26 October 2010
BEIRUT: Social Affairs Minister Salim Sayegh promised more integrated development projects during a three-day tour of the Bekaa and south Lebanon that ended Monday.
Sayegh visited remote areas in the western Bekaa and the southern district of Hasbaya, and listened to the needs and worries of the locals, mainly the elderly and less fortunate.
He also toured medical centers and social services centers and noted a huge lack in such facilities, in addition to a high rate of poverty.
In an interview with the Arabic daily An-Nahar, Sayegh said that more than 400,000 Lebanese live in extreme poverty; he confessed he was very moved by the visit and “people’s thirst for the government’s care and projects,” saying that his promises would not be in vain.
“I will not offer basic services that are presented to the people in installments and are only able to fulfill a weekly or monthly need,” he said. “I will encourage authorities and MPs to organize integrated projects, and I will try as hard as possible to secure funding for these projects, whether from the ministry or from donor parties.”
Sayegh added he had separated politics from the ministry’s work since his appointment.
He criticized political campaign slogans that called for putting Lebanon first and said, “Putting Lebanon first doesn’t mean a thing if we don’t make caring for people our priority.”
The minister’s tour started Saturday in the western Bekaa, with stops in Marj, Jib Jennine, Mashghara, Saghbine, Ain Zibdeh and Yohmor, where he opened social development centers and met with Environment Minister Mohammad Rahhal and Robert Ghanem, an MP for the district.
He visited a number of villages in Hasbaya and Rashaya Sunday and was accompanied by former deputy Prime Minister Issam Abu Jamra, along with an array of local figures.
His first stop was in the village of Rashaya al-Fakhar, where he inaugurated a development center and praised the locals for overcoming their struggles.
“Today knowledge is mixed with emotions, for I have seen how attached you are to your land … We want Rashaya al-Fakhar to remain the model of a traditional Lebanese village,” he said, adding that the center was only a primary step.
Similar facilities were opened in the villages of Kfeir, Kawkaba and Beit Lahya, and a social services center was inaugurated in Al-Mansoura in the Western Bekaa Monday.
Sayegh stressed the importance of human development and social development policies, during his visit, and called for “a unified identity in an independent, sovereign and peaceful country.” – The Daily Star
Copyright The Daily Star 2010.
