Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati chaired a meeting today, Tuesday, dedicated to discussing matters related to the telecommunications sector. Present at the meeting were Minister of Telecommunications Johnny Qarm, Minister of Finance Youssef Khalil, Director General of Ogero Imad Kreidiyeh, Director General of Investment and Maintenance at the Ministry of Telecommunications Basel Al-Ayoubi, Director General of Construction and Equipment at the Ministry Nagy Andraous, and Director General of the Ministry of Finance George Maalouly.
After the meeting, Qarm stated: "We presented the situation of the ministry and the telecommunications sector and discussed increasing the Ogero tariff, which will be presented in the Cabinet session next Thursday. We also talked about securing funds to purchase diesel amounting to 9 million U.S. dollars, which is not included in the budget. We have borrowed it since October 2022 until now, and we discussed the best way to repay it, and we might ask for an advance for that."
Qarm revealed that the ministry "received preliminary approval for the request we submitted earlier to obtain solar energy from the Chinese side, which is worth about 8.50 million U.S. dollars."
**Meeting with Labor Union Head and Private School Teachers' Representative**
Mikati hosted the President of the General Labor Union Bishara Asmar and the head of the private school teachers' union, Ni'mat Mafhoud. After the meeting, Mafhoud said: "We addressed the issue of retired teachers in private schools, numbering about 6,000, with salaries ranging from 15 to 30 dollars a month, which is a tragic problem. We agreed with Mikati on three points: First, we discussed the 10 billion lira grant that the Cabinet approved about three months ago for the pension fund. Mikati contacted the Director General of the Ministry of Finance, asking for it to be disbursed as soon as possible. Second, we also discussed the draft law for feeding the pension fund, which has been in parliament for seven months. Mikati also contacted the head of the parliamentary education committee, Hassan Murad, urging him to expedite the approval of the project, as the salaries of retired private school teachers are still very low, whereas the salaries of teachers in the public sector have increased by about 6 or 7 times."
Mafhoud added: "Third, we informed His Excellency that a teacher earning around three million liras still pays 810,000 monthly to the social security fund. In this regard, we agreed with the head of the General Labor Union that he would communicate with the Director General of Social Security and prepare a draft decree to be submitted to President Mikati to exempt retired private school teachers from this amount, waiting for their salaries to improve, and we hope to resolve these issues quickly."
**Meeting with Kamil Chamoun**
Mikati welcomed Kamil Chamoun, the head of the Lebanese National Movement party, along with a delegation that included Head of the Free Professions Marian Halou and Secretary of Internal Affairs Kamil Joseph Chamoun. Following the meeting, Chamoun stated: "We discussed the security situation in Lebanon and the rampant weapons insecurity. Unfortunately, today marks the Army Day, and we wanted to extend our greetings to the army for all the efforts it exerts, as disorder reigns in the country in the absence of the army."
**Meeting with George Okaitz and Metropolitan Antonios**
Mikati received MP George Okaitz and the Metropolitan of Zahle and Baalbek and its suburbs for the Greek Orthodox, Metropolitan Antonios. After the meeting, Metropolitan Antonios stated: "We visited His Excellency to greet him and pray for his success in the tasks he is undertaking during these difficult times. May God grant him wisdom and strength."
"We discussed with him the living concerns of the Bekaa region, presenting him the conditions and needs of our children there, and the difficulties they face, as well as how the state can assist in these matters affecting their daily needs. We found in His Excellency a full response and care."
