Bassil Rules Out Any 'Compromise' on Electricity Plan
Energy and Water Minister Jebran Bassil on Monday noted that his proposed electricity plan would benefit all Lebanese and stressed that the issue “cannot be subject to a compromise.”
“Until this day, I still don’t understand what the problem is over the electricity file. On the political level, everyone is a winner and legally and financially there are no problems,” Bassil said during a press conference he held at the ministry to discuss the plan.
“The file should be tackled by cabinet, the Energy Ministry and all the ministries concerned,” the minister added, noting that he had already answered “all the technical questions” over the draft law.
Bassil wondered “how can LL19 billion be granted to other ministries in one year while LL1700 billion is not being provided to the Energy Ministry for two years or more.”
“The government’s failure is our failure and we want it to succeed,” the minister went on to say.
“The project needs to be implemented immediately and we hope it will be passed during Wednesday’s cabinet session,” Bassil added, warning that “the government won’t survive or implement anything if it does not put the draft law into practice.”
The minister boycotted a ministerial meeting held Monday afternoon at the Grand Serail to discuss the plan. He told reporters that he “wasn’t invited.”
Ahead of the Grand Serail meeting, Premier Najib Miqati held separate talks with Bassil and Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat.
Media reports said that the Miqati-Bassil meeting was aimed at bridging differences on the electricity plan, under which $1.2 billion would be allocated to generate 700 megawatts of electricity.
The cabinet has so far failed to reach an agreement on the plan after a dispute erupted on whether the government or Bassil should supervise the spending of the $1.2 to implement the plan.
A consensus during Monday’s ministerial meeting was necessary to allow the cabinet to approve the project during its session on Wednesday. However, the meeting failed to reach any agreement.
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