Harb Vows to Liberalize Telecom Sector, Promises to Keep Ministry's Work Away from Politics
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Telecommunications Minister Butros Harb lamented on Wednesday that the ministry had not been abiding by legal procedures before he took his post, promising to implement a law on the liberalization of the telecom sector.
During a press conference he held to announce his program during the short term of Premier Tammam Salam's cabinet, Harb said he was surprised that law 431, which had been adopted in 2002, was “placed in the drawers” of the ministry.
The ministry not only did not implement the law on the liberalization of the telecom sector but adopted policies that contradicted it, he said.
Law 431 has transferred the powers of licensing, regulating and monitoring the telecommunications market, from the ministry of telecom to the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA).
Harb pledged to activate the authority, accusing his predecessors without naming them of “not liking the law for refusing to give up their authorities in favor of the TRA.”
“The law has been put aside for political reasons which until now are shackling the telecom market,” the minister told reporters.
Harb also said that the failure to implement the law created chaos, bringing certain incompetent employees to the ministry at the expense of the state treasury.
Some qualified people have been put aside without any explanation, he said.
But he vowed not to sack employees for political reasons. “Political issues and conflicts will remain outside the telecommunications ministry, which is in the service of all Lebanese without any exception.”
Harb promised to give back the rights of competent persons who have been dismissed. He said however that each employee who has been recruited illegally should prove his competence to stay in his post.
As part of his strategy in the coming few months before a new president is elected and a new government is formed, Harb promised to lower landline and mobile phone and internet tariffs.
Former Telecom Minister Nicolas Sehnaoui later issued a brief statement responding to Harb, explaining: “Law 431 was not applied in accordance to several decisions made by the state Shura Council.”
“The standards followed by Sehnaoui during his term adhered to the law and worked for the interests and development of the telecom sector,” it stressed.
It added that he will make a more detailed response to Harb's press conference upon his return from a trip in Australia.
26 March 2014, 14:50
67
Thank you Mr. Harb !
This is the best thing any telecom minister has vowed so far.
With all the BS we've been hearing from Bassil and Sehnaoui, the only achievement they have done is brag about 10 year old technologies, reinforcing state monopolies and pleasing HEZBOLLAH who were against liberalisation of the telco sector !
If you do this, you will be next in line for president !
26 March 2014, 17:33
20
I am with you pa... eslah bs!!!! wa taghyeer,,,lol... losers...
26 March 2014, 17:55
35
@jaafar: Please refrain from using insults on the forum. You know how much respect and admiration I have for you and mowaten. Please, don't disappoint me
26 March 2014, 15:16
45
Meanwhile, M8 idiots complain about any attempt for this country to progress and get us out of the Hezbollah stone age !
26 March 2014, 15:33
46
Liberalization is something you M8 illiterates know nothing about.
It means that the government will no longer own the telecom companies and that they will be sold to the private sector. Private sector will be able to invest in enhancing the infrastructure and service.
This means that these companies will finally be able to COMPETE for customers without any price fixing. This will lead to better networks, better quality of service, better prices and will overall improve our economy. Something Hezbollah has been objecting against !
Now Liberalization is your new word for today. memorize it because this is the only way to salvage Lebanon.
Next is the electicity sector !
26 March 2014, 15:49
44
@FT : Don't mix Water Privatisation which is a NATURAL RESSOURCE with that of infrastructure development.
Point is simple : Governments SUCK at business. THey have no idea how to conduct business. How to optimise processes, investments, quality of service... it's not their job !
As much as I agree with the article against Water privatisation, I am totally for the privatisation of our infrastructure. This is the only way to create a healthy marketplace for companies to compete. Only competition will enhance the quality of service we have.
And this is how you end up with Telecom leaders like France or Japan who have all privatised (or semi-privatised) these sectors and are leading the world in technology today.
There is no single successful economy which has not privatised its infrastructure.
26 March 2014, 15:54
45
FT: Privatisation does not mean stealing money away like the heresy you state in your comment.
This is the typical M8 argument where they want their government income to depend on Telecom when it should depend on taxes. Taxes many M8 followers (HA) do not even pay. Start paying your taxes and then mention the subject...
There is a direct correlation between the level of telecom development and GDP increase in any given country which in turn results in higher tax returns for government but you and your leaders are too ignorant to know that because you know crap about the economy.
Meanwhile, you and your model countries remain in the stone age and want to prevent Lebanon from advancing and modernising its infrastructure.
26 March 2014, 15:58
46
Full Disclosure : your comments only show the ignorance you have accumulated all your life. Same level of ignorance enabling Nasrallah and Aoun to build the illusion you live in.
