Thread by @impact_gov

1/ When a government mandated to reform #Lebanon out of its current abyss is seen to order one of the country’s only independent oversight bodies to submit to it, you know it’s time to speak out. #right2info

2/ On 1 Oct PM @Najib_Mikati's office ordered @CInspectionLB to stop "sending [info] requests to public administrations, institutions & municipalities […] unless such requests are processed through the President of the Council of Ministers & follow his directives.” #right2info

3/ For an organisation tasked by Decree Law 115/1959 to map the public sector and identify areas ripe for reform, that’s equivalent to demanding @CInspectionLB do its job blindfolded, or under the thumb of the government. #right2info

4/ Looking at the track records of some of those in power, this may not come as a surprise to many Lebanese. But those behind the scenes, in Cabinet's General Secretariat for instance, are also known to draft a large number of these memos. #right2info

5/ No doubt, this is an attack on independent #oversight. But it is also an affront to the millions of Lebanese working to make their country better; hoping they won’t have to emigrate. #right2info

6/ This includes the 50 strong team of Lebanese lawyers, political scientists, policy consultants, software engineers and architects behind IMPACT, Lebanon’s first e-governance platform. #right2info

7/ As a team, it’s a slap in the face to be implicitly targeted in this attack, which comes after launching a new module to digitalise Central Inspection’s procedure for conducting a root-and-branch audit of the public sector. #right2info

8/ Such an audit is necessary for any sustainable reform to the sector & it's natural that IMPACT should take on this supporting role after enabling a transparent vaccination campaign, mobility during lockdowns & being chosen to run govt's upcoming ration card program #right2info

9/ This audit initiative is not new. @CInspectionLB has been collecting data of this kind since 1959. Without digitalisation, it is inconceivable that CI’s 20 Administrative Inspectors manually collect sufficient data to obtain a comprehensive map of the state. #right2info

10/ This is by design and conscious underfunding by the state, and now, the transparency and efficiency IMPACT brings to this process is threatening those who want to obfuscate and maintain their clientelistic grip on whatever’s left of our state. #right2info

11/ In parallel to the work of civil society, our teams have written countless lines of code over the past 19 months to support greater transparency in the public administration and help Lebanon weather its multiple crises. #right2info

12/ Meanwhile, equally countless behind-door negotiations have taken place to derail putting in place an empowered reformist government - and those efforts appear to be continuing into @Najib_Mikati's premiership. #right2info

13/ Much organising has been done in Lebanon before & since Oct. 2019. We call on civil society to denounce this move by @Najib_Mikati's office & call it as it is: a vile attempt to censor one of the last bastions of change from within the public administration. #right2info

14/ We must ask, whose interests does it serve if Cabinet is deprived of a key instrument to inform its decision-making around reform? @Najib_Mikati prove that you back evidence-driven reform, enabled by digital inspections conducted via @impact_gov. #right2info

15/ @Najib_Mikati: also prove, by retracting the 1 Oct. circular, that the govt is empowered to finally set this country on the path toward reform. Through transparency alone we can restore a semblance of credibility to Lebanon upon which we can rebuild. #right2info

16/ @Najib_Mikati, we invite you to uncover the behind-the-scenes forces that tirelessly continue to fight the tides of change through manoeuvring and leaking information from your very own office. It is by uprooting them that you will pave the way for the future. #right2info

17/ Let us be clear. We will not submit to intimidation. Help us fight back with open data and facts against regime-led misinformation and sectarian politicking. Read our full open letter: today.lorientlejour.com/article/127741… #right2info