Prevention of corruption in autonomous public institutions

ENAR

  “You can’t build a great building on a weak foundation.” The same applies to institutions. Strong institutions are critical for crisis recovery and economic development. In Lebanon there are several autonomous institutions that, theoretically, were supposed to be shielded from political interference and improve sectorial performance. Yet, in practice, these institutions suffer from structural problems that have rendered them a vehicle for vested interests, leading to a reduction of the country’s competitiveness and a deterrence to investments.  Autonomous public institutions, by design, should benefit from an independent decision-making process, autonomous employment and access to resources. These institutions’ characteristics have been largely defined by their post-civil war restructure. The then-governments attempted to expand the role of the public sector while developing the private sector. The linkages between business people and politicians increased as more financing was available within the private sector compared to the public sector. This has led to