​1- The Social and Economic Council

 

However, the founding of the Council was deferred until late 1999 when finally its 71 members were nominated for a three-year term and the Director General and President were appointed, the former being Shia’a and the latter Geek Orthodox by convention. Staffing was set at 52 posts and the Council was headquartered in Downtown, Beirut. During its existence, the Council has not realized any notable achievements except issuing two books on the economic situation and suggested means to address it. In 2011, the term of the Council’s members expired and the Director General retired, leaving the Council in a state of paralysis, which still continues today. Despite the Council’s sluggishness, the state is still paying the rent of its headquarters and paychecks and assigned the Council a budget of LBP 2 billion in 2012.

2- Elissar
By virtue of Decree no. 6918 dated June 29, 1995, Elissar came to light as a public entity in charge of organizing the south-western suburb of Beirut. It is subjected to the administrative authority of the Prime Minister and is tasked with re-planning the south-western suburbs located within the areas of Mazra’a,  Shiyyah and Bourj Al-Barajneh.

A board of directors consisting of six members and respecting the sectarian balance is tasked with managing Elissar. The president of the board serves also as a Grade 1 Director General of Elissar and it has been agreed he should be Maronite. The institution has proved incapable of putting its vision of re-organizing the western suburbs of Beirut into action due to political and partisan considerations, foremost of which is the failure of late PM Rafik Hariri to agree with Hezbollah and the Amal Movement over the project. Twenty years after its inception, Elissar is yet to achieve its goals. However, its torpid performance has not scaled down spending on salaries, rent and expenditure, which stands roughly at LBP 3.3 billion annually. Since its establishment, Elissar has been given advance payments worth around LBP 137 billion to manage its business and cover the cost of the evacuation operations done during the expansion of the airport.

3- Public Authority for Consumer Markets
This authority was established pursuant to Decree no. 5735 dated September 29, 1994. It falls under the authority of the Prime Minister’s office and is tasked with establishing, managing and investing in popular markets. It also aims to raise the awareness of consumers by advising them how to protect themselves from fraud and exploitation as well as to devise and implement, in cooperation with the relevant departments, a comprehensive plan designed to protect consumers, fight monopoly, encourage competition and draft related studies. However, the ultimate accomplishment of this authority was setting up non-fixed facilities to sell vegetables and fruits in the Cité Sportive area and introducing modern facilities in Karantina, most of which remained closed because of a low client turnout. A new Director General, Druze by agreement, was appointed to this authority, which is assigned close to LBP 670 million annually in return for an activity, which, at best, is undetectable. It is worth noting that the Public Authority for Consumer Markets has been given credits worth LBP 16 billion since its establishment to enable the authority to execute its alleged tasks.


4- Higher Council for Privatization
Law no. 228 dated May 31, 2000 stipulated the establishment of the Higher Council for Privatization with a clear objective to initiate, implement and control privatization programs and operations and to propose the general privatization policy and its means of implementation as well as a timetable for the suggested transactions. Although 15 years have lapsed since the Council’s formation, the privatization operations are still halted due to political crises and disputes. Yet, the Council’s General Secretariat continues to exist and is allocated a yearly budget estimated at LBP 4 billion, an amount which it may not even need, let alone spend. 

5- The Syrian Lebanese Higher Council
Based on the Treaty of Brotherhood, Cooperation and Coordination signed between Lebanon and Syria in 1991, the Syrian Lebanese Higher Council was established. Despite the rift that arose between some of the Lebanese and Syrian officials and the fact that the Council held no sessions, its General Secretariat was not dissolved and establishing embassies in the two countries came only to shrink its role even further.  The yearly budget earmarked for the Council stands at roughly LBP 885 million and while some believe that the Council has become useless after the establishment of diplomatic relations between Lebanon and Syria, others object to dissolving the entity arguing that its functions differ from those of the embassies. 

6- Rashid Karami International Fair
Decree-law No. 4027, dated May 4, 1960 stipulated the establishment of the Authority of Lebanon’s Permanent International Fair in Tripoli. Law No. 76, dated August 16, 1991 changed the fair’s name to International Fair of the Late PM Rashid Karami in Tripoli. The name underwent a final amendment by virtue of Law No. 415 on May 15, 1995, and became Tripoli-Lebanon Rashid 
Karami International Fair. The Fair was assigned the following functions:
-    Acquainting people with the resources of Lebanon and other Arab and foreign countries, and keeping traders and industrialists informed of the latest updates in the various production fields.
-    Holding conferences and hosting international organizations.

This state institution falls under the control of the Minister of Economy and Trade with the assistance of the government commissioner, appointed by the minister. It is also subject to the posterior supervision of the Audit Court and the financial monitoring of the Central Inspection.

A board of directors consisting of a Chair and six members appointed by a decree for a renewable three-year term are responsible for running the Fair. The members are public figures active in commerce, industry, agriculture and economy. A Director General is assigned to handle the daily routines and duties of the Fair and to coordinate the work environment. It was agreed that the Director General should be Maronite and the Chair Sunni.

Well-known international architects planned the outline for the establishment and development of the Fair, but most of the plans remained on paper and only one hotel and a few aesthetic structures designed by the architects have materialized. The Fair’s revenues are as small as LBP 500 million while its expenses exceed LBP 1.5 billion to cover the overheads and salaries of 20 personnel. 

7- Railway and Public Transport Authority 
Based on the draft law enacted by Decree no. 6479 dated April 14, a Railway and Public Transport Authority was founded with a clear objective to operate railroads and public transport buses. Rail tracks were all stolen at the onset of the war and buses have ceased to work except for a limited number which operates occasionally. Yet, the authority still employs directors and staff. A new Director General, agreed to be Druze, was appointed recently. The Authority’s expenditures rise to about LBP 12 billion annually. Although the resources of this entity are worth tens of billions of dollars and despite the plans it devised to operate and organize public transportation, it is still awaiting a political decision to live up to its potential and perform more actively. 

All these entities suffer from productivity paralysis and are still standing uselessly, simply because their directors and staff belong to certain sectarian communities and the dissolution of their workplace is deemed an encroachment on the rights and prerogatives of each sect, which seemingly rise above all the financial, administrative and national considerations.