The National Economy, Industry, and Trade Committee held a session this morning at the Parliament, chaired by MP Farid Bustani, with the presence of the Minister of Interior and Municipalities in the caretaker government, Bassam Mawlawi.
Bustani pointed out after the session that "the Economic Committee met today, and we hosted the Minister of Interior and the Governor of Beirut, Marwan Abboud. The meeting was good and technical, and we had previously convened and issued recommendations, which the committee discussed during this session."
He added, "The important thing is to reinstate employees who have not been convicted back to their jobs regarding the 'Nafaa' (driver's license authority), and we are calling for an inquiry from the Civil Service Council. Anyone without a criminal record should return to their job, and then we can gradually reopen the centers. The committee called for a comprehensive plan for the 'Nafaa' centers and inquired about the release of funds for the Traffic Management Authority. Concerning the $50 fee for car registration, the governor stated that this is a form of brokerage, and the minister requested to be informed of the name of the employee or broker responsible for this."
He continued, "Regarding the fact-finding committee on the 'Nafaa' issue, we must reach a conclusion, and one colleague called for increased oversight of employees," urging the resolution of employee salaries. As for the tariffs, he stated, "A lengthy working session will be held as I have prepared a technical report on corruption."
He added, "The second topic is how we will come up with an economic vision, and I hope that a president will be elected, and a government formed. We will issue the economic vision before the ministerial statement to assist them. We will study the McKinsey plan and try to update it. I requested that members of the committee join us with deputies from the agriculture, economy, and tourism committees. The first meeting will be next week, after which we will meet with international bodies, and when we finish the meetings, we will present the matter to the Speaker of Parliament, who welcomed these ideas. I thank the cooperation of the Minister of Interior and all committee members for their participation in the economic issue and the 'Nafaa' file."
