Date: Mar 28, 2018 Source: The Daily Star Aoun rebukes ministers over failure to solve electricity crisis Hussein Dakroub| The Daily Star BEIRUT: Despite not being listed on the agenda, the chronic electricity crisis stole the limelight at Tuesday’s Cabinet session, as President Michel Aoun rebuked ministers for not doing enough to solve the problem and Prime Minister Saad Hariri asked the energy minister to present a report on the electricity situation with proposed solutions. At the request of Defense Minister Yaacoub Sarraf, the Cabinet postponed discussing a military cooperation agreement between Lebanon and Russia, Social Affairs Minister Pierre Bou Assi, who is also the acting information minister, told reporters after the session chaired by Aoun at Baabda Palace. An official source had told The Daily Star Sunday that the Cabinet would authorize Sarraf to visit Moscow in April to sign the military cooperation agreement with his Russian counterpart as part of the government’s attempt to bolster the Lebanese Army’s capabilities. Military cooperation with Russia was a key topic on the Cabinet’s 45-item agenda, which did not include the electricity problem. However, Aoun, apparently disgruntled by the lack of Cabinet action to ease the severe power rationing ahead of the summer season, called on ministers to stop dragging their feet over the electricity crisis and to find temporary solutions until power plants are built. Declaring that the electricity situation was “no longer acceptable,” Aoun, according to Bou Assi, told the ministers: “All I want is to ensure electricity. I am obliged to tell the Lebanese people because I promised to be honest with them. The electricity problem has been repeatedly discussed but without results. I and all the Lebanese want electricity and I don’t care how you bring it.” The president urged the ministers to present “practical proposals” to solve the electricity crisis. Lebanon has been suffering from power rationing since the end of the 1975-1990 Civil War.“No one said Lebanon was forced to use power barges, but no one has proposed an alternative and I am not marketing this option,” Aoun added, referring to Energy and Water Minister Cesar Abi Khalil’s controversial plan to lease two additional power barges as an interim solution to the long-running electricity problem. Abi Khalil belongs to the Free Patriotic Movement founded by Aoun. “Do any of those present now not want electricity to the people? I think everyone wants electricity,” Aoun said, addressing the ministers. Aoun was reported to have supported Abi Khalil’s plan to lease power barges to solve the electricity crisis. Abi Khalil’s plan has been opposed by the Lebanese Forces, Hezbollah, the Amal Movement, the Kataeb Party and MP Walid Jumblatt’s bloc for being too expensive and lacking transparency. Lebanon rents two Turkish barges already, which float off the coast in Jiyyeh, south of Beirut, and in Zouk, to the north of the capital. Aoun stressed that the “best and sustainable solution” to the electricity crisis was through the building of large power production plants. “But until we finish the building of these plants and putting them into operation, there is a time frame during which we must provide energy,” he said. “We want temporary solutions until the plants are built. Enough postponement and procrastination for which the Lebanese and the state treasury are paying the price, while the electricity deficit is increasing.” Aoun recalled that during a Cabinet session earlier this month he distributed to ministers a summary of the power crisis, pointing out the deficit in the state-run Electricite du Liban company and its negative impact on the economy and state finances, and asked them to come forward with proposed solutions to provide electricity. “But, unfortunately, I haven’t received any response or any proposal,” he said. The summary reported that since 1992, a $36 billion electricity deficit had been racked up – around 45 percent of the total state debt of $80 billion by the end of 2017. The deficit at EDL, estimated at between $1.5 billion and $2 billion annually, is partly blamed for the budget deficit. Hariri also underscored the importance of finding a solution to the electricity crisis. “It’s important to look at the electricity file in a different manner, away from politics, with a focus on the interests of Lebanon and the state Treasury,” he said. “Unfortunately, we, in the Cabinet, have not so far made any achievement in the electricity issue. Proposals for solutions are still under discussion,” Hariri added. The prime minister asked the energy minister to submit to the Cabinet a report he had prepared on the electricity situation and proposed alternative solutions. He said he would call for a Cabinet session solely to focus on solutions to the electricity crisis, asking any minister with suggestions to raise them. The Cabinet decided to meet again at 3 p.m. Wednesday at the Grand Serail to discuss eight items on the agenda, including an item relating to salary increases for employees of autonomous institutions. Among decisions passed by the Cabinet was the approval of a draft decree signed by Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk earlier this month to give around 2,500 Civil Defense volunteers paid, full-time employment. It also approved a $120 million loan agreement offered by the World Bank to implement a project aimed at facilitating access to health services, Bou Assi said. Referring to the May 6 parliamentary elections, a day after the expiry of the deadline for parties and blocs to register their electoral lists with the Interior Ministry, Aoun said: “We are 40 days away from the elections. We hope everyone will abide by a calm electoral competition.” He pointed out that the Cabinet would turn into a caretaker government after May 20, when Parliament’s mandate expires. Aoun urged the ministers to act on “outstanding issues at their ministries, especially those related to the urgent needs of citizens, regardless any political or electoral consideration.” Hariri also highlighted the importance of the elections. “We are heading for important elections. Everyone must exercise their right to vote and choose their representatives in the next Parliament,” Hariri said, according to a statement released by his media office following a dialogue between the prime minister and members of the Tabbara family Monday night. “I call on Beirut’s residents to vote in high numbers and not let any group break the will of Beirut and its residents.” Ahead of the registration deadline Monday, 77 electoral lists were submitted to the Interior Ministry. These lists, representing 597 candidates, will contest the May 6 vote.