MP George Okais has addressed the controversy over the Zahle waste file. Some people accuse the city of burying chemical or hazardous materials. However, Okais rejected this.
He assured residents that no hazardous materials were buried. In fact, none will stay in Zahle, he said. The waste will be fully removed within a few weeks.
In his view, the claims are just “political spite.” He called them a pointless attempt to damage the municipality’s work.
Okais then explained how the matter began. Électricité du Liban asked to bury a quantity of waste. The request came with approval from the Ministry of Environment, which judged the materials non-toxic. The approval was meant to become final, with preliminary consent from the Zahle municipality.
At that point, the mayor set a condition. The burial could only go ahead under strict supervision by an official body, namely the Ministry of Environment.
Because that condition was not met, the municipality firmly refused the burial. It also wrote to the Ministries of Environment and Energy and to Électricité du Liban. Its message was clear: take the waste back immediately.
Okais closed by stressing that the materials remain exactly as they were. They were never buried. Moreover, he said the mayor chose transparency over secrecy, even though he could have pushed the matter through quietly.
