Lebanese President Emile Lahoud said Monday that the state was determined to press ahead with overhauling the public administration.
“There is no reversing these measures, especially those concerning the appointment of senior civil servants,” Lahoud told visitors, adding that any attempt to sabotage the policy would fail, the Daily Star quoted him as saying.
On Friday, Lahoud endorsed the government’s decision to appoint a special committee charged with establishing a mechanism for hiring senior civil servants.
Lahoud was quoted as saying that the move represented “a basic step on the road to modernizing the public administration.”
He also said the new law would put the “right person in the right position” and prevent the doling out of jobs on the basis of personal connections.
The paper said the president was anxious to have the draft law submitted to a parliamentary plenary session as soon as possible to pave the way for the appointment of senior civil servants.
However, MP Nicolas Fattoush criticized the move, saying it contradicted Article 65 of the Constitution.
Speaking to reporters at Beirut Airport prior to an official visit to Australia, Fattoush said the article gave the cabinet sole authority to make such appointments without resorting to any committee comprising non-cabinet members.
Former premier Salim Hoss also criticized the draft law, predicting that the committee “would not prevent the intervention of politicians in the process of appointing senior civil servants.” – Albawaba.com
