'Culture of corruption' rampant in Lebanon - ministers, NGOs

26 March 2009

BEIRUT: Ministers and civil society leaders painted a grim picture on Wednesday of the "culture of corruption" extending to all sectors in Lebanon but expressed confidence that upcoming legislation and efforts would put the country on a new track toward transparency.

The remarks were made during a day-long event, sponsored by the office of the President of the Republic of Lebanon, that was called to present a new 50-page strategy report detailing the sources of corruption and proposing remedies. The report, titled "Towards a National Anti-Corruption Strategy," was co-drafted by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Lebanese Transparency Association (LTA).

"Corruption in Lebanon is neither invisible nor concealed. It is transparent and visible, whereas the culture of corruption and the culture of the corrupt have become even further consolidated in the absence of accountability," said Interior Minister Ziyad Baroud, who was speaking on behalf of President Michel Sleiman.

The 2008 Corruption Perception Index, which ranks countries by corruption based on public opinion surveys, places Lebanon at 102 among 180 surveyed countries worldwide, while Lebanon ranks 11 of 20 among countries in the Middle East.

"All the attempts made since 1990 regarding the mitigation of corruption ... were only circumstantial, temporary and occasional," Baroud added. "They've never been associated with a political determination which included enough commitment and will to switch from the face of crisis awareness to the face of crisis repression."

Randa Antoun, consultant for the UNDP and the LTA, presented the report, whose main purpose, she said, was to establish a foundation to initiate a national dialogue on corruption in Lebanon. She cited statistics indicating corruption in Lebanon to be on the rise but said a number of anti-corruption initiatives are currently being pioneered by various organizations in both the public and private sectors.

"The solutions to fight corruption in Lebanon should move toward specific objectives within general and public policies - they should take into account all the characteristics inherent in the nature of corruption," she said, pointing to a slide show of the report projected on screens behind the panelists.

Participants pinned hopes on decreasing corruption in Lebanon through the passage of a whistleblowers' protection law and freedom of information law currently being drafted by legislators in collaboration with non-governmental organizations.

The legislation, proponents said, are crucial in establishing trust and providing security for citizens and civil society organizations which were urged to take a leading role in exposing corruption.

"This creates a channel to establishing an independent, autonomous commission to prosecute the corrupt administratively and judicially," said MP Ghassan Mukhaiber, chairman of the Lebanese Parliamentarians Against Corruption (LebPAC). LebPAC currently spearheads efforts to draft the two laws.

The plan also makes suggestions for the media which, according to Information Minister Tarek Mitri, stands "on the front line in the combat against corruption." The minister also accused private media outlets of being "financially, politically and emotionally linked to political parties" and criticized them for promoting sectarian agendas.

"Even if [media outlets] are not officially trumpeting parties, there is a party mentality that is always mobilizing partisans and criticizing rivals as being corrupt," he said.

"Corruption should be the rival," he added.

Minister of State for Administrative Development Ibrahim Shamseddine railed against what he called the "susceptibility" of officials at all levels in government to accept bribes and engage in tactics to silence and slander campaigns aimed at "cleaning up" corruption inside the state. He added that efforts undertaken over the past few years have all been derailed by officials who launched "counter attacks" against their accusers leading to a number of resignations and dismissals. The minister did not elaborate on specific cases.

"Ministers come and go but what lasts are the administrative bodies," Shamseddine said. "The administrations in Lebanon have become marginalized and very weak ... Therefore it is necessary to come up with new rules and regulations that enable us to fight corruption in a better way."

Nada Abdelsater-Abusamra, LTA board member, covered the role civil society should play in the anti-corruption campaign which, she said, shouldn't be described using military jargon like "combat" and "battle." She also stressed the critical role of reaching out to youths and raising children in an environment that condemns corruption.

"I personally disagree with the expression "combating corruption" as if such a task requires military equipment when instead one can eliminate corruption by thinking wisely," she said. "So why don't we set up a strategy to promote values, justice and fairness ... I think with small candlelight, one can solve the problem of darkness."

By the end of the session panelists agreed on a number of recommendations to pursue in the fight against corruption that include the need to revisit laws and push forward new legislation, strengthen the role of civil society and to establish an independent national committee with representatives from state, private and education sectors.

Copyright The Daily Star 2009.