Weak governance

Lebanon 11th in MENA in Government Effectiveness: World Bank report

Lebanon’s rankings on the World Governance Indicators 2010 showed marginal year-on-year improvement. However, according to the World Bank report, the country’s numbers still reflected a weak level of governance.

The country’s rankings improved on three out of the six governance indicators. The indicators cover 213 countries.
In the Government Effectiveness index, Lebanon ranked in 120th place globally and in 11th place in the MENA region. It came ahead of Egypt and behind the Saudi Arabia and Morocco.

The country ranked 165th globally and14th in the MENA region on the Control of Corruption indicator. It came ahead of Iran and Syria and behind Egypt.

According to the Managing Director of the Lebanese Transparency Association (LTA), Yahya Hakim, key administrative reforms are crucial for achieving better government effectiveness. “We first have to pass the law for access to information,” Hakim said. He said that the law would increase government efficiency, improve transparency, and discourage arbitrary state action.

According to Hakim, reforms must also be introduced to the administrative and financial structures of public institutions.
The report ranked Lebanon is 195th place worldwide and 15th in the MENA region on the Political Stability index.

The country ranked 137th globally and second in the MENA on the Voice and Accountability indicator, which measures the ability of citizens to participate in selecting their government, and the freedom of expression.

In terms of the Regulatory Quality index, measuring market-friendly policies and laws, Lebanon ranked 98th globally and tenth in the MENA region. It ranked 148th globally and 14th in the MENA region on the Rule of Law category.