Razi El Hage on the Energy Ministry: "They Ruined the Sector Over 17 Years!"

In a striking political statement, MP Razi El Hage sharply criticized the state of Lebanon’s energy sector. He said the political camp that ran the ministry over the past 17 years “ruined the sector.”

Speaking to The Speech in its “Su2al Sa2il” segment, El Hage said the Lebanese Forces’ current hold on the ministry reflects a “historic responsibility to put the sector back on track.” He compared taking over the ministry to inheriting a “lifeless corpse that is now being revived.”

He also attacked those he described as people of “lies, charlatanism and hypocrisy.” In his view, they caused the destruction of this vital sector in the first place. Now, he said, they ask how things ended up this way.

The Minister of Energy and Water is engineer Joe Saddi. He was appointed in February 2025 as part of Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s government. Saddi took over from former minister Walid Fayad. Fayad had held the energy portfolio since September 2021 in Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s government.