Bassil Meets Miqati, Says Kicking Off Cabinet Sessions Pending its Performance

Energy Minister Jebran Bassil slammed on Wednesday the performance of the cabinet, saying that the Change and Reform bloc would continue to boycott its sessions until it assumes its responsibilities.

“Either we have a government that rules, or a one that lets all issues slip by,” Bassil told reporters after holding a meeting with Prime Minister Najib Miqati at the Grand Serail.

He said that the decision to boycott was taken to clarify some issues as “it’s not an open-ended boycott.”

“We are keen on preserving the cabinet’s performance and contacts are ongoing to resolve the dispute,” Bassil pointed out.

The premier discussed with Bassil the performance of the cabinet regarding its tasks and jurisdictions.

“When the government approves a decision it has to be implemented, and when it refers a draft law (to the parliament) it should be able to defend it,” Bassil told reporters.

Bassil has previously proposed to allow 700 contract workers to stand for an official exam, out of some 2,500 employees, while the rest would become employees at private companies under a three-month probation period as the company can’t contain all of the employees.

On Monday the parliament approved a decision taken by the joint parliamentary committees, tasked with resolving the EDL contract workers’ crisis, to include all of them in a selection process for permanent employment.

The decision was rejected by the Christian MPs forcing Speaker Nabih Berri to suspend the legislative session, which was scheduled to convene on Tuesday.

“It’s a clear violation of the separation of powers,” Bassil added.

The Change and Reform bloc, the Phalange party, Lebanese Forces, Ashrafiyeh and Zahle MPs argue that the permanent employment of those workers would destabilize the sectarian balance at EDL as around 80 percent of them belong to non-Christian sects and most of them support Berri, who is a Shiite.