On July 20, 2023 BDL Vice Governors submitted to the Parliament’s Administration and Justice Committee a preliminary comprehensive plan aiming to adjust the monetary policy and launch the recovery process, nearly 10 days before the end of BDL Governor’s term. The enactment of the plan requires the approval of the 2023 budget (including the drafting of the 2024 budget law), the passing of the capital control and banks’ restructuring & resolution laws, addressing the fiscal gap and improving the coordination between BDL, the parliament and the government to enhance the depth of the dollar market.

The four Vice Governors stressed as well on the utmost importance of protecting the remaining foreign currency reserves at BDL until sketching a comprehensive plan that defines the fate of banks’ deposits. The Vice Governors highlighted that any use of the remaining foreign exchange reserves at BDL to finance the government requires a national consensus and a law by the parliament that consents the Central Bank to lend to the government from the Mandatory Placements up to $200 million per month on average (as requested by the government) over a period of 6 months, with a ceiling of $1.2 billion.

In response to the aforementioned plan, Deputy Prime Minister Saade Al Chami addressed a letter on August 1, 2023 to the caretaker government, questioning its ability to repay the requested borrowed amount of $1.2 billion, representing 6% of GDP and 75% of the annual budget revenues (estimated at $1.6 billion), commenting that this addition to the public debt contradicts with the government’s economic plan. In his letter to the caretaker government, the Deputy Prime Minister reiterated the necessity to approve the draft laws at the parliament’s level and enact a list of reforms in an endeavor to bolster foreign currency reserves, after reaching a final agreement with the IMF.