Your lies trying to picture me as pro-israeli show you're weak and incapable of argument.
26 March 2014, 16:11
55
FT : why would I report your post when they only serve the purpose of showing how utterly ridiculous you are and go through the trouble of answering you !
26 March 2014, 15:55
21
public sectors carry the heavy weight of a large bureaucracy that is one reason it cannot compete with the private sector. maybe half private and half public may be a better option. Honest Lebanese might be hard to find :-)
26 March 2014, 16:06
43
Why do you have to use such lousy assumptions ?
If you don't privatise, you will have inneficient hiring of incompetent political appointees instead like it is the case today. The same incompetent people who have brought you NOTHING !
And since when was maximising profit any wrong ? There are measures to ensure profits are reinvested in the country to build more jobs and businesses you know ? No you don't ! Because you're an ignorant fool !
26 March 2014, 16:50
33
@FT : Hiring incompetents can only be achieved in nationalised companies where politicians will struggle to place their "people" at key positions.
When you privatise an institution, you become accountable to shareholders but no one said the Lebanese state would not remain a major shareholder and the lebanese public would not be allowed to invest in the company. In fact, most telcos belong to the people of their country !
Understaffing ? This never happens. In fact, you optimize staffing and avoid having hundreds or thousands of fictitious jobs. You optimize costs and pass on the benefits to the consumer with lower bills.
All in all, these arguments are all false arguments to prevent privatisation from happening.
26 March 2014, 16:53
33
I will also tell you why privatisation is a threat to some politicians :
1- They will no longer be able to provide "free jobs" to their "people"
2- They will no longer be able to control who gets the big "contracts" (mainly, mafias with ties to our politicians through bribes)
3- They will no longer be able to place SPIES in our institutions
4- They will have to come up with a REAL economical plan to fund the Lebanese state. Telecom revenues in not a PLAN nor a Revenue sources and should never be !
5- They will no longer be able to have all the illegal mafias distributing illegal cable TV, Internet and electricity which is a HUGE revenue source to all politicians
These are the REAL reasons your M8 politicians oppose privatisation... not any of the bullcrap arguments mentionned above ! by the way, the TRA's role is to prevent such things from happening !
26 March 2014, 17:18
43
The only one with NO ARGUMENTS are M8 ignorants who puke up the worst possible excuses to prevent progress.
26 March 2014, 16:01
44
FT : you're a joke ! Your comment is ridiculous, typical of M8 idiots who repear the ignorance of their leaders who failed to do anything to our telecom and energy sectors.
You have no lessons to teach and everything to learn about infrastructure and economy.
In fact, give me one economic plan of HA and Aoun ... 1 point ... nothing more i require of you to prove that they are not in fact INCOMPETENT politicians !
26 March 2014, 16:09
43
Yes, I call you a fool and I insult Aoun and Bassil.
You gave a study about WATER privatisation which has nothing to do with Telecom and Energy and I even agree that Natural ressources should not be privatised.
So until you come up with real arguments against the privatisation of our infrastructure and letting the lousy politicians handle what businessmen should be handling, then shut up and stop opposing real plans that can achieve economic growth in this country !
26 March 2014, 16:20
45
Please give me 1 successful economy where infrastructure was not privatised and is efficient, accessible to the public at good prices !
If you want to come up with arguments, at least let them make sense.
And privatisation does not mean giving it away to the rich ! You can have the lebanese people own the telecom entities through the stock market. In fact, most telecom companies belong to millions of people with shares traded publicly, not a "Few elites" like in your ignorant argument.
26 March 2014, 16:45
44
Privatisation doesn't mean government gives up ownership of the telecom entity. In France, the government is still the major shareholder of Orange which is a world leader in the sector. The rest of the shares are held by the public. Same with EDF.
And no, people like Harb will not get a 20% share... why do you have to come up with such atrocities ???
26 March 2014, 16:57
34
FT : "any nordic country can be an example. japan as well."
Are you joking ? They are all liberated telecom markets. In fact, some of the first in the world. And all the operators there compete for better services and prices. And their shares are traded on stock market !
26 March 2014, 16:24
35
Private sectors provide better service for the citizens. No conspiracy behind it
26 March 2014, 16:26
24
If the electricity company in Lebanon is privatized we'd have electricity 24/24
26 March 2014, 17:01
22
Many people would !
You need to separate 2 jobs : Production and Distribution.
Distribution is a national security concern and should always remain under control of the state.
Production : anyone could produce and sell electricity on the national grid (ZAHLE is the best example) and compete on prices, quality of service, energy source...
