Directorate General of Local Administrations and Councils sheds light on the supporting role of mukhtars to local communities
Thu 31.03.2022
Beirut, 31 March 2022 – The Directorate General of Local Administrations and Councils (DGLAC) invited mukhtars, municipalities and unions of municipalities (UoMs) to discuss ways to strengthen the role of mukhtars in supporting local communities during a third episode of the DGLAC talk show series. The talk show series is supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), with funds from the EU. The event was broadcasted online to participants across the country.
The discussion highlighted the crucial role mukhtars play but emphasized the need to further build their capacity, including around digital knowledge, to enable them to better serve their communities. The session allowed participating mukhtars to directly voice challenges, concerns, and solutions to national level decision makers through a Q&A session, thereby contributing to national policy dialogue.
Mukhtara Ms. Josiane Khalil, of Zouk Mekael, first Mukhtara in Kessrwan District and one of the few women in this field said: “The role of mukhtars is really important, they can have a great impact on citizens’ everyday life and needs, and the state should strengthen this role to streamline the functioning of local public administration”.
The need to strengthen national support to mukhtars was also emphasized. Mr. Jalal Kebrit, Director General of CFML, said: “We always seek to support mukhtars so they can better support their communities. We are working on better digitization and automation at the Cooperative Fund of Mukhtars in Lebanon.”
“To serve local communities better, DGLAC should work hand in hand with mukhtars and municipalities to achieve smart governance that puts citizen needs first”, said André Sleiman, the country representative of Democracy Reporting International (DRI).
Panelist also emphasized the linkages between mukhtars and municipalities: “DGLAC supports municipalities and unions of municipalities and facilitates their role. Mukhtars are an important part of the local governance in Lebanon, and their role interlinks to a great extent with municipalities in the delivery of more efficient services to our citizens and communities.” said DGLAC Director General Faten Abou Hassan.
The DGLAC talk show series is delivered under the patronage of the Ministry of Interior and Municipalities, with support from the Municipal Empowerment and Resilience Project (MERP). MERP is a joint initiative implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) and is funded by the European Union through its Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian Crisis “Madad Fund”.
DGLAC initiated the talk show series for mukhtars, municipalities and unions of municipalities, to discuss key topics of local concern. Two episodes were delivered during 2021, one on the updating of the municipal law and a second on the DGLAC support to local authorities to explore new ways to generate revenue within the current economic crisis. In 2022, DGLAC will continue the series, including this episode dedicated to mukhtars. The next DGLAC talk show will be hosted 2nd quarter of 2022 and will focus on gender inclusion at municipal level.
