SOMETHING ABOUT OUR RENAISSANCE AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND FACTORY PARKS FOR NIGERIA (2020-2050

VOTING FOR THE NEXT PRESIDENT OF NIGERIA

VOTING FOR THE NEXT PRESIDENT OF NIGERIA

In a few months' time, two hundred million Nigerian citizens will have the opportunity to vote for their next PRESIDENT. I wish every one of them full success in this huge opportunity.

Yes, Nigerians, this is  an opportunity that is granted to you every four years. Make the best use of it, for the sake of your wonderful country. I have lived, resided and worked in it for nearly ten years. I have also traveled over most of its territory, from North to South, and I loved every inch of it.

Now, is your opportunity to make your voice heard all over the 37 States of the Federation and to participate in electing the right leader, in your estimation, for your country. So, think it over carefully to make sure that the person whom you consider to be the best one for your country is elected.

Please, bear in mind a very important consideration. The President you will elect will have to bear a huge and crucial responsibility. During the four next years he will have to decide upon the future of your country. Nigeria, today is at the cross roads. Either it goes on the right way, and everything will be fine for the200 million Nigerians, or, God forbid, it takes the wrong one and only HE knows what will be the outcome.

The direction that your President will take will be influenced by your voting decision. So think carefully, very carefully before making your choice.

Some of you, upon reading these words, may be tempted to ask me: "But, upon which criteria, should I vote?

It would be easy for me to hedge and tell you : "vote according to what your conscience tells you to do.

But I do not wish to play around, and I would rather reply by asking you instead the following:

1. Are you satisfied with the current living conditions in your country?
2. If your frank question to that answer is yes, I would say go ahead and vote the way you see fit.
3. If your answer is either non-committal or an outright NO, I would suggest that you explain to me the reason for your dissatisfaction.
4. Once I receive your explanations, whatever they are, my reply would be the following:

" If you are dissatisfied with some or all of what is going on presently in your country, then the normal thing to do would be to find out "HOW TO MAKE THINGS BETTER".In such a case, what you should do, BEFORE VOTING, is to ask the candidates, and I assume there will be many, including, for sure, your current President, the following GOLDEN QUESTION:

" What are your proposals to solve our problems, should you be elected, or re-elected President of the Nigerian Federation?" WHAT IS YOUR PLAN?????????????

May I suggest to you that you should insist upon a very detailed, explanatory answer, supported by clear elicit proposals about what the future candidate to the Presidency intend to do.

After seeing his reply, you can try to compare it with the reply of the other candidates to decide upon the one that YOU find the most convincing, because YOU my friend will be part of a decision that will influence the fate of 200 millions of your compatriots.

Yes, my friend, you will be one of the millions of citizens who will contribute to "Build the New Nigeria"

So, be very careful in what decision you will take, and I wish you the BEST OF LUCK!

WHO do you want to vote for? The President who will let you live in the slum shown in the first picture, or the President who will build the community shown in the second picture, below.

I wish you the best, Nigerians. You deserve it.

NIGERIAN BLOGS: INTRODUCTION

9/27/2018

NIGERIAN BLOGS

Dear Readers,

We are starting today a new series of Blogs entitled NIGERIAN BLOGS.

But before we proceed editing let us consider what the average Nigerian readers, for whom these blogs are destined, wish to read about.

1.- A house, a job, and a friendly community
As any human being on earth does, the interest of the average Nigerian is, foremost, to improve his/her living conditions, earn sufficient money to care for his/her family, find a stable and secure job, or seek to work independently. But, in addition to these instinctive reactions, there are also higher ideals and goals. They may want to see their neighbors and their relatives enjoy life the way they would like to do. Man or Woman cannot live alone. They need the company of neighbors. They need to share the good things in life with them, as well as the inconveniences and the troubles.

2.- Are these the current living conditions of the average Nigerian?
As I may have told some of my readers in the past, I have lived permanently some ten years in Nigeria, three of them building, organizing, and managing a clothing manufacturing company in Nigeria, employing 265 workers and producing high quality clothing products that were, for the large part of them, exported to France. The rest of the time I spent it building a hotel for my son, starting it and running it for over three years. I also spent three other years years exporting to the United States and to Europe a large variety of Nigerian products (rubber, columbite and tantalite, sesame seeds, cashew nuts, wood products, and others) So, you can be sure that during these ten years I knew what my colleagues and my employees were thinking, feeling, and seeking during this period. I visited the homes of many of them, and saw the conditions they were living in and what they would have loved to possess, but could not afford to do so.

