BEIRUT, January 18, 2023 (Xinhua) – The Lebanese government approved, in today’s (Wednesday’s) session, two treasury advances amounting to 116 million dollars to purchase fuel needed to operate power plants and for maintenance work on production plants and the network.
This came, according to the official ((National News Agency)) in a meeting of the government headed by Najib Mikati, which is the second meeting of it with a caretaker status and the exercise of the powers of the President of the Republic in light of the presidential vacancy in the country.
The government meeting came despite the boycott of Energy Minister Walid Fayyad and 5 other ministers from the Free Patriotic Movement, headed by Representative Gebran Bassil.
Fayyad had proposed that the issue of financing the purchase of fuel needed to produce electricity be done through roving decrees, signed by the prime minister and ministers without the need to hold a government session in light of the presidential vacancy, but this proposal was rejected by Mikati.
Since the end of the term of former President Michel Aoun on October 31, and it was not possible to elect a president of the country until today, the Free Patriotic Movement and the Lebanese Forces Party, which are the two largest Christian parties, oppose any meeting of the government and its exercise of the powers of the country’s president as a caretaker government.
The Lebanese constitution stipulates that in the event of a presidential vacancy, the powers of the President of the Republic shall devolve to the Council of Ministers as a whole.
Mikati said in an intervention during the cabinet meeting, according to a statement from his office, that the caretaker government is not regarding to replace the President of the Republic.
He stressed “the completion of the presidential election as quickly as possible, as it is a mandatory entry point for the regular work of the constitutional institutions.”
At the meeting, the government approved an advance of $62 million to partially finance the purchase of fuel needed to operate power plants, and an advance of $54 million for maintenance work for the power generation plants in Deir Ammar and Zahrani in the north and south of the country.
Mikati indicated, in a statement to reporters following the session, that the other amounts required for fuel amounting to 300 million dollars have remained pending so that a ministerial committee headed by him meets periodically to review from the “Electricity of Lebanon” all that is necessary to maintain operation.
He pointed out, “According to the periodic reports that arrive, and if we see that the infringements have decreased and the collection of bills is done as required, we will proceed with other appropriations, otherwise, in the event of inaction, we are not ready to pay and spend money in vain.”
Mikati indicated that the amount of $62 million was approved as a basic appropriation, and that with the opening of this appropriation, the current feeding hours might reach 4 hours per day.
He said that the ministers pointed out in the meeting to concerns regarding how the fuel ships arrived before opening the financial credit, pointing out that the government asked the energy minister to negotiate with the supplier company to cancel fines for late receipt of fuel shipments so that they become the responsibility of the supplier and not the Lebanese treasury.
Mikati stressed that he is keen on the unity of the Council of Ministers, and that “today’s session was comfortable amid cooperation between all,” as a single item was discussed, which was the electricity file.
He pointed out that there were other items on the agenda, including the renewal of the contract for Lebanon’s purchase of fuel from Iraq for a period of one year, in the amount of one million metric tons, at the rate of one shipment per month.
He announced that it was agreed among the participants in the government session to hold a session in the next week or following to discuss all urgent files in health, educational and environmental matters, wheat and flour.
Lebanon has been suffering from power outages amid an economic crisis since 2019, which led to the inability of the state treasury to finance fuel oil imports to operate electricity production plants.
