Cabinet Approves Petroleum Authority, Delays New Wage Scale Funding

The cabinet on Wednesday approved the appointment of the six members of the petroleum authority as it failed anew to agree on the sources of funding for the new wage scale.

“The cabinet agreed on the following candidates for the petroleum authority: Nasser Hteit (Shiite), Walid Nasser (Greek Catholic), Wissam al-Zahabi (Sunni), Amin Ibrahim (Druze), Wissam Shbat (Maronite) and Gaby Daaboul (Greek Orthodox),” NBN television reported.

MTV said Energy Minister Jebran Bassil made the proposal over the appointments from outside of the cabinet's agenda.

The TV network said Energy Minister Jebran Bassil awaited an official memo from the Ministry of Energy ahead of submitting to the cabinet the names of the members.

Speaker Nabih Berri urged on Wednesday the need to activate government work in order to tackle pending issues and the people's daily concerns.

He revealed that he had conducted over the past few hours “intense” contacts over the appointment of members of the petroleum authority.

He made his remarks during his weekly meeting with MPs at his Ain el-Tineh residence.

The speaker highlighted the importance of the appointments at the petroleum authority, saying that its achievement will help improve the poor economic situation in Lebanon.

He had stated over the weekend that a recent international study had revealed that Lebanon sits on the greatest oil and gas wealth in the region.

Disputes had emerged between Berri's AMAL movement and MP Michel Aoun's Change and Reform bloc over the appointments in the petroleum authority.

Lebanon and Israel are bickering over a zone that consists of about 854 square kilometers and suspected energy reserves there could generate billions of dollars.

The cabinet approved in September the proposed borders of Lebanon’s Exclusive Economic Zone in the Mediterranean.

In June, Lebanon was able to restore 530 square kilometers of a maritime zone that it considers it to be within its EEZ.

Media reports said that the United States and the United Nations acknowledged Lebanon’s rights to control the 530 square kilometer disputed area after prolonged diplomatic and political efforts.

Lebanon has been slow to exploit its maritime resources compared with other eastern Mediterranean countries. Israel, Cyprus and Turkey are all much more advanced in drilling for oil and gas.

Separately, NBN quoted Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh, who attended the cabinet session, as warning that a hike in taxes would increase inflation, rein in growth and “blemish Lebanon's image.”

“Discussions will be held with the donor states on the issue of raising taxes and things require more than two weeks according to some ministers,” said NBN.

Meanwhile, head of private school teachers union Nehme Mahfoud told MTV that the Syndicate Coordination Committee, a coalition of private and public school teachers and public sector employees, will press on with a general strike scheduled for Thursday over the government's failure to refer the new wage scale to parliament.

“The SCC will meet on Friday to discuss the escalatory steps because the government has proved its failure,” Mahfoud added.

The procrastination of the government in finding sources to fund the new scale has deepened the gap with the SCC, which is accusing the government of negligence over its failure to meet their demands.

However, the cabinet argues that it's delaying the issue to thoroughly discuss plans to boost the treasury's revenue to cover the expenses of the salaries boost.

The state treasury will have more than $1.2 billion to cover as there are over 180,000 public sector employees including military personnel.