THE
“L.N.D.P.” A PROGRAM TO REVIVE AND REBUILD LEBANON
1.What is Lebanon’s current situation and
where is it leading us to?
a)The
Debt: There
is no point in mincing words. Lebanon is currently burdened with a public debt
that is currently recorded at $67 billion but is, in fact, assessed at $75
billion considering that many State obligations have not been accounted for.
Furthermore, unless some drastic reforms are promptly introduced and
stringently implemented, this Debt is expected to reach $159.19 billion at end
of 2022, and $184.12 at end of 2032, even
if we allocate all our future anticipated revenue from oil and gas
developments toward partially reimbursing that Debt.
b)The
infrastructure: Our
infrastructure is in very bad shape because it has not been effectively
maintained during the past 20 years. It is in bad need of overhaul.
c)Our
social conditions:
These have been neglected for a long time, and badly need to be seriously
attended to, but the funds are not there.
d)Economic
development:
These days, we
badly need to reassess our economic development policy in all the five sectors,
but there is not enough money in the Treasury.
e)Our
relations with the Diaspora: We badly need to revise them because we
shall need to rely on some strong moral and financial support from the millions of Lebanese
emigrants to help us solve our numerous problems.
2.How can Lebanon get out of that vicious
circle?
There is a way to get out of this mess,
but it will call for some clear eyed assessment of the situation, the drafting
of a clear medium to long term Plan, and above, all, a rigorous implementation
of that Plan that ought to be strictly monitored by Civil Society at monthly
intervals.
3.How will
the L.N.D. P. effectively help us to realize that objective?
The
implementation of the five essential goals
( a to d) set up in the L.N.D.P. will allow all present and future
governments in Lebanon to adopt a coherent and strongly structured governance policy based on the achievement of these goals.
The
L.N.D.P. will engage all the political parties in the country to set aside
their differences and work toward the realisation of goals
that
would have been agreed upon by all, at
the outset.
4.What is the approach that we recommend to
adopt?
The
recommended approach is characterized by the following:
a)Participation: Contrary to the 7 sector plans that
already exist but were never implemented, we recommend that stakeholders,
undergraduate students, civil servants, mentors and experts should participate
at all levels in the study and the elaboration of the remaining 11 sector plans
b)Transparency: All the information appearing in these
plans should be published and made available to any citizen wishing to consult
it.
c)Monitoring:
The
implementation of the plans should be reviewed monthly by a panel of
supervisors who should include some members of civil society.
d)Upholding:
Members of the Civil Administration, at all levels, should undertake to support
and uphold the terms of the Plan, starting from the President of the Republic,
the President of Parliament, and the President of the Council of Ministers,
down to the General Directors and to all the civil servants without exception.
The Plan should be the major concern of the entire Nation. Let us take example
of the attitude of the citizens of the
Irish Republic, over the past 20 years.
DRAWING
UP A WORKING PROGRAM TO COMPLETE THE REMAINING ELEVEN SECTOR PLANS FOR THE
L.N.D.P.
Week Work
involved
Week 1.Assessment
of the objectives that we aim to achieve and assessment of the work to be done
to achieve these objectives.
Week 2.Assessment
of the approaches to be adopted to seek the solutions to the issues for 11
sectors. This includes the nine
questions approach that will be taught to the undergraduate researchers.
Week 3.Assessment
of the time involved in finding the solution to each issue through contacts
with stakeholders, ministry officials and public servants, and experts. This
requires a thorough analysis of the work
involved in identifying the solution/s to each issue
Week 4.Drawing
up a time schedule for the entire project: initially six months starting 1.3.15
Week 5.Allocating
ten undergrads to each of the 11 uncompleted sectors. This means one hundred
and ten undergrads to be hired, and a period of six months to complete the
study of the eleven plans.
Week 6.Training
the undergrads
Week 7.Training
the undergrads
Week 8.The
undergrads meet with the Minister of AR and his staff
Week 9.The
undergrads examine the documents at the Ministry of AR
Week 10.The
undergrads draw up a list of the documents related to their sector
Week 11.The
undergrads visit the Ministry concerned & particularly the DG
Week 12.The
undergrads analyse the documents acquired
Week 13.The
undergrads visit the stakeholders concerned
Week 14.The
undergrads visit the stakeholders concerned
Week 15.The
undergrads draw up a preliminary list of issues contemplated
Week 16.The
undergrads discuss the issues with mentor (about 6 issues each)
Week 17.The
undergrads examine solutions contemplated /discuss w/mentors
Week 18.The
undergrads examine solutions contemplated /discuss w/mentors
Week 19.The undergrads
examine solutions contemplated /discuss w/mentors
Week 20.he undergrads
examine solutions contemplated /discuss w/mentors
Week 21.The
undergrads examine solutions contemplated /discuss w/mentors
Week 22.The
undergrads examine solutions contemplated /discuss w/mentors
Week 23.The
result of the work is discussed with mentors
Week 24.The
plans are reviewed by appropriate committee
HOW MUCH WILL IT COST TO COMPLETE THE STUDY OF THE L.N.D.P.?
HOW MUCH WILL IT COST TO COMPLETE THE STUDY OF THE L.N.D.P.?
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