MPs Approve EDL Treasury Loan amid LF, PSP Objection

The joint parliamentary committees on Tuesday approved an LBP 300 billion treasury loan for Électricité du Liban, Lebanon's state-run electricity producer, amid the objection of the MPs of the Lebanese Forces and the Progressive Socialist Party.

“The central issue was in the equation that was proposed -- either the loan or darkness -- and the MPs were not satisfied at all, considering it a form of blackmail because this issue will always be repeated,” Deputy Speaker Elie Ferzli, who chaired the meeting, said.

“Personally, I clearly sympathized with the proposal of the Democratic Gathering and the Strong Republic blocs, which called for refraining from approving the draft law and rather issuing a recommendation and stressing that there is an alternative choice, which is the formation of a government,” Ferzli added.

“I always emphasize that the real exit is the formation of a government,” he went on to say.

Noting that the loan will be paid from “depositors’ money at the central bank, which amounts to $17 billion,” Ferzli said MPs categorically reject to “finance our negative situation.”

“Next time -- God willing after the formation of a government and heading towards salvation -- no loan should be approved under the ‘darkness or approval’ slogan. Next time we will say: leave or darkness!” Ferzli added.

Caretaker Energy Minister Raymond Ghajar had warned Thursday that the country would plunge into "total darkness" at the end of the month if no money was secured to buy fuel for power stations.

Power cuts have been common in Lebanon ever since the end of the 1975-1990 civil war, forcing Lebanese to pay a second power bill to private generators for three to 12 hours each day during the outages.

Now the country is facing its worst economic crisis in decades, and fast running out of hard currency to back imports.

Ghajar warned the state electricity company, EDL, was strapped for cash.

Ghajar, who was speaking after meeting President Michel Aoun, warned of repercussions on all sectors if the power went out.

"Imagine your life without electricity, internet, phones, hospitals or vaccines... It's surreal to live in the 21st century without electricity," he said.

Ghajar has called for emergency funding for the state power company to continue providing power, until a larger loan is approved by parliament.

Until now the electricity company had been functioning on the remains of a loan allocated under the 2020 budget, but the 2021 budget has not yet been passed as the country struggles with twin economic and political crises.

Lebanon has been importing fuel on a shipment by shipment basis since the start of the year, after a contract with a subsidiary of Algerian state company Sonatrach ran out and was not renewed.

Users on social media lashed out at Ghajar's comments.

"What is surreal is that we have these officials in charge," one wrote, echoing widespread sentiment that the country's political elite is incompetent or corrupt and responsible for the country's many crises.

The international community has long demanded a complete overhaul of the electricity sector, which has cost the government more than $40 billion since the end of the war.

Lebanon's government resigned after a massive blast in Beirut last summer that killed more than 200 people, but a deeply divided political class has failed to agree on a cabinet to replace it.