Feuding between Baabda and Koraytem over the cellular network failed to stall Parliament Wednesday, with MPs endorsing a controversial draft to privatize the telecommunications sector by a large majority.
On the second of its two-day legislative session, Parliament also moved to contain the crisis provoked by its ban on diesel-operated mini-buses by approving a draft that commits the government to buying and re-exporting all of the concerned vehicles, believed to number 4,000.
Legislators also recommended the import of “green diesel” for trucks and public transportation vehicles, while the government promised to abide by this recommendation to use the cleaner fuel.
Nijmeh Square also saw the easy endorsement of massive draft legislation dealing with the environment, described by Speaker Nabih Berri as “one of the most important bills issued this year.”
The telecommunications draft sets the rules for partial or complete privatization of the sector or its management and stipulates the government’s role in this field.
It was opposed only by Baalbek-Hermel MP Hussein Husseini, who argued that the draft was unconstitutional, Zahle MP George Kassardji, and Hizbullah’s Loyalty to the Resistance bloc.
Despite a lengthy debate of more than three hours, the bill was finally endorsed without any major amendments being made to the original text.
Disagreements did erupt over the role of the Higher Council for Privatization, with the speaker trying to limit the role of the council, over which Prime Minister Rafik Hariri has major influence. Discussions ended with a reassertion by the speaker that the council will have no say over the privatization of the sector.
The draft on diesel-operated mini-buses was the outcome of consultations over the past 24 hours and reflected a desire by all to cooperate and contain protests over the July 15 ban.
“It is the government that stands behind this draft,” Hariri said, but he also warned that the tab for the measure will fall on “society.”
The draft stipulates that the government buy the affected vehicles, but did not set a specific deadline for the buyout.
Hariri rejected the idea of a deadline, arguing it would lead the private sector to pressure  the government for immediate payment. Under the draft, funds to cover the difference between the purchase and resale price will be secured from this year’s budget.
Hariri proposed that the most needy drivers would get immediate advances, which would be deducted from the eventual total payment.
Those wishing to change their diesel engines to gasoline-powered ones or wanting to replace their mini-buses with small vehicles will be paid compensation immediately, the premier said.
Berri promised that Parliament will issue a recommendation for the government to import “green diesel” for trucks and public transport and Hariri pledged that his government would follow this recommendation to the letter.
Berri added that other sources of pollution will also be targeted, mentioning for the second day in a row the Zouk electricity plant and the Zahrani refinery. Berri also said some electricity plants have been built to operate on gas but are now functioning on diesel ­ a move the speaker called “unacceptable.”
The diesel issue also awakened the dormant tensions between the premier and Hizbullah. To Hizbullah MPs who called for immediate compensation for affected drivers, Hariri responded that “some political forces” are behind the ongoing crisis over the ban. These forces have been asserting that the law banning diesel will never be implemented, Hariri said in an apparent reference to Hizbullah.
The telecommunications draft stipulates that a committee be formed to structure and organize the sector. The committee will comprise a chairman and four members, all of whom must hold degrees in telecommunications, economy, business, law or finance, and will be appointed on a five-year basis on the recommendation of the telecommunications minister.
The new cellular company will choose some of its employees from those currently working at the ministry and telephone maintenance company Ogero. Some of those not chosen will remain on tenure at the ministry, while others will be recruited by the new committee organizing the sector.
Any left over will be deemed surplus employees and be subject to the same conditions that currently apply.
Employees wishing to resign and whose resignation is accepted will be paid additional compensation. Those having worked with the ministry or Ogero for five years or less will receive two months’ salary for each year of service, provided the total does not exceed LL50 million.
Resigning employees with more years of service will receive their salaries and indemnities for 30 months, with a LL200 million ceiling on the total figure.
The draft also stipulated that the investor who wins the sell-off will become the government’s “strategic partner” and will be charged with the sector’s management as long as he maintains his controlling interest.
The role of the Higher Council for Privatization was a hot button, with tensions emerging  between Baabda and Koraytem. The council role’s came up during a discussion over Article 19, which stipulates that any license authorizing a company to provide telecommunications services be issued by virtue of a Cabinet decree after an auction, and on the basis of a proposal by the concerned minister. These services, according to the article, would extend to land, cellular and international lines.
Hariri asked that the role of the council in the issuing of licenses be specified, adding that the newly formed organizing committee “is not entitled to issue licenses.”
Berri responded that “the Higher Council for Privatization has no role” in this legislation.
The speaker also asked: “What is the use of having a special committee and the Cabinet” involved in the organization of the sector “if we have to resort to the Higher Council for Privatization?” He added that he did not mind abolishing the committee called for by the draft if politicians insist on giving the nod to the council.
The session was also marked by Husseini’s attack on the Constitutional Council, which has rejected most of the former speaker’s challenges, including a recent one against a law calling for the opening of a special account in the Central Bank for public debt-servicing.
Husseini called the telecommunications law unconstitutional, arguing that efforts to exploit a public utility should be sanctioned by law and not through a decree, as stipulated by the legislation. “But I won’t submit a challenge against the draft, neither do I advise the opposition to do so,” the MP said.
Husseini, whom Berri blamed for criticizing the judiciary, said “the Constitutional Council is not a judicial authority, and this is why I authorize myself to comment on its decisions.”
Berri protested the MP’s remarks, saying: “You (Husseini) are the one who, every now and then, reminds us of the Taif Accord and its contents. The Constitutional Council is a derivative of the Taif Accord and is a judicial authority.”
A draft calling for reducing the years of imprisonment for convicts who showed good behavior was sent back to Parliament’s joint committees, after some MPs argued that the draft would only be acceptable if it specified some exceptions for possible reduction.
Hizbullah MPs mentioned in particular cases of high treason or conspiracy against the state ­ an implicit allusion to former members of the South Lebanon Army, Israel’s proxy militia during its occupation of the South.

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