The Lebanese Cabinet convened in Baabda Palace on Tuesday to tackle major financial, economic, and electricity issues in Lebanon.
Regarding the ailing electricity situation, the government finally appointed a new team at the Electricité du Liban (EDL), the state-owned electricity company.
While the move to reform gives some hope that Lebanon could finally have some decent electricity, the appointment itself of the new members of the EDL was decided as per the usual sectarian mindset.
The six appointees are Tarek Abdallah, Hussein, Salloum, Samer Salim, Karim Saba, Habib Srour, and Chadi Kreidy.
Disapproving of the appointments, Walid Joumblatt tweeted pictures of Pac-Man, accusing the government officials of devouring everything.
That, according to him, is being done “at the expense of competence and sects, including the Druze, by swallowing the electricity sector and the regulatory authority instead of [implementing] the required reforms,” reported The Daily Star.
About this new move by the government, Reuters commented: “A long-delayed step that is one of a number of measures awaited by donor states demanding reforms.”
It pointed out that losses at EDL have run at up to $2 billion a year and are a major strain on Lebanon’s finances.
Donor states want to see the sector fixed as part of reform efforts. Lebanon is in the throes of an acute financial crisis caused by decades of bad governance and corruption.
Meanwhile, Lebanese people are enduring power cuts and blackouts across the country and could continue for another week until a fuel shipment arrives.
According to Journalist Kareem Chehayeb, “State telecom company Ogero says there will be some internet cuts, traffic lights keep turning off, ACs turned off, and surgeries postponed at some hospitals, even private generator providers struggling because of fuel shortages.”
