Week of Confrontation Over Electricity as Miqati, Bassil Clash
The government faces the biggest test ever of bridging the gap among its different members this week after a dispute erupted over a draft law aimed at granting Energy Minister Jebran Bassil $1.2 billion to build plants to produce 700 Megawatts of electricity.
The cabinet meets at President Michel Suleiman’s summer residence in Beiteddine on Thursday amid threats by MP Michel Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement to withdraw its ministers from the government over accusations that Premier Najib Miqati contributed to blocking the draft law proposed by Aoun in parliament.
Al-Liwaa daily quoted ministerial sources as saying Monday that Miqati held talks with Bassil over the weekend. The results of the meeting were described as “very negative.”
Miqati is insisting on finding a legal framework for spending the $1.2 billion fund that should be provided to Bassil from the state budget.
During the last cabinet session, Bassil allegedly insisted on the government to back his plan but he faced stiff opposition from several ministers for lack of clarity on how he would spend that huge amount of money.
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