The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) will fund a municipal development project in Lebanon that will equip administrative offices with computers to facilitate paperwork, reported the Daily Star on Wednesday.
Municipal employees will be trained in the new system, and internet websites will be created so residents can conduct and monitor transactions online.
The four-year project is funded by a $15 million USAID grant.
Lebanon’s Interior Minister Elias Murr signed the agreement during a meeting of governors at the ministry that was attended by John Breslar, director of the USAID country program, and Mahmoud Batlouni, director of the State University of New York at Albany.
"Today marks a real celebration for us," said Breslar, who called the project "the other piece of the puzzle" critical for local development. He added that developing municipalities would help achieve transparency and build the country.
Lebanon is struggling toward economic recovery after decades of civil war, as well as years of Israeli military occupation that left in its wake orphans, minefields and ruined infrastructure – Albawaba.com
