The cabinet approved on Thursday the Interior
Minister’s fund requests for holding the municipal sub-elections, the
transfer of a 600 million LBP credit to the budget of the Interior
Ministry for the electoral process, and the payment of an amount of
467,621,000 LBP from the independent municipal fund for the new company
for trade and contracting which is committed to collect waste around the
Zahrani landfill in Sidon.
The cabinet also approved to amend the
system of the contract workers, granting pregnant female contractors
the same maternal leaves as female employees with permanent tenure.
The
council of ministers appointed the committee in charge of discussing
the nationality law, to follow up on the discussions concerning the
amendments that need to be made to a number of systems.
However,
the cabinet rejected the draft law on the installation of tinted windows
for private vehicles, while it approved a six-month extension of the
current contracting firms contract with mechanic inspection centers
until a new tender is launched.
PM Najib Mikati called on the
ministers to hold a session on the 22nd of January at 4:00 pm at the
Grand Serail, noting that he held several contacts regarding the issue
of the Lebanese national George Abdallah.
He stressed that the French ambassador to Lebanon will hold a meeting today to discuss the issue.
The
Lebanese Cabinet convened on Thursday at the Baadba Palace at 10:30 am
under the chairmanship of President Michel Sleiman and in the presence
of PM Najib Mikati and all the ministers, with 53 items on it agenda.
Prior to the meeting, President Sleiman and PM Mikati held a separate meeting whereby they discussed the latest updates.
Meanwhile,
the Lebanese University contract teachers held a demonstration near the
Sayyad roundabout to protest against the cabinet's delay in granting
them permanent tenure.
Later in the day, President Sleiman stated that the proportionality electoral law endorsed by the cabinet was referred to the parliament for discussions, urging the ministers to commit to the governmental consensus.
Sleiman then added that he has not derailed from the Christian consensus and that he is to be held liable should he overturn national consent.
This as, the ministers decided to adjourn the endorsement of the law that grants
Lebanese women the right to pass down their nationality to their
children "since the ministerial committee tasked to follow up this case
will be convening again to discuss the demands".
Following the end of the cabinet session, Information Minister Walid
al-Daouq quoted President Sleiman as saying that ministers should not
hold press conferences to advocate electoral draft laws that contradict
the one approved by the government.
Sleiman hoped that all sides
would cooperate to reach a consensus over a new electoral law adding
that it would be a shame not to do so in light of the absence of “Syrian
hegemony”.
On the other hand Sleiman noted that the current government has been more productive than its predecessors, Daouq added.
The
president informed the cabinet about his upcoming trip to Moscow where
he will meet with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
On the
issue of release of Lebanese political prisoner George Ibrahim Abdallah,
Daouq said that the president conducted a number of contacts in order
to inquire about the failure to release him.
Regarding the case of
displaced Syrians in Lebanon, Daouq said that Sleiman will personally
take part in the Kuwait donor conference for Syrian refugees.