Caretaker Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, on Tuesday chaired a ministerial meeting at the Grand Serail, in the presence of Finance Minister Youssef Khalil, Energy Minister Walid Fayyad, EDL Chairman Eng. Kamal Hayek, as well as the Ministry of Finance’s General Director George Maarawi. On emerging, Minister Fayyad said that the meeting was held upon his request to discuss the electricity tariffs. ‘Everyone has concerns regarding January and February’s electricity bills, and we have reached some agreements that Electricité du Liban could actually implement,’ Fayyad added. “We do not want to burden people with the energy consumption bill of public institutions and ministries, which must carry out their duties and pay their own bills. The same applies to refugee camps,’ Fayyad added, after pledging reduced bills with better exchange rates, in coordination with the Ministry of Finance and the Lebanese Central Bank, for bills issued after March 2023. ‘Prime Minister Mikati has invited us to participate in a meeting that will be held on Monday morning in presence of the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Imran Riza, to discuss the means by which the UN could cover the bills of refugee camps, especially that Electricité du Liban has finished installing the required meters and could now issue proper bills. We can no longer offer free power supply to refugee camps,’ Fayyad explained. “The Ministry is still in the process of implementing its plan to increase the electricity supply, which we aspire to reach ten hours per day through the use of all electricity plants on all Lebanese territories,’ Fayyad added. Mikati separately welcomed the General Manager of the Housing Bank, Antoine Habib, who said that in light of the decisions that were made during the Council of Ministers’ session on May 26, 2023, Lebanese individuals with limited income will be able to obtain a loan of USD 40 thousand and USD 50 thousand for those with middle income, provided that they do not have any property registered under their name. ‘This loan was signed back in 2019 between the Arab Fund and the Housing Bank and will materialize as soon as possible. There will be a platform through which any Lebanese citizen can fill out the conditions from his home, and if he/she fulfills all the requirements, then he/she can obtain the loan without anyone’s interference,’ Habib added.

Source: National News Agency – Lebanon