Lebanon needs new management

How far do we have still to fall? That’s the question on every Lebanese mind, at least those sober enough to think straight and who haven’t succumbed to the hedonistic cult of summer sweeping the country! Lebanon needs better, demands better management, the only way out of our never-ending crisis is to sack the whole lot of them!

…And the band played, the cigars were smoked and the finest cognacs’ drunk, as the people danced while the great ship sank beneath them.

 

Lebanon is not the SS Titanic, certainly we are far more fragile, and as many would suggest, our ship has already sunk, and we are all dancing and singing underwater right now! But it is fair to ask how far we have left to fall since the falling isn’t done yet, although we’re closer to rock bottom, that much is certain.

 

The much awaited parliamentary elections produced a sickening combination of self-aggrandizing and self-serving wishful thinkers who still carry the banner of so-called revolution, and the same old, lame and dysfunctional bazaar traders and legacy parties along with a few delusional dreamers of reform and change. The election of the speaker of parliament and his deputy showed us all who is really in control of that body, so whatever laws come out of it will probably tend to serve the broken and corrupt system, its politicians, senior bureaucrats and their backers both at home and abroad. In short, nothing much has changed.

 

Of course, that’s not entirely true, things keep changing all the time, time keeps ticking along and passing, interest keeps accumulating, default is expensive, people keep needing food and medicine and fuel, so reserves are dwindling. What hasn’t changed is the mind set of those mini dictators that rule our lives and the political forces that support them and keep the corrupt machinery of state running. None accept the need to step aside or to take radical measures to begin to place Lebanon on the right track, they all seem to think we have plenty of time and small measured steps will eventually set things right. Normally, I’m all for well-considered and measured steps, but not now. We need immediate urgent help.

 

The strike of public sector employees has impacted commerce and cross border trade, the last remaining life line for the country, which keeps the dollars coming in. It has also strangled the state’s revenue stream. No tax and fee collectors, no taxes, no state revenue. That’s a simple way of putting it.

 

The IMF deal on which many pin their hopes has all but stalled at the doors of parliament who’s committee’s are busily but measuredly studying and debating each and every minute detail of the government’s reform plan and its concomitant laws. I agree they should study them carefully, if government’s past history is anything to go by, they’ll use new laws to find new ways to fund government from what little fresh dollars come to us from abroad.

 

In short, revolution MPs or no, parliament continues to move at a glacial pace. The IMF deal will not come soon enough to save us. We need something more immediate and urgent and comprehensive. 

 

I hate to say it, but we need to suspend democracy and the constitution. We need a strong military in control in the meantime, led by a strong army general who is acceptable to the Americans. There is no other way.

 

But apart from ensuring the security and safety and stability of the country, the army shouldn’t run the country, that should be entrusted to people with experience running government efficiently and creating a business friendly atmosphere, while strictly enforcing laws without exception across the length and breadth of the land and making sure corruption is curtailed entirely.

 

I feel the UAE would be the best country to take on this gargantuan task, under UN mandate of course and with the Arab League’s seal of approval. There are no precise precedents for this, except the very bad example of the League of Nations mandate for Syria and Palestine, that was a thinly veiled attempt to manage Arab political aspirations and expectations by badly weakened imperialist countries. Nonetheless, the UAE has the skill sets to restructure government and root out all corruption and inefficiency from the system. 

I was fortunate enough to have lived in the UAE, specifically Dubai, in the 1990s, the growth and transformation years. The change was palpable back then especially in government departments of the Emirate of Dubai, as the ruler of that emirate, Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid began to transform the public sector entirely through the Dubai Government Excellence Program and Awards, which incentivized every department to continuously improve and strive to beat all the other departments for the top spot. Dubai made public sector services a competitive sport.

 

Sports, that’s a good analogy. Most sports people don’t do what they do to be second best, they keep lean and fit and train hard to stay on top of their game and exceed their own best previous performance. Imagine if our government ministries were like that, exceeding our expectations every time we need them. The fact is, we have a lot to learn and long way to go yet and the UAE is the best teacher.

 

I know I’m hardly objective, having spent 29 years in the UAE I feel like more of an adopted son of that country than a one-time expat. I know, it sounds silly, but it’s how I feel. The UAE taught me a great deal, I am what I am thanks to my time spent in that amazing country and I am deeply grateful. I continue to resist doing things “the Lebanese way” even now and instead insist on doing them the right way, the way I was taught. 

I wonder how it would work though, I wonder if the UAE would even consider taking on such a task, or if it’s even diplomatically and politically tenable, and what of Hezbollah? How will they respond to such a proposal? But, I guess one can dream and hope.