News

The Sidon Municipality announces to the people of the city, its residents, and the neighboring areas the success of the legal steps it took immediately after the waste treatment plant stopped accepting waste two days ago, which led to the resumption of work at the plant and the return to accepting waste starting this afternoon. The NTCC company will also start collecting the accumulated waste from the city streets and the union immediately. This development came after a confrontation session held today at the Sidon Court of Justice, chaired by the Southern Public Prosecutor Judge Zahir Hamadeh, with the presence of the Acting Mayor of Sidon Dr. Ahmad Aakra, the heads of the municipalities of the Sidon-Zahrani Municipal Union, and the union's lawyers on one side, and representatives of the waste treatment plant management on the other. During the session, Sidon Municipality and the union municipalities presented the facts and legal grounds that the report submitted to the Public Prosecution was based on, emphasizing that stopping the reception of waste caused direct harm to environmental and health safety as well as the public interest. On the other hand, the plant management insisted on linking its decision to its outstanding financial dues. The stance of the Southern Public Prosecutor was clear and decisive, confirming what was stated in the report and the Sidon police station record, regarding the fact that the plant's halt in acceptingWaste poses a threat to public health and environmental safety, and it is legally unacceptable to link the continuation of an essential facility to any ongoing financial or administrative dispute with any official body, including the Ministry of Finance. These disputes must be resolved through the appropriate legal channels without burdening the citizens and the city with the consequences.

Saida Municipality emphasizes that this decision represents a victory for the rule of law and for citizens' right to a healthy environment and organized public services. It extends thanks and appreciation to the Lebanese judiciary, represented by the Southern Public Prosecutor Judge Hamadeh, for quickly addressing the matter and prioritizing the public interest. The municipality assures the people of Saida and the Union towns that it will continue to exercise its full powers and monitor the plant's performance to prevent a recurrence, while also working on finding radical and sustainable alternative solutions.