Cabinet Agrees to Lease Power Vessels, Makes 3 Undisputed Appointments

The cabinet on Wednesday agreed to lease power-generating vessels for a period of two years -- renewable for one year -- and stipulated a new invitation for tenders.

The cabinet also approved three uncontroversial administrative appointments and was inclined to postpone the discussion of the thorny issue of financial auditing for the years 2006 to 2010.

It appointed three new directors general: Antoine Jebran as head of the HR department at the Civil Service Council, Nathalie Yared as head of the council's research and orientation department and Mona Awwad as head of ministerial affairs at the premiership, MTV reported.

“At the beginning of the session, (Energy Minister Jebran) Bassil said the issue of electricity must be the first topic of discussion, but (President Michel) Suleiman and (Premier Najib) Miqati rejected that, prompting Bassil to say that he fears a postponement. However, Suleiman reassured him that the issue will be discussed, even if that required extending the session till dawn,” NBN television said.

Ministerial sources told NBN that “there is need for both power-generating vessels and power plants,” adding that “maybe in the upcoming days a solution will be reached, but today the cabinet will not be able to reach any solution.”

On his way out of the session, Finance Minister Mohammed Safadi told reporters: “I don’t know the reason behind Miqati’s decision to back down from his previous stance on the issue of electricity.”

The session was preceded by a closed-door meeting between Suleiman and Miqati.

“Intentions are good and there is a dire need for (power-generating) vessels in order to provide electricity as part of an interim plan to cover up for the shortage in power, and building the power plants is something axiomatic,” Culture Minister Gaby Layyoun said ahead of the session.

For his part, Bassil warned against “turning the issue of electricity into another ‘false witnesses’ issue.”

And Agriculture Minister Hussein Hajj Hassan said “the issue of electricity can be resolved,” saying Hizbullah backs its ally, the Free Patriotic Movement, in the standoff.