In fact, you can even install a windmill on your land and sell the excess power to EDL for distribution like it is the case in many advanced countries.
26 March 2014, 17:05
24
@Roar : it's not true that it costs a fortune. In fact, on the long run, it's cheaper ! The only problem is financing and this is where the government should pressure the banks to give out loans to finance such things. In fact, there was an announcement of such a plan not long ago but like any such announcement, we forget.
But if a private investor were to invest in a powerplant to produce 1GW of solar electricity and sell it to the public, why would this be a problem ?
PS : Harb is not the energy minister and neither am I.
26 March 2014, 17:12
23
good link ft, even if I disagree in theory with 2/3 of the points.
Lots of countries with private water/electricity companies with no problems. Then, we have to see the 'lebanese implementation'...
26 March 2014, 17:25
23
Roar: "It costs 12-20k per household", how can the average Lebanese afford that ?
The average Lebanese pays hundreds per month for EDL and illegal generators.
12-20k to be depreciated over 8 years gives you an average of $1.5k to $2.5k per year or between $125- $200 per month. If you take a loan, it will cost you additional interest which is negligible and beyond 8 years, you get free electricity.
Sounds good for you ?
Now how to get the 12-20k ? Simple solutions exist :
- Banks can lend you the money (government should pressure them to)
- You can "lease" the equipement and pay it monthly
- Supplier can give you the loan himself
26 March 2014, 17:36
22
@Roar : setup what exactly ? Solar electricity at home ? If you do that, then there is no monthly bill beyond setup.
Otherwise, there are ways to help the public through Subsidies. For example, in France, EDF is obliged to buy clean energy from producers at 3 times the cost of normal electricity as a way to subsidize the production of clean energy. They sell it back to you a 1x the cost.
26 March 2014, 17:49
22
In the ideal situation, you sell 100% of your production to the grid. Not just the excess. This is to cope with night / day situations.
There are methods to store excess energy that require government/private investments such as using excess energy to pump water up a mountain and releasing the water down hydraulic energy turbines when you need extra power.
It's all solvable and it's all affordable. The question is how to finance it so that everyone can benefit from it at affordable prices.
I still believe it's better for the private sector to invest in large and efficient solar plants rather than individuals with their own installations. It's more efficient, less costly and in the end, you can subsribe to these sources of power even though they are distributed by EDL.
26 March 2014, 17:58
31
@leb_roar: Do Asylum Seekers have to pay for electricity in Australia?
27 March 2014, 12:19
10
You couldn't privatize EDL... who will accept to send bill collectors in Dahieh or in the South where they get beaten up or shot at...
26 March 2014, 19:08
22
there is a reason the people that don't want this country to advance tried to plant a bomb in his elevator.
I also agree with privatization. As long as there are laws preventing monopolies, privatization will create competition which will lead to a far better experience for the end user (you and I), competitive rates, more jobs, etc. you get several companies competing for my business is far better than what we have in place today. A miserable experience at best!
26 March 2014, 20:02
13
DSL throughout Lebanon, and then we are talking. Until then, Lebanon is still behind. I went to Lebanon 4 years ago to create few jobs in my area, mainly guys/girls doing AutoCad for my firm in North America.... NO DSL in our area and it was far from it, apparently they are still on the "Manivel" sort of speak and none DSL yet . . . So I gave up on that idea and outsourced the work to India
26 March 2014, 21:06
23
but M8 claim that bassil improved communications and internet so much! LOL
26 March 2014, 22:54
31
neither M14 or M8 work for the welfare of people or the good of the country... they only work for their interests and money. those who pretend that M8 are better are also biased and ignorants...
lebanon has the capacity to surpass israel's economy but:
- Hezbollah cannot want this: it is bad for their business, they have to keep lebanon divided to be strong as the israelis want them to!
- M14 are weak and only think about keeping their seats...
- the people of lebanon are sheep and run after those politicians that will bring them advantages
in a word: no one in lebanon want the country to improve, everyone has interests in keeping it weak!
26 March 2014, 23:08
22
...and be sure to thank H.E. Sehnaoui for the upcoming Lebanese Red Cross App. it may save your life.
27 March 2014, 11:14
10
Roar: where in hell did you come up with all this false information regarding Telecom, Quantas and the price of solar panels in Australia? It seems your tailoring information to suit your argument.
As for your friend Sehnaoui, what a disappointment, without exception in every speech he made in Australia his main theme was the LF, he did not miss an opportunity to bash them and denounce them. It seems like the widening of the the divide between the Christians is the main purpose of his visit to Australia. Shut the Bas..up and send him home, and this goes for any LF leader doing the same.
