Editorial

  Issue No 4, Oct 2002

A Word From Us

Beyond numbers and governments

Many articles, including the Ii Monthly leader in this issue, have discussed the difficulties of attaining the 2003 forecast deficit of 24.8%, as well as the inaccuracy of the numbers and the methods employed to reach this figure.

A review of the actual budget figures since 1994 indicates that the deficit was always greater than the forecasted figures. The problem, however, goes beyond numbers and governments, to the heart of the Lebanese system, and indeed, society. Is the system working or is it defunct? Can the Lebanese ‘way of life’ continue and is it sustainable?

We often refer, and perhaps sarcastically so, to previous studies and suggestions since the Irfid mission in the sixties was rumored to have insinuated that Lebanon should not be working, but it is, so the country should continue to do whatever it is doing.

Of course, this has not been the latest advice from the IMF and other organizations. The fact is that the ‘Lebanese system’ was able to function in the fifties and sixties due to geo-political developments and the Cold War, as well as economic factors (oil and banking) that are no longer applicable. It functioned inefficiently then, and now it is functioning suicidally. To put it simply, the Lebanese ‘way of life’ cannot be subsidized any longer.

We cannot continue to hire civil servants on a confessional and ‘clientelist’ basis, with the number now reaching 240,000 civil and military personnel (including retirees). We cannot continue without public transport, with over one million private cars and 900,000 mobile lines, untaxed interest income on $26 billion worth of Lebanese treasury bonds in all currencies, untaxed deposits amounting to $40 billion, and most of all, we cannot continue with a shady political system which reinforces itself through legislation, such as the electoral and media laws.

This tacit alliance between citizens and politicians against the state, which is governed by socio-political norms whereby no one is answerable to the law except the impoverished, is economically unsustainable, and cannot be broken without a cultural awakening and the necessary political will. If not, the drain will continue under all governments and the country will continue to survive on a crisis management basis, until a disaster ensues, of the likes of the civil wars of 1958 and 1975.

The problem is not in the numbers or in the government only, it is within us.


Jawad Adra
Managing Partner

  

  Current Statistics

Government bonds

• The nominal value of Lebanese government Eurobonds that mature in 2003 is $950 million, while the nominal value of government bonds that mature in 2004 will reach $1,600 million.

Hunting ban?

• 49 licenses were issued or renewed last August, to dealers of hunting rifles and ammunition, in spite of a government ban on hunting.

Banking sector

• $392 million is the value of salaries, compensations and bonuses that have been paid in 2001 to banking sector employees, who represent 1.39% of the work-force.

Foreign investment

• $225 million is the estimated value of Arab investments in Lebanon in the year 2001 (Saudi investments comprise approximately 40%), signifying a reduction of $125 million from the previous year.

Tenders

• 81.4% ($52 million) of the contracts awarded by the Tender’s department in 2001 went to the Ministry of the Interior and the municipalities, the Ministry of Energy and Water and the Ministry of Education.

 

 

Company Activities

  
 

Tourism Conference

Information International, in association with SRI, held a conference in September on building a strategy for sustainable tourism development in Lebanon. This conference was funded by USAID and organized by Nouhad Dammous of Hospitality Services.
In the presence of officials from the Ministry of Tourism and other members of the tourism sector, different approaches were presented in terms of developing tourism themes and regions, new tourist itineraries, as well as a marketing approach to tourism.

Opinion Poll on the closure of MTV

Conducted in Greater Beirut, this poll gauges public opinion on the closure of MTV, the reasons behind it, and the main beneficiaries and losers as a result of the decision.

In addition, the poll tackled the issue of the forthcoming presidential elections and the nominees for the posts of Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior.

 

 

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