“Lebanon Debate”
With the pressures facing the city of Nabatieh, its municipalities, and its official institutions, the mayor of Nabatieh, Abbas Fakhreddine, warned of an extremely difficult financial and administrative reality, stressing that the city is still living the repercussions of war and destruction, in light of the municipalities’ inability to secure the salaries of their employees, the delay in the restoration of official buildings, and the return of departments to their normal work.
Fakhr El-Din said, following the visit of the Minister of Administrative Development, Fadi Mekki, that “the city of Nabatieh is afflicted in all its details, from its official institutions and administrative departments to the Civil Defense Center and the Ministry of Social Affairs, in addition to the great human losses that befell the city.”
He added, “The municipality of Nabatieh has been afflicted since the 2024 war, after it lost 13 martyrs, including 3 members of the municipal council and 10 employees, while 5 additional martyrs among municipal employees fell in the last war.”
Fakhr El-Din pointed out that “the material and financial capabilities of municipalities have become almost non-existent, and not in Nabatieh alone, as the municipality is not yet able to secure July salaries for its employees, like a large number of other municipalities.”
He pointed out that “the official departments affiliated with the ministries in the city of Nabatieh have not yet obtained the necessary funds to renovate their buildings, which hinders the return of employees and securing citizens’ transactions.”
Fakhr al-Din explained, “The State Security Center in Nabatieh has been searching for weeks for an alternative headquarters that allows its members to carry out their tasks, in light of a tragic and dangerous reality that cannot continue with these mechanisms and procedures.”
He stressed that “the administrative bureaucracy in the Lebanese state must change during emergency situations, because Nabatieh is still effectively in a state of security and humanitarian emergency.”
Fakhr al-Din added, “The city still hears the sounds of explosions resulting from Israeli attacks in the surrounding areas on a daily basis, which exacerbates citizens’ feelings of lack of security and stability.”
He stressed that “the Lebanese state is required to be at the forefront of citizens through its departments and institutions, and to take a bold decision to return employees to official departments, because the citizen is no longer able to move to Sidon or Beirut to complete his transactions.”
Fakhr El-Din concluded by saying, “The municipality handed the ambassadors a list of the basic and necessary needs of Nabatieh and other municipalities, hoping that the state will deal with them seriously and quickly, and provide the necessary support to reorganize municipal, administrative, and service work.”
