Facts

In June 2011, the Ministry of Education and Higher Education received an invitation from the Secretary General of the Arab Union for Physical Education and School Sports to participate in the Arab Schools’ Championship hosted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the city of Al-Taif between September 24, 2011 and October 7, 2011.

On August 13, 2011, the Ministry confirmed its intention to participate and referred the matter to the Cabinet for approval, requesting funding worth LBP 90 million to be able to attend. Given that the Cabinet had still not approved of the funding by the date of departure, Mr. Adnan Hammoud, Head of the Sports and Scout Activities Unit, decided to bear the costs of the delegation’s trip, training and equipment as well as the fees of participation in the championship. As part of the arrangement, the Cabinet issued Decision No. 124, dated October 5, 2011 whereby it approved Lebanon’s participation in the tournament and the transfer of the funds necessary from the Budget Reserves to cover the necessary expenses. The Ministry of Education and Higher Education later devised a reconciliation agreement to repay Mr. Hammoud and the agreement was approved by the Legislation Advisory Committee at the Ministry of Justice on November 28, 2011.

Delegation

The delegation formed by Minister of Education and Higher Education, Hassan Diab, consisted of 50 members:

Source: Minutes of Cabinet session dated 5-10-2011

Distribution of Expenses

The expenses amounted to LBP 90.054 million and broke down as follows:

• Airline tickets: LBP 27,597,000 or LBP 525,000 per ticket
• Accommodation and transport expenses in the KSA: LBP 40,099,000
• Equipment and training: LBP 18,721,000
• Contribution to the Arab Union for Physical Education and School Sports: LBP 3 million
• Insurance: LBP 300,000
• Tips: LBP 240,000
• Medications: LBP 97,000

While some of the above expenses may seem feasible, skepticism surrounds the costs reported for accommodation and transport as well as those pertaining to training and equipment, particularly as accommodation expenses are incumbent on the host country. Therefore the allocated amount might have been spent on the participation of team members and administrators at an average of USD 50 per diem.

Lebanon’s attendance in the championships, and more specifically the means of funding to enable its attendance, lead to the following remarks:

What are the motives and reasons that might push a civil servant to finance such a trip and to cover participation fees from his personal money prior to the Cabinet’s approval? If the Cabinet had refused to approve the funding, who would have paid him back?

Why would the Cabinet delay in approving the funding for several weeks, thus entailing a financial reconciliation agreement with the right holder and subsequently an approval from the Legislation Advisory Committee?

What is the point of such a large multiple-member delegation at a time when the country’s public finances are in such a precarious state?

Why did the government not seek private sponsorship for this event so as to spare the Treasury further spending, even if many considered it to be modest and relatively affordable (USD 40,000)?