Interview with a public servant

As part of our quest for highlighting possible future avenues of progress in the Lebanese Republic, Executive discussed the issue and importance of the 2017 budget with Alain Bifani, director general at the Ministry of Finance. In the course of the interview, the general director also commented on the systemic aspects of the public administration’s work to draft the budget and diligently reconcile national accounts, on planned revenue measures and on the benefits that an efficient civil service can bring to Lebanon. E   Is the Ministry of Finance, like all Lebanese public institutions, short of qualified manpower? We are very short on manpower in general and on qualified manpower in this regard [for auditing]. One of the main things that was achieved [in reconstruction and reconciliation of national accounts] was to again provide the ministry with knowledgeable people. The function of the public accountant had disappeared, because it was