Under the APPLE C (Apply Public Procurement Law to End Corruption) initiative, LIMS has published policy briefs scrutinizing the Ministry of Energy and Water’s troubled public tender for the removal of chemical materials from the oil facilities in Tripoli and Zahrani. Despite launching the tender earlier this year, the Ministry has faced repeated failures, relaunching it five times within a span of fewer than five months.
LIMS attributed these repeated failures to a series of irregularities made by the Ministry in the tendering process, raising serious concerns about the Ministry’s ability to manage contracts effectively—or, potentially, the intentional nature of these setbacks to deter legitimate offers and favor a certain company without a transparent bidding process.
LIMS added that the 2021 Public Procurement Law, which shifted contracting authority from the Tender Department to individual ministries, inadvertently empowered ministers to influence tender outcomes. This has allowed ministries to tailor processes to benefit specific companies, often by shortening the announcement period to limit competition. These practices undermine the core intent of procurement law, which is to ensure competition and secure the best services at the lowest possible prices. By narrowing the pool of potential bidders, ministries not only jeopardize the quality and cost-effectiveness of contracts but also erode public trust in the integrity of the procurement process.
LIMS proposed an amendment to the law that would transfer contracting authority back to the Public Procurement Authority, thereby reducing ministerial influence over tender outcomes. Such a move, LIMS argued, would restore the law’s original intent, opening contracts to broader competition and ensuring that both local and international companies can participate on a level playing field.
- Electricity Issues and Administrative Collapse: Who is Strangling the Economy? July 24, 2024: VDL, Audio Interview AR
- Electricity Providers in Lebanon: ‘Privatization’ Undermined and Continuous Financial Hemorrhage, July 17, 2024: Aliwaa, Article AR
- Parliamentary Proposal Allows Beirut Municipality to Issue Electricity Licenses… What Does the Law Say?, July 16, 2024: Annahar, Article AR
- “Electricité du Liban” Has Caused Two Historic Collapses of the Lebanese Pound… Is It Time for “Municipal Electricity”? July 9, 2024: Lebanon24, Article AR
- The Regulatory Authority: A Decisive Role in Addressing the Electricity Crisis… and the “Minister” Prevents Its Birth! July 13, 2024: Aliwaa, Article AR
- Mardini Explains to “Sawt Beirut” the Causes of the Electricity Crisis and Proposes Solutions, July 12, 2024: Sawtbeirut, Article AR
- What Role of “EDL” After the Enactment of “Cheaper” Clean Energy? The Regulatory Authority for the Electricity Sector Awaits the Decision to Establish It, July 30, 2024: Annahar, Article AR
- Fakrajian: Competition Solves the Electricity Crisis, July 30, 2024: Beirut Podcast, Video Interview AR