The electricity file has strongly returned to the political scene. the priorities of the government are with the demanding of President Michel Aoun who stated: “we can not hold another governmental meeting without a decision about the electricity. I will frankly announce to the media that the government is unable to resolve the electricity problem.” And added: “I won’t accept. I will put the issue to vote, and let everyone bear responsibility.”
But in fact, had the electricity file met the standards of the law accurately from the start, then the file would have been closed and we would have had 24 hour electricity. If the World Bank was assigned since the beginning of 2017 to prepare a proposal for the permanent industries, we would have been in the subcontracting stage by now. On the record, the Lebanese forces was the first to call for a debate on that matter, during the sessions that were held for the budgeting of 2017, so it can be tackled immediately, in order to reduce waste and ensure electricity, especially since Lebanon already pays 1.5 billion dollars annually to provide electricity.
However the illegal and noncompetitive procedure that followed the selection and the sub-contracting of the industries, led to the suspension of this process because it did not comply with the order. The file was referred to the State Council after the rejection of the bids management administration and the objection of several ministerial components to the insisting on one company and a proposal that fits their own standards. While all that is required today is to put this dynamic file on the right track through a clear and transparent way of working.
On the other hand, the focus is still on the visit of US secretary of state Rex Tillerson and his statements on Hezbollah’s weapons and role, as well as the reasons for the protocol’s error and it’s background. The main objective of the visit related to the nautical dispute between Lebanon and Israel, which seems to be headed towards resolution through international arbitration.
Despite the political preoccupation, the concentration remains on the parliamentary election which is very close, and the Lebanese forces continues preparations for the big celebration on March 14 to launch it’s political electoral program in a scene that brings together it’s national vision and the first appearance of all it’s candidates.