Lebanon approves $556M in cash payments for struggling families

LEBANON’s parliament on Wednesday approved cash payments for families struggling financially, a move that will cost $556m a year and could allow the lifting of a $6bn subsidy programme for basic goods.

Every family eligible for the programme would receive around $93 a month, a source close to the government told Reuters news agency.

The Middle Eastern nation is in the throes of a burgeoning financial crisis, which has plunged more than half of its people into poverty and which leaves households struggling to afford basic goods.

Lebanon’s currency has lost more than 90 percent of its value since October 2019.

Frustration and anger continue to spill into the streets, with anti-government protests and demonstrations sweeping the nation. Critics say the government has failed to offer a credible financial solution that could unlock billions of dollars in international aid.

The World Bank warned earlier this month that Lebanon’s economic crisis