Ministerial Panel Finalizes Policy Statement, Govt. to OK It Thursday

The ministerial committee drafting the new government’s policy statement completed its work on Wednesday after a third meeting and Cabinet will convene Thursday to approve it, the information minister said.

“The draft statement will be discussed and approved in a Cabinet session that will be held at 4:00 pm Thursday at the Baabda Palace, and we hope the new government will appear before parliament at the beginning of next week to request confidence from MPs based on this ministerial statement,” the minister, George Kordahi, told reporters.

Asked about the clause related to “the resistance and Hizbullah,” Kordahi said: “All issues are mentioned in the draft statement that will be discussed tomorrow at the Baabda Palace and the policy statement will be adopted. There is harmony among all ministers, contrary to what has been said about the presence of disputes.”

As for the issue of the banking sector and the electricity plants, Kordahi said the statement “does not mention power plants.”

“But our priority is to provide electricity, diesel and gasoline to the people,” he added.

Asked about the issue of lifting subsidies off fuel, the minister said the statement does not tackle the issue and that such a decision would be taken in Cabinet.

Told by a reporter that the statement’s content has been imposed on the committee in light of the swiftness in approving it, Kordahi reassured that the statement was not “parachuted” and that “there is a very realistic approach that cares about the people’s plight and pain.”

Asked about the financial forensic audit, the minister said: “Everything related to the judiciary, justice and investigations is mentioned, but I cannot talk about these issues before the statement’s official approval in Cabinet.”