Berri Issues New Warning on Failure to Appoint Oil Authority Members

Speaker Nabih Berri issued another warning on Friday that parliament would hold the government accountable if it fails to appoint the members of the oil authority.

The cabinet’s adoption of the authority’s formation bill is not enough to avoid a parliamentary grilling, Berri said in remarks published in several dailies.

The government should swiftly appoint the six members and come up with a mechanism to launch tenders by the end of the month, he said, adding “I won’t protect anyone.”

Asked about the speaker’s repeated warnings, Premier Najib Miqati told As Safir daily that the Shura Council has made 51 remarks on the formation of the authority.

“We had to take them into consideration. That’s why (the formation) was delayed,” Miqati said.

“As for the appointment of the authority’s members … we have a one-month time limit to make the appointment based on a certain mechanism,” he stressed.

About the rise in oil prices, Miqati said the Lebanese government can’t do anything about it given that the prices are going upward internationally.

“If some are seeking to remove the remaining tariffs on oil which amount to LL4,000, then let them provide an alternative income to the treasury,” he told the dailies.

“Scrapping the tariffs without providing revenues in parallel, would mean an end to spending and a stop (in the payment) of salaries and pay raises,” Miqati warned.

But the premier sought to appease fears, saying the cabinet is mulling to buy new buses to give a boost to the public transportation sector and help citizens overcome the burden of rising oil prices.