In the framework of the project "Reinventing Government 2030" launched by the Minister of State for Administrative Reform, and in cooperation with Beirut Arab University – Faculty of Business Administration, a consultative meeting was held as part of the “Stakeholder Aspirations” stage, in the presence of His Excellency the Minister of State for Administrative Reform, Dr. Fadi Makki.
This meeting comes in the context of a national initiative aimed at involving stakeholders in discussing administrative reform priorities and future directions, and enhancing trust between citizens and public administrations and institutions. The meeting was attended by former Minister Dr. Alain Hakim, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Bir Wal Ihsan and Chairman of the University's Board of Trustees Dr. Ammar Houry, University Secretary General Dr. Omar Houri, Dean of the Business Administration faculty Professor Mohamed Abdel Azim Abo El Naga, Assistant Dean Professor Hanadi Taher, University Deans, along with a number of professors and students, and representatives from civil society and the public sector.
The meeting began with a welcoming speech by the Professor Hanadi Taher, who spoke about the importance of this project and its scientific perspective, in order to serve the development of public policies and administration in Lebanon.
Professor Abo El Naga, affirmed that the goal is always to put the government on the doorstep of efficiency, effectiveness, and responsiveness, by working with several unconventional approaches such as: the Customer-Centric Approach and dealing with citizens as customers, the Entrepreneurial Management approach to enhance innovation and competition within government entities, the Management By Objective approach to focus on desired outcomes rather than procedural aspects, as well as the approach of using Market Mechanisms and competition instead of bureaucratic mechanisms, also the Decentralization approach by transferring decision-making authority to lower organizational levels to increase responsiveness and flexibility, and the Privatization approach, by introducing private sector competition to government services, and even privatizing some functions to increase efficiency.
Dr. Makki then presented the Ministry's vision for modernizing state administrations and institutions, pointing to the most prominent challenges hindering their effectiveness such as the slow pace of job modernization, outdated laws and procedures, weak organizational structures, low effectiveness of the wage system, in addition to the fragility of the digital infrastructure and the absence of accountability and impunity. He stressed that confronting these challenges requires rebuilding the public sector on the foundations of competence and transparency, away from favoritism, leading to the crystallization of a new social contract that restores trust between the citizen and the administration.
He also reviewed the three phases of the “Reinventing Government 2030” plan, starting with establishing the foundations and the comprehensive vision, passing through the preparation of the master plan for public sector reform, and culminating in the implementation of a radical transformation process affecting the structure of public administrations and institutions by 2030. He explained that the preparatory phase for preparing the plan extends over three months, after which the master plan will be developed to determine how the practical strategy will be implemented, whether in terms of merging or abolishing some administrations, or defining the type of jobs and the number of employees, among other essential matters.
The meeting concluded with interventions and questions from the attendees, which reflected the interest of academics and students in the role of public administration in shaping a more efficient and transparent future for the Lebanese state.
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