanese pounds (about 134 U.S. dollars) to all retired civilian public sector employees, Finance Minister Yassine Jaber said on Thursday, in a bid to ease hardship amid the country's prolonged economic crisis.
The move is part of a broader plan to adjust wages and pensions in line with living costs and the state's limited fiscal capacity. The official minimum monthly wage in the public sector is 675,000 pounds, but with allowances previously approved by the government, retirees receive at least 18 million pounds, excluding the new addition.
The Lebanese pound has lost more than 98 percent of its value against the dollar since 2019.
Jaber said the government was determined to fund reconstruction with its own limited resources while welcoming support from foreign allies and international institutions, including the World Bank.
The High Relief Commission will receive an initial 200 billion pounds from the treasury to repair damage in Beirut's southern suburbs, heavily hit in recent Israeli strikes, he said. Jaber added that he has been authorized to sign a 250-million-dollar World Bank loan to rebuild infrastructure in affected areas.
Lebanon, without a fully functioning government for much of the past four years, is grappling with overlapping crises, including financial collapse, political paralysis, and periodic cross-border hostilities with Israel. ■
