A man walks past power-providing private generators on a Beirut street. The caretaker economy minister has given generator owners a six-month deadline in install meters for their customers. (Credit: Reuters)
Hopes dwindled for formation of a Lebanese government by the end of the week as Najib Mikati and Michel Aoun exchanged accusations, seven days after the two leaders last met. The premier-designate said in a statement that “some seem to insist on turning the government formation process into a political and media bazaar, open to all the lies and leaks, in a clear attempt to distance accusations of obstruction, and blame it on others.” The president has been repeatedly accused by opponents, including former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, of obstructing cabinet formation efforts by insisting on obtaining a “blocking third” — veto power — in a new government. Shortly after Mikati’s statement, Aoun, in a series of tweets and without explicitly naming the prime minister-designate, insisted that “he does not want, either directly or indirectly, a blocking third,” and called on “everyone not to accuse the presidency … in order to conceal misleading private goals that no longer deceive the people.” Mikati was designated to form a government over a month ago, but so far he and the president have been unable to agree on a cabinet lineup, even as the country spirals deeper into its worst collapse since the Civil War. Mikati last week said he would not resign and that a government would be formed. He gave no timeframe.
The caretaker economy minister gave private generator owners a six-month deadline to pay for and install meters for their customers. “If a customer purchases a meter at their own expense, the owner of the private generator will have to deduct this amount from the bill,” Raoul Nehme said in a statement. Selling electricity from private generators is quasi-illegal but such services have operated openly for years as Lebanon’s state electricity provider was unable to produce enough power to supply the country. Due to fuel shortages, electricity cuts have become significantly worse, with Electricité du Liban barely producing a handful of hours of power. Residents who can afford it now rely on diesel-dependent generator operators for even a basic supply of electricity — adding further resentment to many who view such businesses as predatory. The original deadline for generator owners to install meters and charge users based on consumption was on Sept. 30, 2017.
A woman in her 20s doused her body in gasoline and set herself on fire in front of the UNHCR building in Tripoli. The woman, a Syrian refugee, attempted the act after she found out her asylum application was still being processed, state media reported. She was transferred to Al-Salam Hospital by the Lebanese Red Cross and was in stable condition and expected to live, a hospital representative told L’Orient Today Thursday afternoon. The UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, says that Lebanon hosts approximately 850,000 registered Syrian refugees; estimates of all Syrians in Lebanon stand around 1.5 million.
A public school teacher’s union announced that its members will hold countrywide protests on Sept. 7. In a statement, the Public Primary School Teachers League in Lebanon called the demonstrations to denounce “the humiliation which teachers face in their daily life” amid fuel shortages and a crippling economic crisis. Teachers have called on authorities to increase their salaries and transportation stipends and have threatened not to teach if their demands are not met. Public schools are set to reopen and resume in-person classes on Sept. 27. Fuel shortages and the partial end of fuel subsidies mean that residents, including teachers, face challenges getting to work and paying for increasing gasoline prices.