In his delivered word in the wake of today’s Cabinet session at the Grand Serail, Caretaker Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, said that the Cabinet decided to maintain Cabinet Decision No. 5 dated 8/20/1998 to adopt summer and winter time without any modification at the present time, adding that the daylight saving time begins at the midnight of Wednesday-Thursday. ‘We had to take a period of 48 hours to deal with some technical matters according to the previous memorandum,’ the PM said. On the other hand, Premier Mikati explained that the previous decision to extend winter time until the end of the month of Ramadan, was preceded by intensive meetings over months, with the participation of ministers and concerned officials. ”This decision (to extend winter time) was aimed at relieving those fasting during the month of Ramadan for an hour without causing any harm to any other Lebanese component, knowing that this decision was taken several times in the past,’ Mikati elaborated. Mikati categroically stressed that his decision definitely had no sectarian or religious dimension. Mikati added that the problem is not about a winter or a summer time, but rather vacuum in the first position in the Lebanese republic. ‘From my position as prime minister, I do not bear any responsibility for this vacuum. Rather, it is borne by the concerned political and spiritual leaders, primarily all parliamentary blocs,’ he added. Mikati thus urged everyone to shoulder their national responsibilities in protecting civil peace, the national economy, and the work of public utilities. ‘From here, I call on everyone to elect a new president for the republic and to form a new government without delay,’ Mikati underlined.
Source: National News Agency-Lebanon