Earlier today, Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil contacted Prime Minister Tammam Salam and informed him of the decision of the Change and Reform bloc and Hezbollah to boycott the cabinet session.
On another note, Jreij said that Salam requested the Interior Ministry to order municipalities to assume their responsibilities.
He also stressed that PM Salam will call the concerned ministerial committee to hold a session as soon as he receives a list of municipalities that want to address the garbage collection.
This as Minister Jreij stressed that Salam reiterated his keenness on freedom of protests, rejecting attacks by some protesters against the security forces. Prior to the session, Environment Minister Mohammad Mashnouq stressed that the cabinet should fund municipalities in order to solve the trash crisis, indicating that Sukleen waste management company has resumed its work. For his part, Economy and Trade Minister Alain Hakim warned against failure to find a solution for the trash crisis, hinting that he may leave the session. The ministers of the Change and Reform bloc and Hezbollah also withdrew from Tuesday’s session, to express their objection to the transgression of the national partnership principle and the violation of the governmental work mechanism and agreements reached to manage the sessions amid the ongoing presidential vacuum.