Qortbawi Says Parliament Only Authority Capable of Collapsing Cabinet
Justice Minister Shakib Qortbawi stressed on Friday that the parliament is the only authority capable of collapsing the cabinet.
“The current cabinet has the majority of the parliament and it will not collapse unless it took this decision,” Qortbawi told Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3).
Concerning the prolonged electricity crisis in the country, he considered that this sector “has been suffering for over 20 years and it’s impossible to resolve the crisis in a period of months.”
He noted that Energy Minister Jebran Bassil had previously warned of a “hot summer,” as he had suggested a comprehensive plan to resolve the electricity crisis; however its implementation didn’t kick off yet due to the obstructions by some officials.
Frequent power cuts have been witnessed in Lebanon over the past week, with citizens venting their frustrations through blocking roads in various regions across the country.
Qortbawi pointed out that negotiations regarding the power-generating vessels are ongoing but “need more time.”
A Turkish company is set to provide Lebanon with two power-generating vessels each with a capacity of 270 megawatts. They are aimed at compensating the electricity shortage that would be caused by the rehabilitation of the Jiyyeh and Zouk power plants and allowing the government to build one or two new plants to resolve Lebanon’s lingering electricity crisis.
Lebanon has long suffered from electricity outages because of shortages at its power plants whose maximum capacity is less than 1,500 megawatts but the country’s actual need exceeds 2,300 megawatts.
Asked about the judicial appointments, Qortbawi called for officials to “look at the bright side” after the appointment of seven new members at the Higher Judicial Council.
He said that contacts are ongoing to select the head of the HJC and the General Prosecutor.
Earlier in June, President Michel Suleiman approved a decree referred by Prime Minister Najib Miqati and drafted by Qortbawi to appoint five judges to the HJC.
The HJC is formed of 10 members in which the head of the council, the General Prosecutor and the head of the Judicial Inspection Board are appointed by a decree issued by the cabinet.
Two of the remaining seven are chosen by the members of the Court of Cassation, and the remaining five are appointed by the justice minister and approved by the president without necessarily consulting the government.
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