Interior Minister Baroud Recognized for Championing Democracy

The International Foundation for Electoral Systems has named the three recipients of its 2010 IFES Charles T. Manatt Democracy Awards: US House Representative David Obey, the former USAID Administrator M. Peter McPherson, and Lebanon’s Minister of Interior and Municipalities Ziad Baroud:

The awards, which recognize extraordinary efforts to advance electoral participation and democratic values, are given yearly to a Republican, a Democrat and a member of the international community to highlight the fact that democracy work transcends political parties and national borders.

[...]

Ziad Baroud, a longtime lawyer and prominent civil society activist who currently serves as Lebanon’s Minister of Interior and Municipalities, has dedicated his life to civil society and government service. Mr. Baroud is recognized worldwide for his significant contribution to enhancing the electoral process in his country.

The award ceremony will take place on September 28 in Washington DC. Congratulations to one of our favorite ministers!

Ziad Baroud - Receipient of the 2010 IFES Charles T. Manatt Democracy Awards

Check out these great posts:

• Versace’s Damac Tower Soon in DT Beirut
• UN-Invited
• Tourism Up, Everything Else Down

Lebanon Mulls Sending Aid to Pakistan

The Lebanese government is discussing plans to send an aid-loaded plane to Pakistan in response to the devastating floods that have ravished the country:

…a coordination meeting was held on Monday for that reason at the governmental house.

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who headed the meeting that was attended by Pakistan’s ambassador, already stressed Lebanon’s readiness to send an aid plane.

I’m glad to see the government helping out though I wonder why it took so long to respond to the UN’s request for aid which was announced 15 days ago. As of August 26, the top donor countries are:

1. United States
2. Saudi Arabia
3. United Kingdom
4. *Private Individuals & Organizations*
5. European Union
6. Australia

In addition to Saudi Arabia, other Arab donors include Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, the UAE, Morocco, Qatar, and Egypt. Lebanon has yet to contribute any aid.

The Guardian: Pakistan flood aid is desperately needed. Photograph: Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images

Check out these great posts:

• New Airport Tax to be Wasted

Government Incompetence at its Best (or Worst)

How many of you out there would pay upfront a contractor to build your house before he even starts? The Lebanese government would and did:

A contractor who fled the country after being paid but before completing any work is responsible for delays in improvements at the Baabda Public Hospital, Health Minister Mohammad Jawad Khalifeh has said.

[...]

Addressing MPs Naji Gharios, Bilal Farhat, Hikmat Did and Alain Aoun along with a number of officials, Khalifeh explained that a contractor who was supposed to renovate the hospital had received his fee in advance and fled abroad.

What kind of paper-pushers do we have running these ministries? What did the government take as collateral, the company’s good intentions? How the hell did the company even prequalify and tender for the project? Was the project publicly tendered or did “someone  know someone who could did it for cheap”? I don’t know about you but someone needs to be dragged into the middle of the street and tarred and feather for such incredible blatant incompetence.

Health Minister Mohammad Jawad Khalifeh

Check out these great posts:

• Exporting Lebanese
• Arms Stretched in Corruption

Lebanon Diplomats Owe Nothing to UK

Newspapers and media organizations are scouring through the UK Parliament website to see if their countries are on what is now a notorious list: diplomatic missions in the UK that have committed crimes and/or have  numerous unpaid traffic fines and congestion fees.

A search through the list the UK Foreign Office submitted to the House of Commons on Monday shows that Lebanon does not owe the UK government any unpaid fines, London congestion charges or national non-domestic rates. However, a Lebanese diplomat (or family member of) was stopped in 2005 for driving under the influence. That same year, diplomats from Angola, Egypt, Ghana, Peru, Russia and Saudi Arabia were stopped for the same offense. Of course, in all these cases diplomatic immunity prevailed.

According to the records, Lebanon has been well-behaved since that incident.

No pending payments to UK from the Lebanese Embassy.

Check out these great posts:

• Making Big Bucks and Paying It Up
• Diplomatic Defense

New Airport Tax to be Wasted

You probably already know that the Lebanese government has (finally) approved the budget for 2010 and though there has been much talk on the increase in fees for low-digit car number plates (no idea what’s the craze with these), there has been very little talk of the increase in airport tax which is already high to begin with.

Here’s the airport tax breakdown in Lebanon according to IATA:

Lebanon Exit Tax: Levied on all passengers leaving Lebanon by air

LBP 100,000 (US$66.33) for first-class passengers; LBP 75,000 (US$49.75) for business class; LBP 50,000 (US$33.16) for economy class

Lebanon Departure Tax: Levied on all passengers leaving Lebanon by air or sea

LBP 5,000 (US$3.32)

So when traveling out Rafic Hariri Airport, you are charged both an exit tax and a departure tax.

Let’s compare to countries around us shall we:

Jordan: No airport tax is levied on passengers upon embarkation at the airport.

Syria Departure Fee: SYP 1,500 (US$32.07) is levied on all embarking passengers.

Turkey Departure Fee: US$50 is levied on Turkish nationals traveling abroad unless they are permanent residents overseas

As you can see, Jordanian’s completely disregard the tax, Syrian’s charge less than us, while the Turks specifically tax their nationals who reside in the country. We, on the other hand tax left, right and center. And now, the new 2010 budget calls for a 10% increase in the exit tax. Is that a bad thing? Well, its going to make your next plane ticket a little more expensive. But the question is, what is that extra money going to be used for?

Infrastructure development? Health care spending? Education? No, more “come to Lebanon” ads on foreign TV stations:

A 10 percent rise in the airport tax will generate the “first-ever” modern advertising promotion of Lebanon, according to Tourism Minister Fadi Abboud. [...] Abboud explained advertisement and promotion would be concentrated in Russia, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Spain.

And you consider that to be a wise way of spending the extra cash? Aren’t we already overflowing with tourists and that our infrastructure is on the brink of collapsing under the pressure? Or was that only an issue last year and it has magically disappeared?

Beirut Airport: Taxes collected here to pay for ads in Europe

Check out these great posts:

• New Airline, New Airports, More Tourists, Oh My!
• Lebanon Mulls Sending Aid to Pakistan