Official Opening of the Aaley Citizen Reception Office



Under the Municipal Governance Assistance Program funded by USAID, the Center for Legislative Development of the University at Albany SUNY (SUNY/CLD) in collaboration with the Ministry of Interior and Municipalities (MOIM) held the official opening of the Citizen Reception Office in the Aaley Municipality on June 21, 2007.

Modern customer service facilities, the Citizen Reception Offices are one component of a multifaceted program of activities implemented by SUNY/CLD to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of local government institutions.

Organized under a three-year $17 million grant from USAID as part of efforts to support good governance, the Citizen Reception Office in Aaley is the 27th facility of this type opened in local or regional government offices in Lebanon.

USAID Mission Director Raouf Youssef, Aaley Mayor Wajdi Mrad, and SUNY/CLD Director Mahmoud Batlouni participated in the event that was attended by Aaley Administrative District Manager Mansour Daou, municipal council presidents and members from the area, and representatives from the Aaley Trade and Industry Associations.

Director Youssef provided an overview of the project that is focused on the development of administrative and financial capacities in support of a stronger role for local government. He announced the future implementation of the Municipal Geographic Information System (MGIS) in Aaley which will facilitate the work of the council in terms of financial management and planning.

Mr. Mahmoud Batlouni, Director of SUNY/CLD in Lebanon, highlighted the dramatic shift in Aaley Municipality towards modern municipal governance as a result of the efforts of the Mayor, council members, and employees. He summarized the assistance extended under the program, indicating that a tangible indicator of the results achieved is the significant increase in directly collected revenue. In Aaley, rental value taxes – an important category of direct income for municipalities in Lebanon - rose from LL 678 million (US $452,000) in 2002 to LL 1,247 million
(US $ 831,000) in 2005 representing a cumulative rise of 84%.

Mayor Mrad recognized the importance of the cooperation between the municipality, USAID, and SUNY/CLD in further developing municipal governing capacities. He also emphasized the importance of the initiative in establishing the Citizen Reception Office as a mechanism to strengthen the relationship between the public and the municipality by enabling efficient, fair services to be provided.

Organized as centralized service centers, the offices eliminate the need for citizens to visit multiple locations for various approvals as in the past. At the same time, implementation of standardized, streamlined, and automated procedures now ensures that transactions can be completed without the intervention of third parties.

The Citizen Reception Offices are an important part of USAID and SUNY/CLD efforts to enhance the quality of services offered to citizens and widen public access to information, and are an important step as well towards further development of institutional capacities to enable E-government services such as the use of the internet to pay taxes to be implemented.