The Lebanese President, General Michel Aoun, said in a speech at the Digital Transformation Conference that he considered digitizing State administrations as an objective and a fundamental part of the economic reform plan.
“It is the gateway to modernizing the State, combating corruption in administrations and reducing brain drain,” the president said.
“With the rapid development of technology in various sectors, State modernization and administrative development have become a necessity, not a luxury,” Aoun maintained.
“While we take slow steps towards e-government, we see that many countries h0ave already stepped into the world of m-government, where citizens can do all transactions in the country via mobile.”
“The administration in Lebanon, despite some attempts at improvement and development in some ministries, is still largely lacking, and no sector can proceed as it should and make an achievement under a management of bureaucratic restraint and with old and traditional techniques,” the president stressed.
“Corruption in administrations is one of the aspects of public corruption, and combating it is necessary at all levels. (…) Digital transformation is a practical measure to end this corruption because it provides transparency, cuts the way for all kinds of bribery, brokering and obstruction, prevents fraud, and also protects archives and ensures easy access to them when needed, thus saving time and effort,” he explained.
“Brain drain is the biggest problem for Lebanon, both economically and socially. We are exporting our most brilliant children abroad, and we are following the news of their successes and creativity abroad, all because their country is unable to secure the suitable job market for their qualifications.”
Aoun stressed that “the project of digital transformation for the government will require a lot of skills and expertise and will allow creative Lebanese to excel in their homeland and by their families’ side.”
“I will leave technology details to specialists, but what I want to emphasize is that defining a strategy for digital transformation is the first step in a project which, if done well, would make Lebanon a pivotal country in digital technology,” the president said, underlining the “hard work done by Minister Inaya Ezzedine and the work team, as well as all those who are entrusted with this project,” wishing those efforts would be crowned with success.
Source: NNA