3.- What did these Nigerians seek more than anything else?
Let me answer this question with one word: a HOME! But not simply a HOME, they all wanted a HOME that they could call their own. Here, someone is bound to ask me: "But, these persons, did not live in homes?" No, my friends, most of them were living in rented houses under the wrong living conditions, and paying relatively high rents. But all this was nothing compared to the feeling that most of them were living under the threat of being evicted at any time, particularly if they delayed paying the exorbitant rents they were charged for extremely unsatisfactory living conditions.
Let me ask you one question my friends: Under such conditions, how can one expect that worker to work efficiently and produce the right quality products? I will not mention the matter of transport. I shall never forget the day when my old storekeeper happened to arrive 15 minutes later to work. When I remonstrated the fact,  he told me that he lived in a far away village and had to change over three buses and start up at 7 in the morning, in order to be at 9 am at work, every day. I checked upon all these facts and found them to be correct.

4.- How can one satisfy the basic needs that I have outlined above?
In my next publication I shall try to describe, as clearly as possible, HOW one can address all these problems, and what would be the advantages to the employers, but even more importantly, and ultimately to NIGERIA?

LEBANON

AFFORDABLE LIVING, JOBS, SECURITY, EDUCATION, BELONGING, AND GOALS

If the first four prospects are fundamental, the last two are essential

A proposed web publication

Beirut, 23/05/2011 “The starting point for a better world is the belief that it is possible” by Norman Cousins, philosopher and author

“Our Project is not just about “bricks and mortars” and the building of homes, but also about the building of new neighbourhoods and improved quality of life. Neighbourhoods, where families can live closer to employment opportunities, schools, recreation facilities, public transportation and work together to build security and stability in their community”

Extracted from the web site of "The Housing Partnership".

 Copyright © 2004 Home Quest Nigeria Ltd. All rights reserve

4. WHAT are the project guidelines?

4.1 Focus primarily on fulfilling the needs of the end-users, the low-income homebuyers.

The project planners should never forget that the sole objective of this entire enterprise is to enhance the quality of life of the low-income worker in Nigeria and his family. This superior motive must condition and shape the design, the planning and the execution of the project.

The ultimate goal is to succeed in providing the low-income residents of the housing communities with a fuller and healthier life and to give their children access to a better education.

To illustrate the profound impact that an effective affordable housing project can have on people who were previously deprived of decent lodging we quote below the statement of a resident of a low-income housing project in Sidi-Harb, Algeria upon taking possession of his new house:

“ What do get from the project? We can get an official address; we become property owners and can provide an inheritance for our children. Cars can come to our front doors. We are no longer people without a real home and as second-class citizens. We can invite guests home without shame. We can wash properly. husbands and wives can enjoy privacy together, sometimes for the first time in many years.” Mohammed, resident of Sidi-Harb.

4.2 Aim at an affordable price ceiling for the homes.

We have mentioned in another section of the project that we should aim at a target home price that does not exceed the equivalent of twelve thousand US dollars. However, this is a preliminary estimate, and the project initiators should strive to find a housing solution that will cost less than this amount and still provide the appropriate benefits to the residents. The opportunities for cost cutting are innumerable in such a project and should be taken advantage of at every step of the design, planning and execution.Some of the areas where considerable savings can be achieved include the design of the infrastructure, the choice of the appropriate housing system and the building materials that will be used, the proper planning and management of the construction project and a strict control on overhead costs.Important cost saving achievements will be obtained by favoring whenever possible the use of locally manufactured products and employing semi skilled workers who will be provided with adequate on-site training. This subject is elaborated upon in paragraph 4.4.

4.3 Seek Expertise and foster Interaction among the participants.

In our Introduction we emphasized the importance of recruiting fully qualified and experienced professionals to design and plan the project in its minutest details in order to ensure a perfect and economical implementation and ultimately to procure the residents with appropriate housing conditions.

The disciplines that are needed for such a vast enterprise are so diverse and so demanding that only the best experienced and knowledgeable people should be chosen to lead it. It is a well-known fact that projects do not succeed because of the size of their budget but through the quality of the people who take part in them.

Furthermore no project initiator, whether from Nigeria or from overseas, should be allowed to work in a vacuum. Although most parts of the project require expert knowledge and specialization, it is essential that all the initiators should be allowed to comment upon the findings of their colleagues and to contribute their own viewpoint on the subject. This kind of interaction will ultimately lead to a better design, better execution and a product that will best serve its purpose.

Another important feature of our project is that it is essentially based upon an open and dedicated cooperation between the two teams of Nigerian and foreign initiators. Through a tight collaboration between North and South, between developed and developing countries, we aim to bring together the best of both worlds and add the experience and systematic approach of problem solving of the West to the intimate knowledge of the local culture, the living conditions and the aspirations of the Nigerian people.

4.4 Sustain the use of local labor and local resources throughout the construction process.

We have already mentioned in another part of our presentation that we plan to  favor the use of local labor and local resources in the construction process from laying down the foundations and the infrastructure to the finishing of the buildings.

However this goal should not deter us from seeking, in the initial stages of the  execution of a project that is planned to last ten years, the best and the most  economical materials available abroad.

For this purpose the project initiators will seek to secure for each operation and  each process the most appropriate types of building materials and equipment. At  the same time they will make it clear to the foreign suppliers that they must plan to  manufacture in the future these products in Nigeria, and preferably in the factory  parks that will be built near the residential settlements.

This action will serve multiple purposes, among which to foster the development of  the factory parks, increase labor opportunities, reduce costs, and promote the  progress of industry and technical knowledge in Nigeria.

The labor on the construction sites should consist of semi-skilled workmen and  technicians who will receive on the job training from qualified instructors. The  structuring of the construction process should allow for this transitional progress.

Furthermore it is planned to introduce in the selling contract of the properties a  clause requiring the low-income buyers to work for a period varying from six  months to a year on the construction site before being allowed to apply to  purchase their homes. This will have the desirable effect of instilling in the low- income residents a closer bonding to their property.

4.5 Promote actively the development of the factory parks.

As mentioned on many occasions in this presentation, the factory parks  development is considered as the linchpin of the entire project.

In fact, should the industrialization program, God forbid, eventually falter it may cause the entire affordable housing project to collapse. This is understandable  because if the factories fail, the owners will not be able to keep their employees  who will consequently be deprived of their revenue and will be unable to meet their  installment purchase payment obligations.

It is a well-known fact that an affordable housing project does not end with the  construction of the houses but by the full redemption of the loan contracted to  execute it. In other words, only when all the homebuyers have fully acquitted  themselves of the payment of their homes, can the project be considered as  having truly reached its objective.

Consequently it is of paramount importance to very carefully organize the entire  industrialization program of the factory parks. This is why the Project Initiators  include among their members an Industrial Engineer and a Marketing Specialist.

The former will be in charge of providing the Architect and the Construction  Engineer with his specialized knowledge of building and equipment layout.  Subsequently he will devote all his attention to studying with the future factory

Owners/Managers the Organization and the Management systems of the individual  enterprises.

As for the latter his responsibility will be no less great. His job will be to organize a  market research of the manufacturing opportunities in Nigeria, call upon the local  entrepreneurs to participate actively in the project, and synchronize with them the  installation of their marketing operations. Through the foreign initiator the  development company will seek to encourage an identical involvement from  overseas manufacturers to acquire and run some of the factory units in the parks.  Such programs were rapidly adopted and implemented in Egypt, the Dominican

Republic or Mexico and it is expected that Nigeria will not be different in this  respect.

The Industrial Engineer and the Marketing Specialist will seek further support and  advice in their task from experts in the Nigerian Government, such as the Ministry  of Industry and the Export Promotion Council and from  International Organizations.  The latter’s assistance is developed in the next chapter.

4.6 Seek international support for the project.

The committee for better housing conditions in Nigeria has already identified a  number of International Institutions with wide experience in the domain of  affordable housing ready to provide their precious knowledge to the project and  assist each of the project initiators in fulfilling their respective tasks. These  mentors will prove invaluable for the success of the project because they will pin  point to the Development Company the mistakes to avoid and indicate the best  method of approach to problem solving derived from their own unique experience.  It goes without saying that all efforts should be made to secure this valuable  guidance. The foreign initiators are best placed to seek and connect with these  institutions and individuals.

On the other hand, one of the major objectives of the project is to secure  international funding, The Foreign Finance specialist will devote all his efforts to  seek the various institutions that we have listed in chapter 5.1 (How to seek

financing for the Project). Having established contact he will follow-up each case  individually to determine clearly the requirements of each individual fund provider  and comply with them as closely as possible. For this purpose he will use his  specialized knowledge and experience and will coordinate his action with his  Nigerian counterpart who will also strive to reach similar goals in the local financing  market.

