The cost of issuing individual and family civil status records exceeded 2 million LBP in addition to a harsh process that should be applied to receive it, and the reason is basically the state’s inability to print the papers required.

What is happening in the General Directorate of Personal Status to bring the matter to this point?

In February 2021, the Director General of Personal Status submitted a letter to the Minister of Interior, suggesting that the directorate obtain an exceptional approval from the President of the Republic and the Council of Ministers to sign an agreement by mutual consent to offer a bid to the Directorate of Geographic Affairs to print individual and family extracts of civil status.

This mechanism was likely to speed up solving the problem, as there is no time for tenders with private companies.

In March 2021, after referring the request to the Ministry of Finance, the latter refused to give an advance worth 600 million LBP to the Directorate of Geographic Affairs, from the treasury of the Directorate of Personal Status.

In the second attempt, the Ministry of Finance approved to provide 75 percent of the value of the request, as well as the Council of Ministers and the Court of Accounts, and after full approvals, the agreement was signed.

The agreement took 6 months to be finalized by the army command, in addition to the fact that to date the advance has not been transferred to the army command to start printing.

The advance was not transferred to the army because the state is “bankrupt”. Then they decided to ask for assistance from other ministries like the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Public Health.

The directorate had no solution other than begging, so it appealed to those who have the will to donate to meet this necessary need of the citizen. It asked them to communicate with it in order to inquire about the mechanism used to deposit funds, at the Directorate of Geographic Affairs of the Army.