POST NO.2

To all the Lebanese citizens who happen to read this announcement 

I wish to ask WHY? Yes, WHY?

 If one comes to realize that, out of the five million citizens who comprise the population of Lebanon, five of them alone, are in a unique position to improve the living conditions of their 4,999,995 compatriots, and contribute toward shaping the future of the entire Nation, then one is entitled to ask: “What are they waiting for?” 

Though, I am sure that the readers of my previous twits and blogs have understood the remarks I published therein, allow me to make these statements, once more, abundantly clear.

 Minister Aly Hassan El Khalil can save Lebanon $34 billion dollars over the next two decades

 In his current position as Minister of Finance, HE El Khalil can go deep down to the root of the problem of the “Real Estate Registration Fees” and save Lebanon one billion seven hundred million US Dollars EVERY YEAR or thirty four billion from 2015 till 2032, by making sure that these fees are fully and integrally recuperated. Calling for the investigation of the performance of 55 public servants in that department, as the Minister has recently ordered, was, of course, necessary and commendable. But much more needs to be done in that domain. Let me explain.

1) Let us start by acknowledging the facts.
Every year, since 2009, the country has witnessed some 15 to 19 million square meters of real estate construction completed as evidenced by the yearly reports of the Syndicate of Architects.

The 6% registration fees on this real estate operation, based on an average value of $1,500 per square meter, and the lowest figure of 15 million square meters, should have contributed some $1.35 billion dollars in registration fees, at the rate of 6%.Of course this amount does not include the proceeds of the registrations of the properties that subsequently move from one owner to the other.  Now, let us look at the actual fees that were received by the Ministry of Finance in 2013. In this year, the amount collected, as per the MOF report, stood at 847 billion Lebanese pounds or 565 million US dollars. This is much less than half of what should have been recuperated according to the current criteria. For the reader’s information, the registration fees received during the preceding five years were: 2008: $386 million, 2009: $417 million, 2010: $568 million, 2011: $560 million, 2012: $580 million dollars. It is clearly evident, from these results, that something is blatantly wrong, in the recuperation process of the real estate registration fees that has seen billions of dollars mishandled during that period.

2) Now let us now consider what the Authorities could do to put an end to this catastrophic situation.
First, the Minister of Finance can ask the Parliamentary Commission on Public Finance to examine the case thoroughly and consider presenting to Parliament a Law proposal  to render the “Registration process” compulsory instead of optional, as is the case presently.
Second, in view of the extremely difficult circumstances that the country currently endures and the dire shortage of public funds, a Law should be passed raising the registration fees from 6% to 8%. Furthermore, it will be appropriate to consider reviewing all the previous real estate registrations recorded from 2009 to 2014 with a view to amend them and compel the owners to refund the difference to the public Treasury. It is estimated that some five billion US dollars can be thus recuperated. This amount is badly needed to finance the construction of the two new gas operated energy plants that could, in turn, save the country some further one and a half billion dollars annually. But that subject will be discussed later on.

3) The entire registration process ought to be thoroughly examined and reviewed.
 The details of each individual registration formality, such as location of the property, its owner, its surface, its average estimated value, the payable amount of the fees, and the amounts collected should be published on an official site for added transparency, and to prevent fraud or manipulations.

4) Transparency 
 Finally, all the Citizens who wish so ought also to be entitled to query any apparently doubtful transaction with the Authorities to ensure that the State is no longer deprived of this essential public revenue.

 Mr. Francois Bassil, President of the Lebanese Bankers’Association can greatly contribute toward saving Lebanon some $114 billion dollars over the next two decades

We believe that the readers would be quick to realize that the largest contributor toward the enhancement of the performance results of the Lebanese Governments over the next twenty years, stands to be a non-governmental entity represented by the Lebanese Bankers ‘Association, the largest holders of our public indenture bonds The Lebanese Bankers’Association, along with the foreign bondholders, should be requested to reduce the average rate of interest on these bonds by two per cent per year (on average, from 6.5% down to 4.5%). This reduction, if consented, would serve to reduce the country’s Debt by some $114 billion US dollars over the next twenty years. The detailed calculations of these savings appear on the table below.

We realize, of course, that it will be very difficult to convince the bondholders of the necessity to accept such a large reduction in the rate of interest. This is what we expect the president of the Association to undertake if he wants to save the country $114 billion dollars over the next two decades.


 Energy Minister Arthur Nazarian can greatly contribute toward saving Lebanon some $10 billion dollars over the next two decades

Minister of Energy and Water Resources, HE Arthur Nazarian should be in a position to confirm that as much as five hundred million dollars a year can be saved at Electricite du Liban (EDL) by exercising stricter control over this institution. It is worthwhile mentioning that the fact has already been identified and pointed out on the web in the past, by EDL’s foreign auditors, and in some public declaration by EDL’s higher management


 The construction of the two planned for Energy plants should serve to reduce the loss at the Ministry of Energy by $1.5 billion dollars a year (based on previous average oil price of $100 a barrel). This would amount to $30 billion dollars over the next twenty years

We have put an interrogation mark against the principal contributor toward that saving because there is no clear understanding as to who will be responsible for planning and supervising the construction of these two plants, once the project is adopted. We assume that the Council for Development and Reconstruction (CDR) could be the institution in charge for implementing this essential initiative.

 Fighting to protect the health of the citizens against greed, corruption, and neglect is probably the most noble achievement of them all, though it cannot be measured or quantified. Our current Minister of Health, HE Wael Abou Faour ought to be commended for this unique gesture.

We cannot conclude this list of contributions by five Lebanese citizens toward the development of Lebanon’s economy and the sustainability of its public finances, without mentioning the efforts deployed by our current Health Minister to fight corruption and promote the protection of citizens’ health in this country.

Reforming our health protection policies represents an extremely valuable initiative that no one can ignore, let alone underestimate. However the efforts of the Ministry of Health alone will not be enough to produce the required results. At least some six other Ministries should be directly involved if one wants to achieve our ultimate goals in this domain. Though there is no way to quantify or price such health improvements one cannot but acknowledge the vital necessity to introduce the needed reforms in all the public sectors