Suleiman Warns of Cabinet Division over ‘Technical’ Electricity Dispute
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
President Michel Suleiman has warned cabinet ministers against division on a controversial electricity bill, saying the government shouldn’t collapse over “technical” differences between ministers loyal to Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun and Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat.
Suleiman’s sources told As Safir daily published Thursday that the president’s warning came during a 10-minute cabinet session held at the Baabda palace.
The meeting was postponed to Sept. 7 over the insistence by cabinet ministers loyal to Jumblat to form a technical committee which, along with Bassil, would oversee the allocation of $1.2 billion funds to build power plants that would generate 700 megawatts of electricity. But Aoun’s ministers strongly opposed it.
“There is no interest in putting the issue up to voting,” Suleiman reportedly told the ministers, warning that such a move would divide the government and put the electricity project in limbo.
During Wednesday’s session, Suleiman said that all sides agreed on two central issues - a solution to power cuts through the adoption of a plan which all sides agree on and distancing this issue from political bickering.
Ministerial sources told As Safir that the ministers agreed to postpone discussion of the issue to Sept. 7 over fears that the differences could spiral out of control.
The Eid al-Fitr holiday will be an opportunity to find consensus on the bill ahead of the session, they said.
Suleiman and Miqati held closed-door talks before the cabinet session. They were later separately joined by Hizbullah Minister Mohammed Fneish, Amal Movement’s Minister Ali Hassan Khalil and Bassil.
The president also met Minister Ghazi Aridi, a PSP official.
Ministerial sources told An Nahar newspaper that Suleiman and Miqati faced a difficult task in trying to appease both sides after ministers loyal to Aoun and Jumblat held onto their stances following telephone conversations they held with their leaders.
25 August 2011, 09:11
03
i love ' Abou Melhem ' in Baabda for those who know or heard of this old wise lebanese tv character: controlling the spending of a 5 bn dollars is a technical detail.....I 'd say : ' in principle '! What is a technical detail, is this whole government, against History in the making!
25 August 2011, 09:52
00
Here we go again! Another "political" postponement of a vital matter, which, if the numbers given are true, this will cost the government 240mnUS$ from now till 7th September (based on a cost od 16mn$ per day).
Can someone tell me why Jebran Bassil doesn't give a detailed plan for spending the 1.2bn$ for the initial plan to build those power plants and finish with this debate?
On another hand, can someone explain to me how the current opposition that was in the government in 2010 had approved the same plan that was submitted then, and is now claiming that it wants more details?
For how long will our political leaders (I guess thos word is not worthy of any of them!!!!) go on placing their personal and political interest ahead of the ultimate interest to serve and re-build the nation?????
25 August 2011, 10:15
01
Is there any logic behind not having a supervision commitee?
What is Bassil/Aoun excuse behind wanting a trust-me blanket over what they want to do?
Wasn't this project the previous gouvernment's baby and wasn't it opposed by March 8th eventhough it did not give the ministry full discretion?
Can any Aoun-voting reader explain why this should be done this way and also why Aoun is defending HA in Lassa instead of the legal owners of the land who happened to have voted for him and now hold him responsible for their mistreatment?
25 August 2011, 11:29
02
Make HIZBUSTAN pay their Electricity Bills First, like Everybody else, Instead of STEALING it. Why should Law Abiding Tax Payers / Citizens pay for HIZBUSTAN's power usage ? Haven't we all put up with enough of their CRAP ?
