BEIRUT: Prime Minister Tammam Salam convened his final cabinet session of the year Tuesday, but ministers failed to agree on the key issue hanging over the government for months: waste treatment.
After the meeting, Information Minister Ramzi Joreige said the Cabinet discussed solid waste treatment for an hour before kicking it down the road to be reexamined at a Jan. 8 session.
Political sources told The Daily Star that the Cabinet had almost achieved full consensus over the dossier before the Kataeb party rejected the bid and called for delaying discussions.
Education Minister Elias Bou Saab, who is a member of the Free Patriotic Movement, said the rejection from the rival Kataeb Party stemmed the party wanting to propose its own waste treatment plan.
But Labor Minister Sejaan Azzi, who is also the Kataeb deputy chief, said its rejection was due to the party’s inability to review the proposal in time for the session, noting that they had received the plan only three days before the meeting.
Political sources said that Salam was irked by Kataeb’s decision, noting that Lebanon would face a major crisis if it was not approved soon.
Agriculture Minister Akram Chehayeb, from the Progressive Socialist Party which has vehemently opposed calls to extend the closure of the Naameh landfill scheduled for mid-January, said he would only accept delaying the dump's closure if presented with a clear plan to manage waste.
At the opening of the session, Salam called for the election of a president and expressed hopes that the 7-month-long void would end at the start of the coming year, Joreige said.
Salam also noted that a “great heartache” was being felt this holiday season with the continued detention of 25 Lebanese servicemen who are being held hostage by ISIS and the Nusra Front. Salam expressed hopes that the captives would be released soon, Joreige added.
He also announced that the Cabinet had approved a request from the Interior Ministry calling for the payment of the dues of the Lavajet waste treatment company for a 6-month period from the Independent Municipal Fund.
The Cabinet also approved a request issued by a number of ministries, allowing them to receive donations from foreign states and institutions.
It also agreed on the appointment of Sarkis Khoury as director general of the Department of Antiquities in the Culture Ministry.
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