Archive | Government

The Only Video You Need To Watch To Understand The Current Crisis

By Rami on November 19, 2019 in Economy, Government

Back in July when the parliament was discussing the budget for the year 2019, not a lot of people probably focused much on the lawmakers’ speeches since most of them actually criticized it, but we were all amused by what MP Salim Saade had to say about falsifying our deficit in order to get the CEDRE funds “They [CEDRE donors] know that we are lying to them, and we know that they know that we are lying to them!”.

However, his joke was in fact a very small part of a thorough explanation for everything that has led to the economic and financial crisis that we are currently going through. Back in July, that economist had a very clear idea of where Lebanon was heading to, while other MPs and ministers were either not listening or making sarcastic comments instead of asking him to elaborate his claims further, they literally seemed uncocerned and it clearly shows in the below video which I highly recommend you watch. It is 24 minutes long and will explain to your the real reasons for the current state we are in now.

If you are interested in following similar experts who say things as they about our situation, then I recommend you check Nassim Taleb and Dan Azzi on twitter. (The latter regularly publishes interesting articles in Annahar and Al-Akhbar newspapers)

Beirut is Choking on its Traffic And It Wont Get Better!

By Rami on February 28, 2018 in Government, Social

Traffic around Beirut is seriously unbearable these days. I know the increasing number of cars keep making it worse every year but it is just frustrating now with the road works at major highways.

With the construction of the L bridges in Jal El Dib now, 2 lanes from each side of the highway have been closed and I can imagine how awful it is for people using that route everyday. On the other hand, the southern entrance is also no better, road works are being conducted on the airport highway and 2 lanes have also been closed on its eastern side.

What’s puzzling though is that when such works are performed on vital roads, the government does not bother to oblige the contractor to work day and night shifts to finish whatever they’re doing in the least number of days. I’ve never someone working after 5 or 6 PM on the airport road for example and no one seems to care…

Much needed maintenance is currently also being done for Salim Salam tunnel by the way, but fortunately only during the night. However, I lately heard that at some point it will be totally closed day and night for 7 whole months in order to complete the whole work! I already get stuck for 25 minutes sometimes to cross the distance from Beirut Sports City to Salim Salam, and I imagine it will be hell if the news turned to be true!

And of course it doesn’t just stop at Beirut main entrances, some inside roads are closed in fear of terrorist attacks, but I don’t believe this is justified anymore especially that the authorities claim the situation is very well “controlled” nowadays. The blocks around ESCWA in downtown, General Security in Mathaf, as well as Adlieh all don’t make sense anymore. The one at ESCWA isn’t even logical since it gets lifted by 5 or 6PM everyday because you know, terrorists don’t work overtime.

What’s funny though is that blocks around Nejmeh Square have all been lifted as if the parliament is suddenly no longer a target, so we should probably wait until other places get also suddenly lifted from target lists!

Now some may suggest there must be a solution by at minimum improving the public transport system, but in a country that scores so low on corruption perception index thanks to highly inefficient officials, you better instead look for fun things to do when stuck in you car during the days to come!

It’s 2017 and The General Security Just Started Accepting Debit/Credit Cards

By Rami on August 25, 2017 in Government

Although the General Security is probably the only governmental institution that you feel is actually efficient with its smooth operations, but no one can deny that fee payment there can really be irritating sometimes.

You probably have been through it too, each time I renewed my passport I had to bring that exact renewal fees in Lebanese Lira in addition to -god knows why- a photocopy of the bills! And yes, carrying dollars instead is guaranteed to delay your application a bit until you go exchange the money… but it seems like those days are long gone.

I was on my way to work this morning when I noticed several billboards announcing that the General Security has just started accepting payment cards to settle application fees. I know it may sound silly to some but it’s definitely a life saver for others, especially those who do not have the luxury to spend an extended time to submit a simple application form.

And now that this governmental institution seems to have caught up with “modern” payment methods, let’s hope for others such as municipalities or Electricité du Liban (HA HA HA!) to follow suit and hopefully even offer online payments. It’s 2017 for god’s sake!!

P.S: I couldn’t find any online article about this new service except for this post on Blom Bank’s FB page announcing their partnership with the General Security to make it happen.

The Problem With The New Red Light Cameras in Beirut

By Rami on February 18, 2017 in Government, Law

The traffic management center in Lebanon recently installed some red light cameras around Beirut in order to enforce traffic laws by automatically photographing people who run red lights or those who stop their cars on red AFTER the white stop bar. In their first tests, they unsurprisingly were able to record a violation every 8 seconds!

However, while the installation of these cameras is just logical in order to ensure the new traffic law is fully applied, you cant but feel that it is an ill-timed step… I mean let’s be honest, the majority of those who apply for a driving license show up on their test day to sign some papers and end up getting their license no matter how poor their knowledge about traffic laws is, and I really doubt most drivers are aware that you’re not supposed to stop the cars after the white bar on a red light. In fact, if you abide by this rule don’t be surprised to see people cutting you off and stopping in front of you…

The ultimate purpose for applying traffic rules is to reduce road accidents and avoid traffic jams. So it it were up to me, I would have allocated this project money to educate the masses and recruit additional police officers to ensure that the basic laws are applied. Till now, wherever you go in Beirut you see taxi cars and minibuses picking up passengers wherever they please on the road. Moreover, double parking is like norm everywhere… solving these two problems alone should guarantee making the traffic smoother all over the city. Let alone other problems caused by asshole motorbikers and pedestrians who insist on crossing the road no matter what color is the traffic light.

But then again, someone now thinks it is time to erect these cameras regardless of any other priorities, so brace yourselves, tickets are coming!

Drugs Price List in Lebanon Now Available Online

By Rami on June 11, 2016 in Government, Health

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The Ministry of Public Health released their new website and mobile app a few days ago, and among the new services they now offer is a listing of the available drugs in Lebanon along with their official prices so you can compare them with the prices set by your local pharmacy and know if you’re being overcharged, in addition to the ability to compare a certain drug to its available alternatives having the same formula.

This is definitely a good step forward by the ministry to identify the pharmacies that do not abide by the set prices, and ensure that consumers are getting their medicine at a fair price.

The drugs price list is available both on the ministry’s website and the mobile app for iOS and Android.

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