The Council of Ministers approved several administrative and judicial appointments during a regular session convened on Friday at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, chaired by President of the Republic Joseph Aoun.
The Cabinet appointed Judge Maher Shaito as the new Financial Public Prosecutor. Mazen Soueid was appointed Chairman of the Banking Control Commission, while Nader Haddad, Rabih Nehme, Tania al-Kallab and Aline Spiro were named commission members. Alissar Naddaf Geagea was appointed Chairwoman of the Board of Directors and Director General of Tele Liban.
The following Vice Governors of the Central Bank of Lebanon were also appointed: Wassim Mansouri, Makram Bou Nassar, Salim Chahine, and Gaby Shinouzian.
The ministers discussed a 31-item agenda, with Item 13 focusing on appointments to several vacant administrative and judicial positions.
At the start of the session, President Aoun briefed the Cabinet on the results of his recent official visit to Cyprus and his discussions with US envoy Tom Barrack.
The latter had presented a US-drafted roadmap proposing the disarmament of Hezbollah and other militias in exchange for Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon, economic reforms and reconstruction aid. Lebanon recently submitted a formal seven-page response, which is currently under internal discussion.
The session was preceded by a private meeting between President Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam to review the latest political developments.
When asked whether the Lebanese Forces ministers would oppose the US proposal, Industry Minister Joe Issa al-Khoury said ahead of the session, “We will take more than one position.”
Education Associations Issue Warning
Meanwhile, Lebanon’s Education Associations (Secondary, Vocational and Primary) issued a formal warning to the Cabinet on Friday after reviewing Item 10 on its agenda.
They fear it signals an intention to shorten the summer vacation and extend the school year without first securing a fair new salary scale.
The associations say they will launch escalatory measures if salaries are not improved in line with current living standards. They warned that they would protest if budgetary or calendar changes weren’t coordinated with them. Meetings with parliamentary blocs and ministers are already being scheduled to present their detailed study on salary reform.
Statements by Paul Morcos
After the Council meeting, Information Minister Paul Morcos announced that the Cypriot president had expressed his willingness to extend an undersea cable to supply Lebanon with electricity. He also assured President Aoun that Cyprus would offer 1,000 job opportunities to Lebanese nationals, according to the minister.
For his part, Joseph Aoun confirmed that the issue of bank restructuring was in its final stages and asked the ministers involved in the political dossier to reassure expatriates about coming to Lebanon, Mr. Morcos added.
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