The Administration and Justice Committee held a session today, Tuesday, in the parliamentary council chaired by MP George Adwan, with the presence of several members of parliament and representatives from the relevant administrations. After the session, MP Adwan stated that he raised the topic of the forensic audit report and mentioned that some have indicated there may be clauses in the contract signed with the state regarding confidentiality and non-disclosure of information. He reiterated that the Minister of Finance, Youssef Khalil, is required to send this report as soon as possible.
If he claims that this report is not final, we demand to be informed when it will become final, what reasons make it non-final, and what he means by the report being non-final. Is it subject to modification, or will it be completed through questions, clarifications, and additional information? All of this needs clarification.
Regarding confidentiality and non-confidentiality, Adwan said, "All of this is invalid after Law 233 was approved in 2021, as Article Five of this law states literally that clauses of confidentiality included in any contracts the Lebanese state enters into do not prevent access to them." Therefore, if some wish to invoke the existence of confidentiality in any clause, the Law on Access to Information has nullified this secrecy, and we are thus awaiting the complete information regarding this report to act accordingly.
He added, "The other topics discussed in today’s session relate to how to deal with Syrians present in Lebanon, regarding setting all controls to prevent their naturalization through illegal transactions. The second topic is clinical pharmacy, and both issues will be followed up in upcoming sessions."
