Minister Jean Oghassabian held a bilateral press conference with EU Ambassador in Lebanon Patrick Laurent during which he presented the projects financed by the European Union and managed by the Office of the Minister of State for Administrative Reform that are divided into accomplished projects and projects under completion. Officials from clusters, municipalities and non-governmental organizations concerned in the projects attended the press conference.
Minister Oghassabian confirmed the importance of these projects that support the society basis and foundation starting from promoting the development in Lebanon and encouraging the villages and municipalities to provide the best for the local community and consolidate the rule of law, justice and democracy. The minister also confirmed the positive cooperation with the European Union and offered his respect and thanks for its constant development, economic and political support. This support accentuates the independence path, strengthens and reforms the Lebanese Government and stimulates the Lebanese community through the opportunities that these projects present such as the employment opportunities, the development and the exchange of expertise.
Technical presentation
Minister Oghassabian proceeded with a technical presentation of the projects financed by the European Union and managed by the Office of the Minister of State for Administrative Reform and stated that these projects would not have been successful without the fruitful and committed cooperation of our local communities and municipalities as well as the civil society and associations. Minister Oghassabian explained that these projects are divided into 4 sections: funding the investment projects in the fields of Solid Waste Management, the local governance project through the support for economic rectification, local development and reconstruction and building of Infrastructure, the Master Plan for the Development of the ICT Infrastructure and System Applications of the Judiciary Sector and AFKAR project to support the Lebanese Civil Society.
Patrick Laurent: the funds amount is currently 65 million euros :
The head of the Delegation of the European Commission in Lebanon Ambassador Patrick Laurent confirmed that the cooperation that began in 2000 between the European Union and the Office of the Minister of State for Administrative Reform carries on and represents a major financing source to Lebanon reaching 65 million euros between 2000 and 2008. This cooperation has facilitated the creation of unique partnership with active parties capable of producing changes in the municipalities and the civil communities. He also confirmed that the cooperation between the European Union and the Office of the Minister of State for Administrative Reform is continuous and progressive.
The details of the projects presented by Minister Oghassabian as prepared by the Office of the Minister of State for Administrative Reform:
The financing of investment projects in the field of Solid Waste Management :
The amount of contract signed by the end of last year reached 6,300,000 euros and will reach 6,550,000 euros by the end of this year.
The major accomplishments of last year were the establishment of Solid Waste Management Facilities for each of the Union of Municipalities of Tyre and Chouf Es-Swajani and the municipalities of Ansar and Al Khiyam. Thousands of containers to transport and collect solid waste were supplied to different Lebanese regions. The major works for this year included the follow-up on the building of facilities for the treatment of solid waste management which is under completion, the launching of tender documents and the implementation of the work for the facilities of solid waste management in the Union of Municipalities of Jbeil, Al Miniyeh, Baalbeck, Upper Meten, the municipalities of Michmich and Abbasiyeh as well as the facility for solid waste treatment in the Union of Municipalities of Fayhaa.
Local governance support project :
This project is divided into 2 phases: the first phase was accomplished with 4 million euros of funds and the second phase that is being completed with 9,570,000 euros of funds. This project aims the reinforcement of the economic situation in the clusters through the construction and rehabilitation of the infrastructure and the public services and the capacity building in the 12 groups of municipalities in the various Lebanese regions.
Afkar project to support the Lebanese civil society:
This project supports the local Lebanese community. It started in 2004 with one million euro of funds that allowed the implementation of 16 projects for non governmental Lebanese organizations. The success of this project resulted in Afkar2 with 3 millions euros of funds. Afkar2 continues until 2011 and supports the implementation of 24 projects for non governmental Lebanese organizations that promote the rule of law and dialogue.
The project for the Development of the ICT Infrastructure and System Applications of the Judiciary Sector:
This project allows the application of modern and efficient criteria adopted on the international level that aims on promoting and developing the legal body through a thorough application of the ICT infrastructure. This project will be executed on several stages for 4 years. The European Commission expressed the interest of the European Union to provide funds of 10 million euros.
The Office of the Minister of State for Administrative Reform has executed Arla Program which was donated by the European Union by the amount of 38 million euros and aims at implementing a series of project to develop the public administration in Lebanon, the modernization of the control agencies and central statistics and the training of employees.