Corruption in Lebanon

Corruption in Lebanon (Arabic: الفساد في لبنان) has been a severe and persistent problem after the end of the civil war in 1990. It has been described as a case of "post-conflict corruption."^[1] Once a taboo subject, it is now at the forefront of the public debate in Lebanon.^[2] Anti-corruption sentiment has been one of the driving forces behind many of the large-scale Lebanese protests in recent history.

History

Transparency International's 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index, which scored 180 countries on a scale from 0 ("highly corrupt") to 100 ("very clean"), gave Lebanon a score of 22, its lowest score ever. When ranked by score, Lebanon ranked 154th among the 180 countries in the Index, where the country ranked first is perceived to have the most honest public sector.^[3] For comparison with regional scores, the average score among Middle Eastern and North African countries^{[Note 1]} was 39. The best score among Middle Eastern and North African countries was 68 and the worst score was 12).^[4] For comparison with worldwide scores, the average score was 43, the best score was 90 (ranked 1), and the worst score was 8 (ranked 180).^[5]

According to Charles Adwan, Director of the Lebanese Transparency Association, "the extension of wartime elites into the post-war political system, a common feature in post-conflict countries [fr], resulted in a system which removed all checks and balances and facilitated the diversion of state resources for private financial and political gain".^[1] Government officials reportedly often award contracts to friends and family, leading to many of the country's problems like daily power cuts. Many working-class Lebanese citizens rely on economic assistance from their party which stops them from speaking up against the system or bringing them to justice, despite widespread opposition.^[6][7] Lebanon's government works within the framework of confessionalism, with parliamentary seats and other government positions allocated by religious confession. Many members of government have been in power since the Lebanese Civil War, with mere shuffling of positions every election cycle. Many blame this system for the country's continued corruption.

Corruption happens on every level of society and is not strictly limited to high-level officials. As in many neighboring countries, using what is locally known as wasta or personal family and party connections to get favors like skipping a long queue, getting into a selective institution, or finding a job is common practice and has become the social norm. Although many believe that using wasta is understandable for each individual case as institutions are often inefficient without it, it is also agreed upon that the social phenomenon deepens economic inequality.^[8]

Public reaction and opposition

Anti-corruption sentiment has been one of the driving forces behind many of the large scale Lebanese protests in recent history. Notably the 2015–2016 Lebanese protests sparked by the closure of a waste dump without a plan which triggered a "garbage crisis"^[9] and the 2019–2020 Lebanese protests sparked by an increase in taxes^[10][11]

Many anti-system parties run on anti-corruption platforms, most notably Beirut Madinati, which ran during the 2016 Beirut municipal election.^[12] Although the party lost, it gained unprecedented traction for an outsider party in Lebanon's otherwise rigid political status quo.^[13] With 40% of the votes, it forced the March 14 Alliance and the March 8 Alliance, historical opponents, to form a coalition in order to win^[14]

Contaminated fuel scandal

In July 2020, Lebanese company ZR Energy was indicted, as it had imported contaminated fuel from Algerian company Sonatrach, which costed $2bn worth of fuel deliveries per year.^[15][16][17]

Beirut port explosion

On 4 August 2020, an explosion at the port of Beirut killed at least 190 people, injured more than 6,500, and left around 300,000 people homeless, as well as costing an estimated $15bn in damages.^[18] The blast was caused by 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate that had been stored unsafely in a warehouse.^[19] Many attribute the explosion to government negligence and corruption, and among its results were the eruption of protests all over Lebanon and the resignation of the entire cabinet, with the government remaining in a caretaker capacity.^[20] Domestic investigations into the explosion have been repeatedly delayed, obstructed and blocked by Hezbollah leaders, by threatening the presiding judge and orchestrating political manipulations.^{[20][21][22][23]} The two main foci of the investigation were Ali Hassan Khalil, a former finance minister and Ghazi Zaiter, a former public works minister, both belonging to the Amal movement, strongly allied with Hezbollah.^[24] Senior officials refused to show up for investigation, and four years after the explosion there were still no arrests made.^[25]

Anti-corruption organizations

There are some NGO's fighting corruption in Lebanon:^[26]

• Lebanese Transparency Association, which is Transparency International's chapter in Lebanon, focuses on curbing corruption and promoting the principles of good governance.^[27]
• Sakker El Dekkene: aims to raise public awareness about the dangers of corruption and its high cost to the economy, and to promote a culture of integrity and good governance in Lebanon.^[28]
• Junior Chamber International (JCI): a non-profit organization of 200,000 young people, ages 18 to 40, who are in Lebanon.^[29]
• The Lebanese Advocacy and Legal Advice Centre Archived 2021-01-26 at the Wayback Machine (LALAC): an initiative launched by the Lebanese Transparency Association-No Corruption. It aims to inform citizens about their legal rights and encourages victims and witnesses to take action against cases of corruption.^[30]

Notes

1. Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen