[LCM Articles] Lebanon's New President Needs a Reform Agenda

[Zeina Ghaleb Saab]

Lebanon's new president needs a reform agenda
By Fady Abboud
Thursday, December 27, 2007

Commentary by Fady Abboud

President Elias Hrawi's term in office lasted nine years. Likewise, President
Emile Lahoud's rule stretched over nine years. Electing a replacement for the
latter president has so far required nine attempts (and one more since this
article was written). In Britain, however, 999 is the number for Emergency
services. It seems that Lebanon now needs to dial 999. An emergency situation
has developed over the past months, but there is nowhere for our officials to
turn for help.

Although many Lebanese demonstrated for freedom, sovereignty, independence and
national unity, the political class is letting them down because of the lack of
seriousness with which national issues, such as the presidential election, are
treated. Consequently, this brings to question the political class' commitment
to reform, economic growth and even democracy.

If the 11th or 12th election attempts are lucky, we need to start thinking and
acting seriously about launching the long-awaited reform process. For this, the
Lebanese deserve officials who possess practical and analytical skills and who
are able to inspire confidence. Reform is not a theoretical exercise. It
requires a set of skills based on real-life experiences.

The new president (fingers crossed) deserves a team that is able to promote and
execute a reform agenda based, among others, on the following:

1. To pass Freedom of Information Act legislation, granting all citizens the
right to obtain any public information relating to government institutions,
including the publication of all such information on the Internet for easy
access and as a step toward e-government.

2. To pass legislation concerning public tenders to assure fairness and
transparency, especially concerning standards and the opening of bids, and
disallowing any form of cronyism concerning the award of contracts.

3. Revoking bank secrecy on all public employees and all those who benefit from
public funds, including their family members and associated companies.

4. To create a National Competitiveness Council (NCC), which is empowered to
re-write all bureaucratic procedures and Executive Decrees. The NCC will act as
a "Bureaucratic Inertia Buster," forcing change to streamline procedures and
modernize the bureaucracy, and cooperating with relevant experts from business,
academia and civil society.

5. Exposing electricity production and distribution to competitive market forces
during three months, and allow the free import of natural gas and fuel products
and forbid monopolistic behavior.

6. Provide universal health care to all Lebanese citizens through the private
sector and consolidate all the budgets of the National Social Security Fund
(NSSF), Health Ministry, cooperatives and others under one regulatory
authority, to provide health-care services to citizens who need it through
buying insurance coverage from the private sector.

7. Increase the minimum wage to LL500,000, discontinue family allowances from
the NSSF, liberalize end-of-service indemnities under the Central Bank's
supervision, and transform the NSSF into a regulatory body.

8. Privatize public schools through a transparent bidding process in which only
reputable private educational institutions, which have a long track record of
academic excellence could participate.

9. Transform the national economy into a truly competitive and open economy,
encompassing all sectors, to prohibit monopolies, respect consumer rights, and
maintain the competitiveness of productive sectors, through:

a. Creating an Anti-Monopolies Commission

b. Creating specialized courts to deal efficiently and speedily with
consumer-rights issues and prohibit monopolies

10. Introduce legislation to offer incentives to those who create jobs in
Lebanon, which would encourage investment as well as balanced regional and
sectoral development, and create "intelligent" Industrial Parks with services
all over Lebanon.

11. Giving back to Parliament the exclusive right to impose taxation, and not
allowing the introduction of fees under the guise of taxes, thereby assuring
that fees are paid against services not to generate revenue for the government.

12. Creating special police forces (Traffic Task Force), trained in the West, to
control traffic and introduce electronic surveillance on all Lebanese roads; and
create a similar police force (Environmental Task Force) to monitor and control
environmental violations.

No economy could survive and be sustainable without certain underpinnings, such
as values, ethics, quality education, productivity, quality-of-life issues,
etc. Societies do not move forward without a vision, as well as functioning
institutions (legislative, legal, bureaucratic, educational, economic, etc.) to
implement that vision.

An "enlightened" president, in cooperation with Parliament and government,
should play an activist role in the reform process. This is where the Lebanese
have to put their hopes. The three vital constitutional institutions have to
lead us forward as a society, away from sectarianism, racism, nepotism and
corruption, and toward modernity, civic responsibility, tolerance and liberal
democracy.

Fady Abboud is president of the Lebanese Industrialists Association.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=3&article_id=87647