Kataeb’s Head of Public Policy and Legislation, Lara Saade, affirmed on Thursday that the party’s ‘House for All’ campaign aims at rising above political bickering, deferring from tossing blame on one another and making up for the state’s negligence to carry out its duties.

“This campaign is directed at people whose houses were destroyed in the wildfires so as to secure alternative lodgings near their areas. The party communicated with a number of hotels to provide rooms for those affected by the fires,” Saade told Voice of Lebanon radio station.

“We were amazed by the Lebanese responses because we received quite a lot of calls from people expressing willingness to help,” she revealed.

“When the state deserts its people, the people don’t give up on each other”

“As an opposition force, the party’s role is to hold officials accountable, for this reason, the Kataeb leader called for the formation of a parliamentary probe committee which would not be the first time,” she highlighted, noting that three such committees were previously formed.

“The party will ask for the formation of this committee in next week’s Parliament’s session”

“Don’t invoke employment possibility as an excuse to your failure to fulfill your duties because when it comes to political clientelism, everyone gets hired,” Saade criticized.

“Don’t bring up your failure to secure funds for choppers’ maintenance into play because a lot of money is being spent on fictitious humanitarian institutions, corruption, funding politicians’ trips and on others,” she condemned, adding that “the Civil Defense is more deserving to those jobs and money.”

“No one is holding anyone accountable and no one is conducting reforms; because of that the Kataeb leader called for the government to step down and the formation of a government of specialists that has no personal interests,” she noted.

“We cannot expect from a government that is destroying the country to enact laws that would save it”

She pointed out to the draft law proposed by Former Minister Pierre Gemayel in 2001 to establish a specialized detection system needed for natural hazards management, invigorated in 2009 and once more yesterday by Kataeb chief Samy Gemayel.

“This system does not replace other mechanisms but complements it,” she said, stressing that the people can hold officials accountable in ballot boxes.