Elie Khoury

In one of his recent TV interviews Dimyanos Kattar was very successful in not only describing the “Corruption Phenomenon”, but also in presenting guidelines for dealing with this complex and difficult issue.

Corruption is a vicious phenomenon in all societies. It is a global problem encountered by all the nations. In Lebanon, this problem has a bigger dimension due to a weak central state and due to the fact that this matter was never a top priority for consecutive governments. It takes more than declarations to put anti-corruption and reform plans into action.

Kattar defines several levels of Corruption. Tips (Bakh-shish) are the most primitive form of corruption. Bribery (Al Rashwah) is a more complex form of Corruption where the beneficiary of the service is ready to give sums of money to the party facilitating his formalities. The most sophisticated form of Corruption is Blackmail (Al Istifzaz). It is a situation where public officers do not allow a citizen to have access to a service or formality unless the citizen pays them important rewards. This is the most dangerous form of corruption as it hinders economic activity.

The young generations are ”antibiotics” against corruption according to Kattar. The youth carries a high level of ideals and values. Government should have well studied civic educational programs that promote the development of an anti-corruption culture.

On the other hand, the Lebanese state should reinforce its central control and audit organizations to ensure that all public spending is properly controlled with respect to laws and regulations. Public officers will also be recruited based on the competence criteria and the Council for Civil Service will have the upper hand in that process.

In parallel, the government shall gradually tackle reforms in various sectors over the coming period. Each sector shall be studied at a time. All citizens will have access to their rights through corrupt free channels in a continuing manner. The first sector to address is Health Care.