The Foreign and Nigerian finance specialists will seek guidance in their tasks from  foreign institutions and individuals. The mere fact that such reputed institutions are  taking an interest in the project will influence favorably prospective investors.

A very potent argument to present to would be international lenders or investors is  to stress the globalization of the world economy and how a disaster occurring in  one country is bound to affect all the others in the long run. Rwanda, Sierra  Leone, the Sudan, and the Ivory Coast are vivid examples of what happens when  nothing is done to improve the lot of the poorest segments of the population.  As we mentioned in our introduction the gap between the demand and the supply of  affordable housing in Nigeria has reached gigantic proportions. If left to grow unchecked it may be the source of great social and political disturbances.  Premises of such events have already been manifest in the East and the North of  the country. The Federal and the State Authorities are called upon to actively  support the developers of this affordable housing project bearing in mind that, as  the adage goes: ”an ounce of prevention is worth a ton of remedy”.

1/15/2015

POST NO.5

How we can make things better for ourselves in Lebanon

In my previous four posts the readers may have found me too harshly critical of the performance of most of our leaders in Lebanon since independence, and strongly bemoaning the near absence of any serious attempts by civil society to address these issues. They may cite the proverb that says “la critique est facile mais l’art est difficile” (criticizing is easy but performing is hard). This is why, in this fifth post, I shall do my best to try and briefly summarize what, I believe, happened in our country since 1945, what were the causes of our failures, and suggesting how we can remedy them in the short and in the long run.

1.- A glance backward

Let me start by throwing a quick look at the past seventy years and consider the conclusions that we may draw from that exercise. For that purpose, I have arbitrarily divided the entire seventy years period into three main phases:

Ø  The pre-civil war phase (1945-1974). During these first thirty years, corruption and mishandling of public funds were widely spread, though some efforts were made to combat them, especially during the Fouad Chehab Administration (1958-1964) that produced some noticeably good and innovative initiatives. Unfortunately, after the end of his mandate, the old evil habits soon returned, most of the reforms that he introduced were abandoned, the plans, were relegated to the archives, the Ministry of Plan ceased to exist, and was replaced by the CDR., an institution that was used to partially solve some of the problems, leaving the other half unsolved and the wounds in the country’s Administration pestering.

Ø  The civil war (1975-1992) In 1975 the Civil War broke up in Lebanon following the famous Ain El Remmaneh bus incident. Some half million Palestinian refugees eager to find in Lebanon a replacement for their lost State in Palestine rose against the established order, aided and supported by the Moslem population. Their famous slogan: “the road to Palestine passes through Jounieh” only served to add fuel to the fire, and some eighteen years of murderous infighting and destruction ensued that engulfed the entire country and butted half of the population against the other.

Ø  The post-civil war phase (1993-2014) The Civil war ended with the typical Lebanese compromise based on the concept of “La ghaleb wa la magloub” or “no winners and no losers” that left almost everybody unsatisfied, with the exception of a band of war profiteers who constituted a new social class in Lebanon eager to keep hold of their illicit gains and increase them as much as possible. This policy subtly became the credo of an entire new generation for whom only immediate or near immediate personal gains prevailed and no consideration was given to the rest of the population who were left to fend for themselves. This new credo and attitude gradually spread around and moved from the top of the pyramid down to its roots. Lebanon soon became the region’s “Far West” where every strike was allowed as long as one had enough “friends” and “protectors” in high places.

Some people may object to such a brief description of seventy years of Lebanese history and claim that my outlook of the events is biased. Allow me to stick to my views and claim that all that we are complaining about today comes as the result of our lax past behavior. Even, the privileged five per cent of the population, who consider themselves immune to harm through their present wealth, should realize, by now, that this may no longer be the case in the future. The examples of burning Syria, Iraq, Libya, and Yemen, to cite but a few cases, are there to prove it. The French proverb, ”Tant va la cruche a l’eau, qu’a la fin elle se brise”, illustrates that truth perfectly. When some of our leaders, ingrained in their military upbringing, call for jailing all the corrupters and the corrupt, some people ironically remind them that there are too many of these thugs around, and, in Lebanon, our penal system is not large enough to house them all.

