In an interview with Radio “Lebanon Al Hurr,” he explained that “the government’s position is clear in enshrining the right of Lebanese expatriates to vote from their places of residence for the 128 deputies, each according to their place of registration in Lebanon,” stressing: “We insist on this principle, and we cannot use expatriates to help us by sending money to Lebanon and, in return, deprive them of expressing their opinion through the best parliamentary representation. We, as a government, have sent a draft law to the Parliament, and I do not know what will happen in Nejmeh Square.”
In response to an inquiry, he pointed out that “Pope Laon XIV’s visit to Lebanon has great symbolism, as it is his first international pastoral visit after his election, and this constitutes a step of support for the Lebanese people and the state, which is trying to restore its authority and give a moral boost to Christians to preserve their role and presence in this region.”
Regarding his ministry, he mentioned that he was able to “stop the debt in terms of purchasing fuel to produce electricity in coordination with the Ministry of Finance,” adding: “I have given my instructions to Électricité du Liban to pay for the fuel from collection revenues because any reliance is practically from the citizens’ pockets. We also established the Electricity Regulatory Authority after waiting for 23 years since the law was issued. It is a fundamental reform step to put the energy sector on the right track and insulate the sector from politics in terms of technical options. It gives confidence to investors that the law is applied. It also allows investment in the solar energy sector on a large scale.”
He continued, “Regarding the fundamental solution to secure electricity, we must be frank with the Lebanese that the production capacity of Électricité du Liban cannot secure more than 8 to 10 hours if the required quantity of fuel is available and there are no breakdowns or maintenance work. Therefore, the solution is to attract investors to build modern plants, and this is what we are focused on by rebuilding trust and building bridges with these investors.”
When asked about the date of changing the board of directors of Électricité du Liban, he replied: “About a month ago, the Council of Ministers approved an amendment to the appointment mechanism so that whenever the members are not full-time in any board of directors, it is up to the concerned minister to work on that. Therefore, we have prepared the specifications for those who are eligible to run for the board of directors of Électricité du Liban and other boards. We sent these specifications to the Civil Service Board and we are waiting for its response in the next few days so that we can open the door for nomination.”
In the context of his talk about water, Al-Saddy pointed out that “the problems of the water sector are much worse than the problems of the electricity sector, which are solved by building plants and increasing production, while water needs the establishment of infrastructure that takes longer.”
In response to a question about the possibility of seawater desalination, Al-Saddy explained that “this proposal was previously raised, but it has difficulties, as it is costly and requires infrastructure and the availability of electricity, as well as pumping from the sea to the towns, while water in general in our country is transported by gravity. But a new study can be conducted on this issue.”
