Taif Agreement and the Council

In 1989, the Taif Agreement stipulated the establishment of a socio-economic council for development, which guarantees the participation of all sectors’ representatives in formulating the national economic and social policies, through their provision of consultations and suggestions. Therefore, the council has no executive responsibilities and its function remains at the advisory level.

Birth and Functions

The birth of the Council was deferred for over five years, until finally Law No. 389 was issued on January 12, 1995 and determined the functions of the Council as follows:

• Secure partaking by economic, social and professional sectors in formulating opinions and consultation which assist state social and economic policies.
• Developing inter-dialogue, cooperation and coordination between various social, economic and professional sectors

The Prime Minister may refer to the Council requests to formulate opinions and make research over matters of a professional, social and economic nature.

Structure

The Council consists of 71 members representing all professional sectors. The Cabinet and, upon the PM’s suggestion defines by decree those bodies that are more representative of the various sectors that make up the Council. The bodies shall submit a candidates’ list with three times the actual number of posts allotted so that the PM can at least choose the proper number befitting these bodies.

Members, serving for three years each, are distributed as follows:

• Employers: 15 members
• Liberal professionals: 11 members
• Labor syndicates: 22 members
• Cooperatives: 2 members
• Social institutions: 5 members
• Intellectuals and specialists: 10 members
• Lebanese expatriates: 6 members

Those members make up the General Assembly tasked with electing a 9-member board, which in turn, elects a President and a Vice President. Board members are not entitled to any indemnities.

The Council has 8 committees, each including 7 to 11 General Assembly members.

• General Economic Affairs Committee (planning- fiscal and economic policies)
• General Social Affairs Committee (health- housing and cooperatives)
• Human Development Committee (culture and education- training and rehabilitation- women- the handicapped)
• Productive Activities Committee (industry- commerce- funds- insurance- energy)
• Science, Technology and Standards Committee (research and quality management)
• Environment and Tourism Committee (environment- tourism- urban planning- transportation)
• Agricultural and Regional Affairs Committee (regional affairs- agricultural- rural development)
• Business and Profession Affairs Committee (social security- unemployment- artisan sector)

Each committee has right to form ad-hoc committees, if necessary to its work.

Organization and Staff

A General Directorate comprising 3 departments, 5 divisions and 2 bureaus is established within the Economic and Social Council.

• Department for Financial and Administrative Affairs (Accounting Division- Administrative and Staff Affairs Division)
• Department of Statistics, Informatics and Publication (Statistics Division- Informatics Division- Library and Publications’ Division)
• Secretariat Department (Chairman’s Secretariat Bureau- Board Secretariat and Committees Bureau)

There are 52 staff in the Economic and Social Council distributed as follows:

• Grade 1: 1 employee
• Grade 2: 3 employees
• Grade 3: 18 employees
• Grade 4: 18 employees
• Grade 5: 12 employees

Council Formation

The delay in the issuance of the council formation law was followed by another delay in appointing the members of the most representative bodies. The appointment finally materialized in 1999 by virtue of a decree that respected the sectarian balance and gave the presidency over the Council to the Greek Orthodox (Roger Nasnas was elected Chairman) and the General Directorate to the Shia’a.

Budget

The budget of the Council fell under a clause within the budget of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers. It stood at LBP 2.2 billion in the 2001 budget and went down to LBP 1.5 billion in the 2010 draft budget. The spending of these funds is subject to the posterior supervision of the Audit Court.

Achievements

No new appointments were made following the expiry of the Council’s term, and the Director General moved into retirement without assigning a successor to his post. The Council is inactive nowadays due to lack of appointments, but even during its 5-year operation, it hasn’t realized any notable achievements that would remind the Lebanese of its presence and functions. All it has done was to issue a book summarizing its vision of the economic conditions and organize a number of conferences and seminars. The Council should either be dissolved or revived within a new economic scope far from the sectarian and political quotas, which have been fundamental in paralyzing its productivity and transforming it, into another public administration lacking efficiency and thus adding extra burdens on the Lebanese and the state.