On the other hand, reading through that necessarily brief relation of modern Lebanese history, people are bound to ask the perennial question: “OK, so what are we supposed to do, assuming that the author is right in his interpretation of the events?”  In the next paragraph I have tried to answer that question. Maybe you will find it useful to relay to your interlocutors.

2.- How can we turn impediments into assets?

If one reads my numerous writings on the subject and particularly the recent ones that are published on the following addresses: http://www.a-planned-development.blogspot.com, and at  http://www.5-can-help-save-Lebanon.blogspot.com, in addition to my web site that can be reached at http://www.cpi-lebanon.org , one is bound to notice that, since my return to Lebanon in 2005, my outlook on things in general and on solving the Lebanese conundrum has not changed an iota. There is only one way to make things right in this country. How to redress the wrongs is fully described in the above publications and in hundreds of other facebook, linkedin, twitter, and blog posts.

To provide a succinct answer to question number two above I simply propose to enlist the help of the very people who consciously or inadvertently contributed to create the hellish situation in which Lebanon finds itself stuck presently and ask them to simply help us reverse course. Without providing further details, I am sure that they would promptly understand my meaning. In any case, a great deal of suggestions as to how it should be done can be found in my above cited publications., particularly how we can repay entirely our Public Debt by 2032.

POST NO. 4

Public order and Private interest

It is rare to find nowadays in Lebanon much respect and attachment to the concept of public order. Since 1993, that notion has been insidiously replaced by a blind and unrestrained admiration and devotion to private enterprise. In all the domains of our daily life it grew and became strongly encrusted in the conscience and in the mind of the citizens and brought them to disdain and even reject anything related to public service, while inordinately praising and admiring the performance of the private entrepreneur. We shall have to follow a diametrically opposed path during the next twenty years if we wish to “rebuild” the notion of Nation and State that has kept eroding from the public mind in order to serve the interests of a small minority of “profiteers”.

In any case, I believe that this false culture of the “I” that is impressed upon the minds of its adepts has contributed to bring about such events as the recent open assassination of an Yves Naufal or the unacceptable behavior of a Nicolas Fattouch. On the other hand, and in the domain of politics, it has contributed, in some ways, to bring about the recent kamikaze events in Jabal Mohsen in Tripoli. The perpetrators were probably told to do away with all the people who did not believe in their false culture.

To further illustrate my contentions about the ill effects of that exaggerated culture of the “I”, I would cite the fast multiplication in Lebanon of cartels and monopolies, the shady dealings to get rid of the competition, the unlawful acquisitions of certain businesses and the appropriation of entire market shares. But the most dangerous and foolhardy policy currently considered is a recommendation to privatize some public sectors under the pretext that the government is unable to run them efficiently. Let us keep in mind that the same individuals who now seek, through such arguments, to lay their hands on some parts of the public sector, are the ones who contributed to introduce and cultivate corruption through these same sectors. They argue now that only the private sector can run efficiently these departments, ignoring that corruption is just as evil and widespread in the private sector.  

The birth and the subsequent relentless growth of the Lebanese Public Debt vividly illustrate the strong hold exercised by private interests on our public sector. The seven billion dollars that were initially needed in 1993 to reconstruct Lebanon, following 15 years of Civil War, were, in a large part, procured to the government by a group of Lebanese investors. That initial amount was transformed during the following two decades into a gigantic public debt of $75 billion through the accumulation of annual compound interest charges that were never repaid. We currently need twenty more years of hard work and sacrifice if we wish to repay that debt. No one has questioned the odd fact that, at no time, during these twenty years, the matter of repaying at least the interest on that debt was ever brought up.

The current state of mind ought to be reversed and replaced by a new “culture of citizenship”.  Civic sense and the respect of public institutions ought to be taught in private and public schools from the early days, without decrying or underestimating the benefits of private initiative. Civil Society should be allowed and encouraged to monitor the usage of public funds. It is such a positive equilibrium that we ought to tend to reach through careful planning of public governance to replace the current anarchic and ill considered improvisations that are the norm within our public Administration.

This, in turn, requires a complete revision and an overhaul of our public and private system of education. Educators in our public and private schools, please take note.

POST NO.3

Le public et le prive au Liban

 Ce qui nous a manque au Liban, c’est le respect et l’attachement a la chose publique qui ont été subtilement remplaces, particulièrement au court des 20 dernières années, par une fixation démesurée sur l’entreprise individuelle et privée.

