Comprehensive MOIM Q & A Reference Guide Published


Under USAID’s Municipal Governance Assistance Program SUNY/CLD recently published a comprehensive legal reference guide for municipal staff and employees.

Most municipalities - despite considerable knowledge acquired by officials and employees with respect to legal guidelines to be followed in municipal work – require legal guidance on a number of issues related to both financial and administrative procedures. Recognizing this need, SUNY/CLD created a section on the Ministry of Interior and Municipalities (MIOIM) website - developed as part of a previous USAID program - to essentially link all municipalities to the wealth of information accumulated as a result of the official responses to more than 700 inquiries sent electronically to the Ministry.

SUNY/CLD recently published a related reference guide based on this information in order to ensure broad access to the official responses and to further ensure that municipalities are in compliance with legal requirements, that is, working for the public benefit without violating essential rights guaranteed by the constitution and the general principles of law.

Organized according to subject, the comprehensive guide encompasses the most critical as well as the most common problems confronting municipalities in implementing laws with respect to administrative and financial work. Offering a clarification of ambiguities explained within the context of the ‘spirit’ of the law, the guide also includes relevant legal opinions as necessary to support the answers provided. At the same time, citizen inquiries to the MOIM via the Q & A section offer municipal officials the opportunity to better understand public concerns with the responses to these questions included in the guide as well.

In addition to greater compliance with respect to legal requirements, use of the guide – to be distributed to all municipalities and government agencies concerned with municipal work in Lebanon - supports greater efficiency, transparency, and accountability in municipal work ultimately impacting in a positive way the quality of citizen services provided and the overall quality of governance.