[ad_1]
The “test balloon” launched by Diab, promoting Khoury, brought to light the criteria that will govern the appointments, the mechanism on which they will be based and the participation of the parties in them. However, according to the information, it seems that there is still evasion of the practical application of any unified mechanism for appointments, under the pretext that the minister has constitutional powers and that he has the right to propose to the ministry that he is responsible for filling the vacancies. in first class jobs. This constitutional “right” has long been used by some to disregard a specific mechanism. As long as there are no constitutional amendments, nothing will change.
The appointment mechanism in the state is not a purely administrative or technical matter, but rather the fiercest battle waged by the forces of power. Any mechanism that respects the rules will constitute an obstacle that will prevent these forces from gaining influence within the institutions. If not, what explains the lack of agreement on a unified mechanism ten years ago? Although these same powers, opponents and allies, were able to agree to the end of the parliamentary and municipal elections, the elections law and appointments (judicial, security and diplomatic) … but they remained “unable” to approve a mechanism for appointments . This is explained by the fact that the best weapon in which the political forces dominate the system are the administrative positions of the state. Through these positions, the political forces were able to build their “deep states” within the institutions, in accordance with the sectarian and sectarian divide, in a way that allowed them to tighten their control, even if they were left out of government.
Last week, the information indicated a close agreement on the adoption of the mechanism that was implemented by former Minister Mohamed Fneish in 2010 and agreed by the government at the time. However, with the amendments made in accordance with the deadlines stipulated in the proposed law to amend the mechanism in the first category in public administrations, and in accordance with the amendments made by the Administration and Justice Committee headed by Representative George Adwan. But President Michel Aoun surprisingly ended the cabinet session yesterday by jumping on this mechanism, as it gave ministers the right to put one or more names in the cabinet at any future appointment, from outside the mechanism. Aoun said that “the minister has the right, according to the constitution, to choose who is the right one and, consequently, he is the one who decides and has the right to implement the mechanism discussed by the Ministerial Committee (chaired by President Hassan Diab) and works on its amendments. ” But will ministers follow the mechanism as long as they are free to choose? Ministerial sources say that “there is an understanding among the ministers on this matter, and there is a conviction of the need to return to the mechanism, and therefore a committee was formed to discuss it.” But this understanding remains a “verbal agreement”, not binding, which means that any minister can bypass the mechanism at any time he wishes.
Former Minister Muhammad Fneish believes that “the application of the agreed mechanism in the government is not impossible, and we have already proven it, and many appointments were made on the basis of the mechanism that we established.” The problem, Fneish believes, is that some ministers refuse to follow the mechanism, because they have the constitutional right to choose who they want, especially since the mechanism remains non-binding, except after its approval in the House of Representatives.
Approval of the proposal, amended by “Administration and Justice”, will not be easy
Then, the true test of the intention of the political forces to adopt the criteria of competence and integrity will be in the public body, where the proposed law will change. Certainly, this proposal will not be written peacefully through the General Assembly in the House of Representatives. In the best case, a majority in Parliament will vote on the proposed law, and ten representatives are available to appeal to the Constitutional Council. And if it falls, the mechanism will no longer be binding and, therefore, any new government will not be governed by what was previously agreed, that is, the only mechanism, in the absence of effective oversight structures, is traditionally popular: the sectarian mechanism. The latter does not stipulate the selection of the best in administrative appointments, but rather the appointment of “soldiers” whose mission is to penetrate and control what allows them through their positions and powers to obtain profits and benefits through looting and methods. illegal in the interest of the powers and “entities” that brought them.
The “Fneish Mechanism” and the administration and justice amendments
In 2010, the Cabinet issued a decree with the number 12/2010, which includes the appointment mechanism for the first category, prepared by the then Minister of State for Administrative Development Affairs, Muhammad Fneish. However, successive governments denounced it and returned to their old custom, according to favoritism. This mechanism stipulated the need to establish controls that precede the exercise of their powers by the minister, since a ministerial supervision committee is formed to consider the “biographies” of the candidates to assume vacant positions, after reviewing their files in the supervisory bodies, if they are owned by the owners. After studying the files and conducting oral interviews, the minister proposes the 3 best candidates and sends them to the Cabinet with a summary of their CVs. In appointments to board members, for example, if the members are full-time and are considered first-class employees, they require the approval of two-thirds of the members of the Cabinet, and are subject to the mechanism used for employees. of first class. According to the proposal of the Law of the Administration and Justice Committee, the preference is that the employees of the second category of the general administrative staff fill the vacancies of the first category in the public administrations and open the door for the nomination to all those qualified on and off property in vacant positions in relation to public institutions in their leadership positions, after specifying the specifications and conditions of appointment Objectively and transparently, and after conducting oral interviews, the names of three candidates are drawn up accepted, and the Council of Ministers will choose one of them.