 Dans tous les domaines, cet état d’esprit s’est lentement incruste dans la conscience et dans l’esprit du citoyen et a eu pour effet  de lui faire prendre en grippe tout ce qui a trait au service public, au profit des initiatives et des entreprises privées. C’est un processus différend qu’il nous faudrait, a présent entreprendre au cours des 20 prochaines années, si nous voulons « refabriquer » la Nation et l’Etat qui se sont lentement désagrégés au profit d’une minorité de « profiteurs ».

D’ailleurs, a mon avis, c’est cette fausse culture du « moi », primant, dans l’esprit du citoyen, toute autre considération, qui a probablement conduit au tout récent assassinat d’Yves Naufal, ou aux debordements d'un Nicolas Fattouche. C’est cette meme attitude du « moi »,  transposée dans le domaine politique par un groupement criminel qui a provoque les événements de Jabal Mohsen.. C’est toujours le « moi » ou mon « groupe » ou mon "ideologie" qui priment, et au diable les autres.

Afin de mieux illustrer ce phénomène je citerais a titre d’exemples la multiplication des cartels et des monopoles, les combines pour écarter la concurrence et s’approprier exclusivement les profits de certaines entreprises ou même acquérir des parts entières du marche, les tentatives de privatiser certains services publics sous prétexte que le gouvernement, que l’on s’efforce en toute occasion de critiquer et de combattre, est incapable de les gérer efficacement. Même le spectre de la corruption, que certains ont contribue a introduire et a cultiver au sein de la fonction publique, est utilisé comme argument majeur pour justifier la privatisation. Comme si cette corruption n’était pas tout aussi virulente et répandue dans le secteur prive.

D’ailleurs, le cas de la Dette Publique au Liban durant les deux dernières décades illustre significativement l’emprise des intérêts prives sur le secteur public. Les sept milliards de dollars que l’Etat s’est initialement empruntes d’un groupe d’investisseurs se sont transformes en une dette mastodonte de $75 milliards de dollars par suite des intérêts composes qui sont restes impayés durant toute cette période. Il nous faudrait, a présent, un nombre égal d’années de sacrifices et de dur labeur, pour renverser ce processus et rembourser notre dette.

 C’est tout un état d’esprit qu’il nous faut inverser et remplacer par une nouvelle culture citoyenne. Celle du respect de l’autre. C’est  ce sens civique et le respect de la chose publique qu’il faudrait inculquer aux jeunes sans  porter atteinte a l’esprit d’initiative.  C’est cet équilibre  que nous devrions nous efforcer d’atteindre a présent.  C’est une planification minutieusement étudiée de l'ordre public qui devrait remplacer les improvisations et les initiatives intempestives qui ont court aujourd’hui. C’est tout un système éducatif qu’il faudrait réinventer. Avis a nos éducateurs.

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

POST NO. 1

FIVE LEBANESE CITIZENS CAN HELP SAVE LEBANON

PLEASE CLICK PICTURE TO ENLARGE IT

 The picture above should be self-explanatory. However, just to dispel any misunderstanding, allow me the following comments:

1. Reforming our health protection policies are extremely valuable initiatives that no one can ignore. 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 that sector.

2. Recuperating the full amount of the 6% real estate registration fees would increase the State’s revenue by some $1.7 billion US dollars a year. We are prepared to provide full details of the estimates that have led us to this conclusion. We understand that Finance Minister, HE Hassan El Khalil has already undertaken some serious investigations into the Real Estate registration procedures, as a result of which some 55 public functionaries were officially questioned over their possible involvement in fraud and manipulations. We personally believe that the best way to stop these serious misdeeds would be, in addition to making registration compulsory, to publish monthly in the Official Gazette or some such public registry, the full details of all individual real estate registrations conducted during the month. Such transparency would best serve to prevent subsequent large scale fraud in the future. 

3. 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, who, along with the foreign bondholders, would be requested to reduce the average rate of interest on these bonds by two per cent per year. This reduction, if consented, would serve to reduce the country’s Debt by some $114 billion US dollars over the next twenty years. 

4. 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). 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.

5. The final contributor toward improved management of public funds stands to be the Minister of Energy and Water Resources, HE Arthur Nazarian who 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 public declaration by EDL’s higher management.

6. More information on the subject is available to would be enquirers on our blog site at: http://www.a-planned-development.blogspot.com

7. MAY I BE ALLOWED TO CONCLUDE BY FERVENTLY WISHING THAT A PROSPEROUS AND FREE FROM DEBT LEBANON BECOMES A REALITY IN 2032.