Aug 20 2010 |
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Cabinet: Energy shortages date back to Civil War
20 August 2010
BEIRUT: Angry Lebanese continued to protest against severe power cuts, as the heat wave hitting the country makes rationing more unbearable, with the Cabinet remaining helpless in addressing the country’s long running electricity crisis.
Ministers had agreed during Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting to hold neither Prime Minister Saad Hariri nor Energy Minister Gebran Bassil responsible for power rationing, since the issue was the outcome of a long-running problem in the sector.
On Wednesday night, angry crowds blocked the streets in Khandaq al-Ghamiq and al-Basta al-Tahta Beirut neighborhoods in protest against electricity rationing, while riots continued in areas in the capital’s southern suburbs and in south Lebanon.
Sleiman added that demand for electricity reaches 2,400 megawatts with production only touching 1,400 megawatts. Coupled with failures in the grid, this amounts to a total of a shortfall of one-third of required power.
In implied criticism of the Cabinet, Bassil said during Wednesday’s meeting that the government’s work was running slow, adding that his demand for a LL 6 billion loan to prepare a plan to develop the electricity sector was delayed for a month.
Bassil was responding to criticism by Labor Minister Butros Harn, who had accused him of adopting a lax attitude.
For his part, Hariri criticized protests against electricity rationing which blocked roads, while Bassil said people had the right to protest, regardless of the political motives behind their movement.
The Electricite Du Liban has become a nightmare for successive governments with an annual deficit of more than $1.5 billion, in some years even reaching $2 billion. – The Daily Star
© Copyright The Daily Star 2010.
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