Prime Minister, Saad Hariri, reiterated on Tuesday his determination to achieve the desired reforms, advance the country and overcome the difficult crisis it is going through. He said: "Whatever the campaigns they launch against me and whatever they say, write or do, I will continue to work. It is true that we are going through a difficult economic situation and therefore we have to take bold decisions. Every time we make an accomplishment, someone criticizes it. Some politicians claim that they have nothing to do with what is happening, while what we are experiencing is due to the disagreements between all political parties, including the Future movement".

Hariri's words came as he chaired this afternoon at the Grand Serail the meeting of the "Technical Committee to coordinate services in the governorates" formed upon Prime Minister's Decision No. 56/2017 dated 27/02/2017.

Deputy Prime Minister Ghassan Hasbani, Minister of Interior and Municipalities Raya El-Hassan, Hariri's Advisor for Development Affairs Fadi Fawaz, the committee's rapporteur Mohamed Itani, governors, mayors, presidents of municipal unions, a representative of Beirut Municipality, and representatives of the concerned Ministries and institutions, attended the meeting.

At the beginning of the meeting, Hariri said: "I want to continue these meetings in parallel with the implementation of the projects that you want, especially those that are of top priority in your regions, and determine what can be included, whether in CEDRE or with the international organizations, or what we as a country can contribute to."

He added: "The deeper we go, the more we realize that there are hundreds of millions of dollars squandered due to lack of coordination between the donor organizations. Therefore, the state, governorates and municipalities, must prepare a list of priorities to ensure that the funds are spent in the right place in order to avoid what happened in one of the ministries for example, where the computerization cost $10 million and we noticed afterward that their operating system is not suitable to work with other ministries".

He addressed the attendees and said: "We must cooperate together and you must hold coordination meetings among you. You have to set your priorities so that we can work together to implement them. We started these meetings last year and we will continue them in your governorates. This meeting should not end here, because continuing communication and brainstorming is essential to the success of what we are doing".

He added: "It is true that we are going through difficult economic conditions, but we can overcome them. We must not rely on the outside because they are ready to help us but we have to help ourselves first by changing the way we work. We have many successes in a number of municipalities despite the little potential. We achieved successes and growth in the country and faced the challenges. But our problem is that we diverted from the path due to our political differences, and now we are trying to restore the trust of citizens in the state, and this will not happen without your cooperation. You have to prove to the citizen that the state exists and that there are officials who care about them. In the end we are all employees because the people elected us. We must work for the interest of all citizens without distinction and I will continue working and will not stop. I will make the reforms needed to end the present crisis no matter how much they campaign against me and whatever they say, do or write. But I cannot do it without you. I need each and every one of you."

He added: "It is clear that some are trying to destabilize the country. The current situation is difficult, but whenever we accomplish a certain achievement, some criticize this achievement. Today, we see in the media some people who do not understand anything about the economy but who claim to be experts on the dollar, exchange rates and others.

"What happened in the fuel sector a few days ago was not a crisis, because the issue is basically solved, but because of the rigidness of one person, they called for a strike. Is it acceptable to subject things to the mood of any person?

"We are implementing a certain mechanism for the advancement of the country. We must pass reform laws, prepare an austerity budget and financial measures. The dispute between all the political parties, including the Future movement brought us to where we are today."

Concerning the financial situation in Lebanon, Hariri said: "We are now working on the issue of chaos among some exchange offices and this issue is on the track. I am not saying that we do not have problems, but we are working day and night to address the current situation, while others are propagating rumors via WhatsApp or others and this is what we are facing now. If some believe that the issue is about Saad Hariri, let them bring someone else. We should find economic solutions. We can no longer spend more than our income and accumulate debts on the country. We must put an end to this debt by reducing payments and increasing revenues and this is what we are seeking through CEDRE, McKinsey or others. The financial situation is difficult but not impossible. We can save the country and this requires courage and bold decisions."