Billions of dollars, the cost of the Hariri ?school? of governance deals

ElsyMoufarrej ? Sawt el Mada - Committtees, councils, companies and contracts?.Or rather mini states inside the State of Lebanon. Below are some chapters of that school of governance and mismanagement that ruled Lebanon since the end of the war till this day:-�Solidere: it expropriated the capital?s downtown and seized the Lebanese people?s real estate with a law that violates both the constitution and the human rights bill. It benefited from tax exemptions and successive amendments to its directive plan and today, is selling for $30,000 the 1 meter that she bought for $800. -�The high relief commission: the commission receives donations and distributes them outside the governmental budget framework, in other words, away from any parliamentary supervision.According to the agenda of expenditure submitted by the Ministry of finance, the total of its expenditures since 2006 equals to around $1.5 billion dollars, that of course, without mentioning the donations and expenses not covered in the budget. It is noteworthy that the highest spending of the committee from within the budget took place in 2009, the year of the parliamentary elections, and it reached $1 billion and $50 million, when it did not exceed $300 million in 2006, the year of July war.-�The Council of Development and Reconstruction: the council?s revenues and spending do not fall within the general budget, taking into consideration that it deals with more than 50 different funding sources. The total value of external funding at the disposition of the council until end of 2008 amounted to around $9.3 billion.-�Sukleen: the era of Sukleen started during the reconstruction period in the mid 1990, to end in 2000. However, it was extended until this day despite the fact that the Court of Accounts stated in its 1999 report that Sukleen contracts ?are null and void?. The Ministry of Finance deducts around $130 million annually from the IndependentMunicipal Fundto coverthesecontracts, which are amongst the most expensive in the world, whereby the treatment of waste per ton costs municipalities more than $120 when the world average cost varies between $50 and $70.-�The Beirut Airport Duty Free: the commissioned company wins around $300,000 daily while the state has only benefited from $38 million and that during the whole contract period which was extended since 1996, and which has ended about 8 months ago.-�Disengagement of the contracts wih both cell phone companies Cellis and Libancell, one year prior to the contracts end period, which cost the state around $800 million.-�Jeita Grotto: a private company is licensed to run it since 1994 and that, by a ministerial decisioncontrarytothe Constitution. Its profits till date are estimated to more than $1 billion.-�Seashore and river banks properties: also appropriated against the Constitution, their annual revenues are estimated at $540 million.Those are only few examples of the seizing of public facilities that ought to be owned solely by the Lebanese people. Add to it the waste from the Public Treasury that is funded by the Lebanese people pockets. All this started after the war, precisely in 1992 when the country was run by a school of governancewhich took its legitimacy from a parliamentthat itself lacked constitutional and popular legitimacy.�

Source: http://www.tayyar.org/Tayyar/News/PoliticalNews/en-US/hariri-pb-520130.htm

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