![]() ![]() The fallout from the fuel shortage has been felt keenly by the Generator Mafia.Īnd it's even worse for the residents of Beirut who have seen their unreliable power supply reduced to just a few hours of electricity a day. "We cannot even monitor the black market, or know what quantities of fuel or what amount of money flows within it." "This is an unregulated market," says Marc Ayoub, an energy policy researcher from the American University of Beirut. Some marketeers distort the value even more by hoarding large quantities, hoping the price will rise. In Lebanon, the fuel shortage has also created a black market, where petrol or diesel can sell for five times as much. Some of what scant reserves of fuel remain in the country have been smuggled across the eastern border to Syria, where it sells for a higher price.įistfights and shootings have reportedly broken out at some petrol stations across the country amid frustration over the shortages. Soldiers have been deployed to some petrol stations, where commuters queue for hours and violent fights have erupted between people desperate to fill their tanks enough to earn a living.Įlsewhere, businesses have shuttered, hospitals have warned of mass deaths from blackouts cutting power to ventilators, and the supply of water to four million Lebanese is under threat, according to the United Nations. The army eventually supplied 6,000 kilolitres of fuel to get the grid up and running again. Just this week, the country's two main power plants ran out of fuel, meaning there was no government-supplied power for 24 hours. The fuel shortage causing chaosĪs Lebanon descends into a crippling economic crisis, a worsening shortage of fuel is having immediate and deeply felt consequences on daily life in all corners of the country. There's one thing however that Mr Saade needs to run his business, and it's now in critically short supply. "If we didn't, what would people do? Stay in the dark?" "We started to light the houses because the Electricite du Liban failed in supplying power," he says. He is not ashamed of the business model that made him a rich man, but which ultimately forces people to pay vast sums of money for something they cannot live without. Lebanon's politicians allow the Generator Mafia to flourish, knowing they can't keep the country going without them. 'What would people do? Stay in the dark?'ĭown back alleys, under shop fronts and on street corners across Beirut, the familiar din of five tonnes of groaning steel is so commonplace that it's become a part of the city's urban soundtrack.įor decades, the nation's network of thousands of diesel generators has formed a shadow power network that provides electricity to everywhere from bakeries and malls to apartment towers. "We bought generators, we installed them and we have established a network," Mr Saade explains. This group of capitalists have lined their pockets by exploiting an essential service many ordinary people can barely afford.īut to Mr Saade, his syndicate is simply filling the gap left by the failures of the state to power the country's 6 million citizens. ![]() He turned a power vacuum into a lucrative business, quickly earning the nickname among some Lebanese as the 'Generator Mafia'. When many others saw only Lebanon's tattered electricity grid and inept state utility, Mr Saade saw an opportunity. ![]() Without him, the city would be shrouded in darkness. Mr Saade is the man who keeps the lights on.įrom his penthouse apartment in Beirut's suburbs, the businessman looks out over the orange and white rooftops of the city. Nor is he in charge of the banks or the media. Abdo Saade is one of the most powerful men in his country.īut he's not a politician. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |