BEIRUT, Nov 12 (Reuters) – Lebanese government officials have no sense of urgency and are not taking responsibility for an economic crisis that has “brutally impoverished” the population, an independent United Nations envoy told Reuters in an interview. “They are in a fantasy land,” De Schutter said. “It doesn’t bode well for the future of the country.”De Schutter met with top officials including nine ministers, the prime minister and parliament speaker during his visit. The United Nations says nearly three-quarters of the formerly middle-income nation’s population now suffer from poverty, which has increased during an economic crisis rooted in decades of corruption and mismanagement. His final report will be published in early 2022.
